What is Fractional Consulting?
As I reflect on my consulting journey over the last three years, I’ve been thinking about what I do, how I like to do it, and why I think my approach is effective. Brand clarity is ever-evolving, and by no means do I think I’ve reached the pinnacle. Take, for example, how the services I offer have changed since I started:
Services I offer now:
Fractional Leadership
Executive Transition
People Operations (HR)
Organizational Assessment
Coaching
Services I offered when I launched:
Strategy
Programs
Operations
Job Search Assistance
Coaching
So much clearer, right?
But you might still be wondering what fractional leadership is. Rather than thinking about fractional as a service in itself, I think about it as a way of working with clients. It’s an approach to consulting rather than something different from consulting. And in my opinion, it’s the most effective way to work.
Lately, I’ve had some consultants ask me about fractional consulting. It seems folks have a vague sense that I might be working this way, but the reality is that although “fractional leadership” is included on my website, and I occasionally post about it on social media, my clients haven’t adopted this verbiage. And I use the language of my audience when speaking to them. So the word “fractional” doesn’t come up in sales calls or scoping or contracts or client meetings. That doesn’t make me any less fractional.
What is fractional consulting?
Fractional consulting is a way of working as an independent consultant (rather than an in-house employee) that blends strategic oversight with effective implementation. Traditional consulting often ends when a recommendation is delivered. Fractional doesn’t.
In today’s nonprofit workplaces, traditional consulting often has very little value because organizations can’t actually implement the recommendations made by consultants. In my opinion, when this happens, it: 1) makes consultants as a whole look bad (just look at the opinions of consultants shared here), 2) harms clients more than it helps them (expensive pieces of paper are harmful, y’all), and 3) feels bad (as someone who works to make a real difference in the world, not just to make money).
The point I’m making isn’t about consultants making recommendations. Every engagement I’ve ever had has included making recommendations or giving advice. In my community agreement discussions with new clients, I ask them what balance of “making recommendations vs. sharing information” they prefer. The response is almost universally something to the effect of, “I’m paying you to tell me what to do, so please tell me what to do.”
My point is that most clients don’t want me to stop there. They don’t just need to know what to do. They need to know how to do it. And, increasingly, they need me to stick around and show them how to do it in a hands-on way, or to do it in an embedded way in which I personally own the outcomes of my work. This is what makes consulting fractional, whether clients call it that or not.
Why do organizations want fractionals?
Organizational leaders may not be able to name that they want to hire a fractional leader, but they do know:
They need senior-level strategic oversight with effective implementation, not one (the authority or experience to lead with strategic impact that is found at the director-level) or the other (an in-house manager or coordinator).
They have the budget for the latter but actually need the former more — and ultimately need both if the work is going to get done anytime soon.
There is a benefit to working with an independent contractor (who actually functions like they’re independent): less management, fewer taxes, and more thought partnership.
An inflection point like a staff transition is a great time to examine ingrained ways of doing things and consider whether roles really need to be filled by a full-time, in-house employee.
How can I get hired as a fractional?
You may be wondering how you’ll ever get this kind of work if nonprofits aren’t using the word fractional to find you.
That’s a great question but not one that you really need to worry about. Instead, focus on understanding how your ideal clients think and talk about their pain points (the problems you can solve) rather than focusing on what you offer (your services or the solutions to their problems). Prospective clients aren’t really interested in learning about you before you prove that you understand what it’s like to be them. They certainly don’t care whether you call yourself a fractional or a professional cat herder.
Furthermore, this sort of "fractional" relationship is replacing in-house, permanent positions essential to an organization’s operations, such as programs, human resources, finance, marketing, and development. This work is part of an organization's core functions; it's not an add-on, addressing a short-term pain point, or a "nice to have" the way consulting often is (or at least feels). Clients may view it as a way to replace employees, access a higher level of experience, or save money.
Therefore, I think the most effective people in these roles — those with the clearest value propositions — have spent their careers working in-house in organizations doing this work. A career HR Director becomes an HR fractional, a career Program Manager becomes a fractional program lead, and so on. So a big part of getting hired to do this kind of work is your network understanding your area of expertise and knowing that you’re available as a contractor.
I have experienced a couple of different paths to business development in my own consulting business:
A nonprofit leader knows I can manage a program remotely with one hand tied behind my back in my sleep. A need arises when they must let their program manager or director go, or when that person resigns. They reach out to see if I can cover the role temporarily, help them assess, revise, and rebuild, and/or help them fill the position.
A consulting engagement leaves a client with a list of recommendations that they believe they need to implement and don't have the ability to implement in-house. Since I made the recommendations, they ask if I can stay on to help with implementation. Depending on what kind of work it is, it’s likely that I’ll need to become embedded in the organization and work directly with program participants, the staff who can support or sustain the work, or both.
Both paths have a natural end point that the client and I agree on. I'm not looking for a job, and we are always clear about this from the beginning, though sometimes the end point isn’t a date but a milestone or state that we can achieve together. Most of my engagements last eight months to a year. However, while I prefer to move on, there are other fractional consultants who have renewable contracts and will stay for a longer term.
Whether you’re a consultant considering working in a fractional capacity or a nonprofit leader curious about what all the fuss about fractional is about, I hope this helps!
