Our fractional Marketing Director has done a great job, but our growth requires this seat to be a full-time role now. She cannot commit to more hours. She is a great culture fit and we love her work. How do we manage this transition?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a common structural challenge as companies scale. Your business has outgrown its current capacity, and you must put the needs of the business before your personal attachment to a specific contributor.

Start by updating your Accountability Chart to reflect the reality of your current scale. The Marketing Director seat now requires forty-plus hours a week to manage your campaign volumes and lead generation targets. This means your current fractional leader no longer has the Capacity (C) for this seat, despite having the Get It and Want It.

Sit down with her and have an open, honest conversation. Explain that the business has reached a point where the marketing seat must be full-time to support your V/TO goals. Because she cannot commit to full-time hours, she can no longer hold this seat.

To manage the transition smoothly, enlist her help to find and train her replacement. Since she is a great culture fit, she can assist in interviewing candidates to ensure they have the right skills and values. You might keep her on in a consulting capacity during the onboarding phase to hand over key accounts and campaigns.

Additionally, look at your Accountability Chart to see if there is a smaller, highly specialized niche seat, such as Brand Strategy or Copywriting, that can remain fractional and that she GWC's. If so, you can transition her there. If not, celebrate her contribution and part ways amicably, knowing you made the right decision for the company's future.