When I started working as a ๐
๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐
๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐จ, the term โfractional leaderโ wasnโt a buzzword yet. I was seen as a part-time employee or a finance consultant, but I knew what I was doing was something different.
Especially in the Life Sciences sector, I saw a real gap: early-stage companies needed executive-level financial leadership, but couldnโt yet justify the cost of a full-time CFO. The work was strategic, hands-on, and deeply embedded, but not 40 hours a week.
๐ก Strategy doesnโt always need to be full-time but impact does.
Thatโs why Iโm glad the term โfractionalโ has taken hold.
โข โPart-timeโ makes the role sound small.
โข โConsultantโ makes it sound distant.
โข And being a ๐
๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐
๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ.
Hereโs what Iโve learned over the past seven years:
๐ฏ The best fractional roles arenโt โsmallerโ versions of CFO jobs, theyโre ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ ones, focused on the most strategic, highest-leverage work.
โ Founders donโt just want spreadsheets, they want a ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ who asks better questions and challenges assumptions.
๐ค The strongest partnerships start with ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ, not tasks.
โก Being fractional means youโre not at every meeting so every conversation has to ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ. Itโs about clarity, speed, and delivering value without the noise.
Iโm curious...if youโve worked with (or as) a fractional finance leader:
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ? ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ?