In Fall 2021, a client and I were racing to finish a project before her maternity leave began. As a mother myself, I know the challenge of trying to tie up loose ends during an uncertain time – and my maternity leave started unexpectedly early when I delivered my son at 34 weeks. There’s a whole lot of my work as a VP of Communications that I shunted aside when he made his sudden appearance.

It occurred to me there might be some loose ends that my client, too, would want to hand off. “Is there anything I can help with while you’re out?” I asked.

“Great question,” she replied. Several projects rose to the top of a list of things that would need to get done during her five-month leave. Over the next week, we put together a discrete plan of action and contract.

• The project we were working on – an annual report – was one where I usually just handed off the text and let her handle the design phase. This time, she needed me to step in to manage that workstream.
• The organization was going through a leadership change, and that required someone to help navigate messaging and that announcement.
• Finally, the organization was planning a fifth anniversary event, and needed someone to handle event communications strategy and mentor the junior communications staff member who had been tasked with that work.

My client headed out on leave. I waited for the birth announcement, and dug into the work we’d laid out. The scope meant I was functioning as the de facto Fractional Communications Director, making sure the organization’s messaging stayed consistent, staff felt confident about our outreach planning, and the event was well-attended and served as both an inspirational and celebratory moment.

How Fractional Leadership Benefits Organizations

Fractional leadership – in any C-level, director, or VP-level role – can provide much-needed support without the investment of hiring a fulltime senior staff member. It’s a great option when you have a gap – either during a hiring process, or while someone is out on medical or maternity/paternity leave – or when you need to pivot the organization or its communications systems and strategies in specific ways that require more focus.

Without someone in the role I stepped into, the organization would have had a much harder time juggling all the work required to be successful. Existing priorities meant the sole other communications staff member and other organization leaders were pulled in many directions, which meant I had to hold the overall view of the projects I was working on, and raise appropriate flags when I needed someone else’s attention, time, or energy to move something forward.

I also played a key role in keeping up morale. The team had very little experience with managing events, and though they’d hired a great events company – Happily, helmed by the inimitable Sarah Shewey – to produce their two-day virtual celebration, they needed someone experienced in event planning and production on their side of the table illuminating the many steps and pieces required to pull off something worthy of the milestone. For a team that hadn’t held an event before, the process felt quite frustrating – they didn’t quite know what they didn’t know.

Not only could I cheerlead and encourage them when they felt like it was all too much, I was able to leverage my experience with events like the Grace Hopper Celebration to anticipate what steps the organization would need to take to recruit and prep speakers, promote the event, and leverage the content during and after the celebration. By working side-by-side with the team, I could coach them through an overwhelming project, and make sure they benefited from my event production knowledge.

How To Leverage a Fractional Communications Director

Hiring a Fractional Communications Director is not the same thing as hiring a temporary, full time employee. To leverage this position strategically, you’ll want to think about how this person will contribute, and how they will advance your business or mission goals.

Another way to think of it is that you’re hiring an experienced, high-level consultant who can quickly analyze what’s going on in your organization, and then roll up their sleeves and provide tactical support at times of transition or when you need a push in the right direction on your communications work. Sara Wesche has written a great list of 8 situations where this type of role could be exactly what you need.

1. Work with the fractional communications leader to define the scope before the work begins. Fractional Communications Directors often are not working full-time with your organization – they likely have other clients. To leverage the hours they are working with you each week, you’ll want to think about the specific projects and initiatives on which they’ll be most beneficial. The idea is that you’re using their expertise to quickly move particular projects forward, without investing in a full time staff member who’s wrapped up in other internal initiatives.
2. Make them a trusted advisor. You’ve brought in this level of expertise – now it’s time to tap into their knowledge! Your Fractional Communications Director will likely spot systems weaknesses or opportunities for great efficiency that you might have missed because they’re looking at your organization with fresh perspective. Make sure you schedule regular opportunities to find out what they’re noticing and ask how they suggest you address issues as they arise.
3. Use them to mentor and grow junior staff. Because fractional leaders are coming into an organization without the baggage of someone who has been on the inside for a long time, they can also be incredibly useful in coaching team members who are struggling to perform and achieve their goals, or who are ready to move to the next level but might not know what next step to take. One of the things I miss most about working for an organization fulltime is getting to manage and grow teams of communicators and marketers. But as a fractional leader, I’ve been able to help staff members consider new ways to approach their roles, resulting in happier, more fulfilled team members better able to align with the organization’s direction.

Are you looking for a Fractional Communications Executive?

If you’re looking for someone who can fill this role for your company or organization, I’d love to hear from you. You can book time with me for a quick chat over Zoom or by phone to talk about your needs, or send me a message to let me know what challenges you’d like help solving in your communications and marketing systems.