ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY. Better known in the United States and Europe than here, fractional leadership allows organizations to hire experienced executives on a parttime basis or for a specific assignment. It is a flexible solution that is gaining ground in Quebec.
Contrôles Laurentide specializes in automation and reliability solutions for clients such as Rio Tinto and ArcelorMittal in Eastern Canada. Since 2018, this Kirkland-based company has doubled its revenue. As contracts multiplied and grew more complex, the CFO quickly found himself overwhelmed.
“Since we didn’t have an in-house legal advisor, I was the one reviewing the contracts, which isn’t my area of expertise,” recalls George Hatzigeorgiou. I was working almost seven days a week, and sometimes I spent two whole days just on that task.” The company then wondered whether, from a legal standpoint, it needed to hire someone full-time.
Contrôles Laurentide quickly turned to Pierre Shea, founder and president of Groupe Aztec, who offers his services as a fractional executive, to offer him a part-time contract. “In addition to having a background as a general manager and a certificate of business law, he has solid experience in the industrial sector,” explains the CFO. And since he has negotiated many contracts throughout his career, we felt he was wellequipped to assess the risks involved in ours.
Productive on day one, the part-time executive also took it upon himself to train salespeople so they could better understand legal issues when discussing matters with clients. He improved the company’s guide for reviewing contracts. And he even took part in some negotiations.
Contrôles Laurentide thus found a flexible solution, benefiting from the necessary services to avoid bottlenecks, better manage its risks, and assess its needs before creating a position, explains George Hatzigeorgiou. Since then, the company has hired a full-time lawyer. ‘’This transition allowed us to be certain we were making the right choice.”
Fractional leadership allows organizations to quickly access strategic expertise, experiment with a leadership role without making a permanent commitment, and adapt to their growth pace—three key ingredients of organizational agility. “A fractional leader doesn’t create agility on their own, but they can help by acting as a decision-making accelerator and a facilitator to reach a more strategic level,” explains Julie Carignan, CHRP, organizational psychologist and managing partner at Humance.
A particularly beneficial approach for SMEs, according to Pierre Shea. “Many organizations cannot afford to hire a full-time executive with extensive experience, or simply don’t feel the need to,” he says. That’s where fractional leadership really comes into its own.” Unlike a traditional consultant who limits themselves to advising, analyzing, or developing a plan, a fractional executive can oversee a task or project and provide support within the company, just as an employee would, he explains.
This model is particularly useful during periods of transition, such as a merger or acquisition, a restructuring, or the departure of an executive, explains Pierre Shea. “When you cross the 70-employee threshold, that’s often the stage of professionalization,” explains Julie Carignan. A single executive can no longer wear all the hats. Bringing in an experienced part-time professional allows for a more strategic view of the organization and a better assessment of its needs.”
Fractional leadership does have its limitations however, especially for positions that require a daily presence, warns Julie Carignan. “If the person needs to mobilize others or act as a catalyst to strengthen the organizational culture, there’s a risk of a void, a shortfall.” Similarly, if teams are not very mature and need constant support, she adds. “If you have to wait several days for an answer to your question because the person is part-time, that risks hindering agility rather than improving it.”
The model is popular, particularly in the United States, where the proportion of leadership positions mentioning the term “fractional” has tripled since 2018, according to the firm Revelio Labs, as reported by Forbes magazine. It could very well become popular here as well, given the current wave of retirements among senior managers, believes Pierre Shea. “But for that to happen, people still need to be familiar with the concept…”
