The Fractional Leader: Navigating the Space Between Consulting and Full-Time
Ever been told you're "just a consultant" when you know you're giving far more than that? If you're doing fractional work, or thinking about it, you'll know exactly what I mean.
I've been on both sides. My career at Microsoft started in Microsoft Consulting Services, and I've done plenty of consulting since. Consulting is clean: you come in, do a piece of work, deliver it, and walk away. Fractional is different, you're in it for the long haul. You watch the company grow and you genuinely care whether it succeeds, and that's where it gets complicated!
Two Flavours of Fractional
Fractional work for me splits into two distinct roles: Non-Executive Director (NED) and fractional executive - think fractional CTO, CPO, or Chief Data & AI Officer.
NED work has clearer boundaries. It’s about setting direction, ensuring effective governance, and putting the structures and capabilities in place to deliver on the strategy. It isn’t simple, but the boundaries are relatively clear, you understand where your remit starts and ends.
Fractional executive work is harder to contain. You're taking on an operational role, but you're not full-time. You can't afford to go too deep, because there will always be a gap between what you can do and what a full-time hire would do. Balancing that is genuinely hard.
The Overinvestment Trap (And Why It Might Be Your Superpower)
Here's something I wrestled with for a while. I'd negotiate one or two days a week/month, then find myself spending double that. Evenings. weekends etc, way more than I was being paid for.
At first, I fought it. I'd tell myself I needed to draw the line, stick to the allocated hours, stop giving away my time, but I've come to see it differently.
That overinvestment? People notice and clients see that you genuinely care, that you want their company to succeed, that you're putting in more than you strictly have to. It becomes your unique selling point - not because you're undercharging, but because your commitment is real. You're not a consultant who delivers a report and disappears. You're invested in the outcome.
That said, it creates a real tension. You're working more than you agreed, more than you're being compensated for, and going back to a client to say "I'm spending double, please pay me more" - that's deeply uncomfortable for me, I hate that conversation.
The Milestone Fix
Hindsight is useful. One of the most practical lessons I learned was to negotiate milestone-based payments upfront, alongside the day rate.
When structuring a fractional engagement, define clear milestones: product launch, platform migration, hiring targets, regulatory approval, revenue thresholds - and attach agreed payments to each.
This achieves two things. First, it links compensation to outcomes rather than hours. Second, and more importantly, it removes much of the internal tension. When additional time inevitably creeps in, you know there is a defined financial acknowledgement tied to delivery. You may still exceed scope, but the impact is recognised.
Agree this at the outset. Introducing it mid-engagement is significantly harder.
Making the Hours Count: AI as a Force Multiplier
The other thing that's transformed my fractional work is AI. And I don't mean this in the abstract, "AI is changing everything" way. I mean practically.
I'm now signed up to and paying for most of the major AI platforms — Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini and others because they each have different strengths. Knowing which engine does what well is itself a skill, and it's one worth developing. The right tool for the right job makes a real difference.
As a fractional leader with limited hours, AI has been a genuine multiplier. I can prepare for board meetings faster, draft strategies more efficiently, prototype technical ideas to validate them quickly, and synthesise information across multiple companies without the overhead that would have taken me days before. I'm more productive than I've ever been, and that directly helps me deliver more value within the time I have.
Don't get me wrong. I still need to scrutinise everything it produces. The hallucinations alone can be breathtaking in their confidence.
Practical Takeaways for Fractional Leaders
If you're doing fractional work or considering it, here's what I'd keep in mind:
Get the boundaries clear early, but accept they'll blur. Especially in a fractional exec role, you will end up doing more than the contract says. That's partly what makes you good at this. Just go in with your eyes open.
Negotiate milestone payments alongside your day rate. This is probably the single most useful thing I've learned. It protects you financially and emotionally when, not if, you overinvest your time.
Learn the AI tools properly. Not just one. Each platform has strengths, and as a fractional leader working across limited hours, being genuinely proficient with AI tools isn't optional anymore - it's what lets you punch above your weight.
Track your time, even when it's uncomfortable. I'm still getting better at this. But you need the data, both for yourself and for honest conversations with clients about scope.
Remember why fractional is different from consulting. You're not parachuting in with a deliverable. You're building something with these companies over time. That long-term investment is what makes fractional work rewarding, and it's why clients choose a fractional leader over a consultant.
Fractional leadership isn't for everyone. It asks you to care deeply while maintaining boundaries, to operate with the intensity of a full-timer on a fraction of the hours, and to be comfortable with the tension that creates. But if you get the structure right (milestones, tools, honest self-awareness about how you work), it can be one of the most fulfilling ways to lead.
