Welcome to today's article, we hope you enjoy it
At Club Calima community we learned about fractional executive leadership fairly recently, servicing a startup incubator some years ago, and it has resulted in a great way to consult and collaborate
We’re personally very intentional about the work we take on, and we're sharing in this course the kinds of questions and playbooks we use; written in a simple, interactive way to encourage team participation
What Is Fractional Executive Leadership?
CTO/x - Fractional Chief Technology Officer
CEO/x - Fractional Chief Executive Officer
CMO/x - Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
CFO/x - Fractional Chief Financial Officer
CCO/x - Fractional Chief Community Officer
Chief Of Staff
A fractional executive is a senior leader who works within an organization on a part-time, scoped basis, focused on outcomes rather than billing hourly
In practice, this often looks like:
A deep onboarding period
Designing playbooks, systems, and decision frameworks
Establishing technical, operational, or strategic direction
Then shifting into light supervision
The value isn’t in constant presence
It’s in experience, judgment, and leverage
It empowers the team to deliver for themselves, introduces new employees or providers to the company, and leaves a lasting mark
Why Organizations Choose This Model
For many founders, nonprofits, universities, and internal innovation teams, hiring a full-time executive too early is expensive, and usually unnecessary. Some founders hire someone with lower compensation, which some times are abroad, or lack the advantages that are only gained with experience and community participation
Fractional leadership allows organizations to:
Access senior expertise at a reduced cost
Improve credibility with investors and partners
Move faster with higher confidence
Stretch limited budgets further
Gain introductions to trusted vendors and collaborators
A new, fresh perspective
In many cases, a fractional executive helps an organization look more fundable, more organized, and more confident, without overcommitting financially
Why This Also Works for Executives
For executives, fractional roles allow:
Focused, meaningful contributions
Clear scopes and expectations
Exposure to multiple projects and sectors
Work aligned with values and strengths
Less burnout, more impact
Additional sources of income
Fractional executives don’t operate alone, they’re part of a network that shares context, opportunities, and trust
Why We Created a Course About This
We realized that many people:
Are curious about fractional leadership
Misunderstand how it works
Don’t know when it’s appropriate
Or struggle to explain it to boards, partners, or clients
Like taking free courses online on websites with forums
So we created a short, practical course to document:
How the model works
When it makes sense
What good engagements look like
How trust and scope protect everyone involved
This course is designed for collaboration, you can do it with your partners and employees in the office
Honest answers are a way to align expectations before work begins to do the right things at the right time
Join the Course
A practical guide for founders, organizations, and executives working together with clarity and trust
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