Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
EP 25 Why Smart Professionals Over 50 Are Going Fractional Executive Right Now
18 Plays9 days ago
The job market spent years treating your experience as a liability. Fractional and Interim Leadership flip that script entirely.
In this episode of the Ageism Survival Guide, we break down two of the fastest-growing executive career models in the world right now. These models were practically built for professionals over 50 who have spent decades building judgment, leading teams, and navigating crisis.
FRACTIONAL LEADERSHIP means serving as a part-time executive for one, two, or even three organizations at the same time, typically 10 to 15 hours per week per client. Think CFO, COO, CMO, or CHRO work on a retainer basis, with full strategic authority and none of the long-term political commitments of traditional employment. The global fractional executive market is currently valued at $5.7 billion. LinkedIn profiles listing "fractional" grew by over 5,400% in a single year. The earning potential ranges from $5,000 to $8,000 per month per client, with multiple clients generating $120,000 to nearly $300,000 annually.
INTERIM LEADERSHIP means stepping into a company full-time for a defined sprint, typically 3 to 8 months, to stabilize the organization, lead through transition, or fill a critical executive gap. Same intensity as a permanent role. Focused mission. Defined endpoint. The global interim leadership market is projected to reach $12 billion by 2027, with compensation for a single engagement ranging from $130,000 to $700,000.
Both models carry real advantages. And both come with real challenges. In this episode, we cover both sides honestly, so you know exactly what you are stepping into before you commit.
Your experience navigating recessions, rebuilding teams, and leading through crisis? That is not baggage. That is the product.
Stay connected with us:
Website: https://www.ageismsurvivalguide.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ageism-survival-guide
Recommended
Transcript
Escaping Traditional Work Structures
00:00:01
Speaker
You know, I was thinking about something today. What if you could keep doing the work that that you're brilliant at? the The work that you spend 25, 30 years mastering, but without the politics and without the without the burnout and without selling your soul to one organization forever like you did before.
00:00:29
Speaker
What if companies still needed your leadership, your judgment, your your crisis experience, your ability to to steady a team, but but they didn't need you for 40 or 50 or 60 hours per week?
Introduction to Fractional Leadership
00:00:49
Speaker
Because that world exists and is growing faster than almost any other segment of the talent market. It's the world of fractional leadership and interim leadership.
00:01:04
Speaker
We're talking two different models. We're talking two different levels of intensity and however one share truth. They're built for experienced professionals like you.
00:01:16
Speaker
People exactly like you. If you watched the last episode on consulting, then you saw how project-based um expertise can become a pretty powerful income stream for you.
00:01:34
Speaker
And because I try to speak to and cover the entire spectrum of of job levels, today we're going to climb up the ladder a little bit and talk about executive roles.
00:01:47
Speaker
We'll shift from merely solving problems to actually leading entire organizations. Not full time, not forever, but exactly when they need you, when they need your talent.
00:02:05
Speaker
So let's get into it. But first, if you're watching this episode today and you like it and it it strikes you somehow, please hit like, hit subscribe, share it with a
Resources for Navigating Ageism
00:02:16
Speaker
friend.
00:02:16
Speaker
And also be sure to visit ageismsurvivalguide.com and see all of the different types of resources that are available for you there. All right, let's get on with this.
Defining Fractional vs Interim Roles
00:02:33
Speaker
Fractional and interim leadership, they they sit on the same spectrum basically, but but they're not the same. First, there's fractional leadership.
00:02:45
Speaker
You serve as ah as a part-time executive, maybe for one, two or three different organizations. You have maybe 10 to 15 hours for each of those companies. And we're talking about strategic leadership, high impact and high autonomy.
00:03:03
Speaker
And then there's interim leadership. You step into a company on a full-time basis, but for a defined period of time.
00:03:17
Speaker
This can be three to eight months, could be a year. It really depends on the situation. You're an executive, you run a team and you steady a ship.
00:03:29
Speaker
So stepping back, fractional leadership, it equals part-time and ongoing. Interim is full-time, but temporary.
00:03:41
Speaker
Now, let's get into the details of both. Let's start high level first. Let's talk some data.
Market Value of Fractional Leadership
00:03:48
Speaker
<unk> I like numbers. The global fractional executive market, it's valued at around 5.7 billion US dollars right now.
00:03:56
Speaker
And it's growing. The number of fractional professionals has has been exploding. It's doubled in the last year from about 60,000 to 120,000 people.
00:04:08
Speaker
And if you look at LinkedIn profiles listing fractional, they grew from 2000 to over 110,000. That's about a 5,400% increase. that's about a five thousand four hundred percent increase It's huge.
00:04:21
Speaker
Then looking at interim leadership, this one is is growing as well. So this one is projected to reach around 12 billion US dollars globally by next year, 2027.
00:04:34
Speaker
Compensation ranges from 130,000 to 700,000 for a single role on an annual basis. Of course, the 700,000 is at the far upper end of the spectrum.
00:04:46
Speaker
These aren't side gigs, they're not fallback plans, right? These are full fledged career models that that are designed specifically for experienced professionals.
00:05:03
Speaker
So let's walk through the the roles that we're talking about here that that companies are are hiring for right now. There's fractional CFO, financial leadership, but without the permanent high price tag.
00:05:19
Speaker
There's fractional COO, where you have operational excellence for companies that are either scaling or perhaps restructuring. Then you have fractional CHRO or CPO who are rebuilding cultures, they're developing talent strategy, or maybe even still working on post-pandemic workplace dynamics.
00:05:41
Speaker
Then there are fractional CMOs. These are people who focus on brand and and and demand generation. they They might be the first marketing person that a startup company has in its early phases.
00:05:57
Speaker
Then you might have CIO or CTO roles that are fractional. And here, it could be digital transformation, something being done by someone who has gone through this all before, you.
00:06:12
Speaker
And now let's talk a little bit about the interim roles. that The titles might be very much the same. But they're a little bit a little bit different. The interim roles, they place you inside of an organization on ah on a really fixed basis. you're You're acting as the CFO, the COO, the CHRO, even perhaps the CEO for a defined period of time.
00:06:35
Speaker
You walk in with authority, you stabilize the organization, you lead through a transition, you you deliver outcomes without the kind of long-term entanglements that you might have in a permanent long-term role.
00:06:49
Speaker
These interim roles, they they have the the same type of full-time intensity, but for a limited duration of time, like a heavy sprint.
00:07:03
Speaker
Which of these roles describes the the career that that you've already had? Because these are what companies are hiring for now.
Financial Independence in Fractional Roles
00:07:15
Speaker
Now let's talk a little bit about why these models work for people over 50.
00:07:21
Speaker
Advantage number one. The income is is real. Fractional professionals, they can earn between $5,000 to $8,000 per month per client. And if you have two or three clients, you can you can generate revenue of $120,000 to even close to $300,000 per year.
00:07:39
Speaker
And then we look at at interim roles. Again, these are these are full-time roles, but for only a partial period of time. And these can have ah an annual level salary of 120,000 to 700,000 per year, assuming that you're even there for one year.
00:07:58
Speaker
And the 700,000 again is at the very upper end of the spectrum. Let's talk about advantage two, autonomy. Fractional work, it gives you control of of your calendar And interim management, it gives you control of the mission.
00:08:22
Speaker
Either way you go, you have more control of your life. Advantage number three is a diversified risk on your side. Look, traditional employment, you've put all of your eggs into one basket and we found out what happened with that, right? Well, fractional leadership, what you're doing is you have multiple baskets.
00:08:43
Speaker
Interim leadership, it's again, it's one basket, but the expectation is anyway that this is not long-term. It's something that has a defined period that you'll be staying with that organization.
00:08:56
Speaker
Then there's advantage four. you stay sharp, really sharp, because you're working with multiple companies, with multiple challenges, even multiple industries. You stay current across a ah spectrum of different areas that probably you can't if you're working for a single employer.
00:09:19
Speaker
And we also have to, of course, be honest about the challenges.
Networking Challenges in Fractional Work
00:09:23
Speaker
Let's talk about challenge one, the pipeline.
00:09:27
Speaker
93% of the fractional roles out there, professionals find their clients through their network. But it means that you have to continue as usual to work on your network and continue to grow your network to tap into those different types of role opportunities.
00:09:48
Speaker
There's challenge number two, which is the the the price or the the revenue. Most of these new organizations that are looking for fractional leadership, they are pricing about 20 to 30% below the, let's say stable or mature industry levels. So that's something that you need to take into consideration and think about the value this brings as opposed to just the number of the salary on the bottom line.
00:10:17
Speaker
There's challenge number number three. It's the continuous transitioning. Look, fractional engagements, they can be one to two years, perhaps. Interim roles, they can be months, and they can also just end very abruptly.
00:10:35
Speaker
This constant transitioning, it doesn't allow you to really put down roots from a social perspective. And and you could feel a little bit of isolation, which I'll get to in just a second.
00:10:48
Speaker
Challenge number four, and here's where I come back to this, identity and isolation. Fractional work, again, it can feel isolating, because you're not necessarily working on site with the company, and you're constantly changing.
00:11:02
Speaker
The same goes with interim leadership. You have a defined period of time that you're there and then you're back out. It doesn't allow you to put any kind of social organizational roots into the organization. So you have to take care of your mental health by having some form of ah of a network or a community out there supporting you.
Valuing Experience in Leadership Roles
00:11:24
Speaker
Here's the truth. The job market, it often treats experience as a liability. I don't know why. But fractional and and interim leadership, they treat that same experience as a product.
00:11:43
Speaker
Let's be honest. A 35-year-old COO, they've never been through a a recession. They've never rebuilt a team after a mass exodus. They've never navigated through a failed merger.
00:11:56
Speaker
and and And they've never had to hold a team together during a leadership crisis. You have. And companies are increasingly willing to pay and bring in talent specifically to fix these limited time period issues.
00:12:18
Speaker
So that's fractional and interim leadership. Two different models, two different intensities, but they have one shared purpose.
00:12:29
Speaker
It gives companies the leadership that they need while giving you the autonomy that you deserve. So if consulting is about deploying your expertise project by project, then fractional and interim leadership is is more about stepping into the room as the overall leader that you are.
00:12:59
Speaker
You're not climbing the ladder, you're not waiting for for permission from someone, you're not fighting for a seat at the table. You've been specifically brought to the table, to the front row, to help a company solve its most critical problem of the moment.
00:13:18
Speaker
And then I want you to sit with this for just a moment. You're not past your prime, as you as you might be hearing out in the job market.
00:13:29
Speaker
You're at your peak prime right now. Your experience is not a liability, it's your asset. And these models that I've talked about are the clearest, strongest, and most financially stable way that you can leverage your asset to write your own next chapter.
00:13:50
Speaker
You've earned the right to design work the the the way that you want on your terms. And now you have two different alternative ways to do that fractional and interim leadership.
Career Planning Resources
00:14:09
Speaker
If this episode really struck you again, please hit like, subscribe and share it with someone who might need to hear it.
00:14:21
Speaker
And also be sure to visit ageismsurvivalguide.com. I've got a lot of resources that are available there. They're free at a free membership. I have a paid membership.
00:14:34
Speaker
And i also have the ability to schedule a meeting with me on the website where we can organize a meeting. We can talk about where you are today, where you want to be, and how to sketch out a plan on how to get you to your destination.
00:14:56
Speaker
As I always say, Youth runs fast, but age knows the terrain. I'll see you next time.