Snow falls on the consulting landscape…
Samuel wakes at his usual six AM and looks outside as he starts the coffee brewing.
SNOW!
It is a rare thing in Austin, Texas; although with climate change it is becoming more and more common. A few years back, this might have meant another day of lost productivity, but as his company fully embraces meaningful work with a focus on employee satisfaction first, they have a hybrid work model; his commute to his upstairs office will not be interrupted or delayed.
His mind wanders over the past few months and the merger with his number two competitor.
Samuel is the CEO of a technology company in the IoT (Internet of Things) space; a company that he co-founded just two years ago. He knew that this was likely his last company and he was so very happy that he had decided to leave the grind of the corporate world to build something that was truly his own.
This merger while bringing in many new customers has also brought on many challenges; especially in leadership. He needs some help and he knows it. His COO and right hand Janet announced well before the merger that she would stay until it was complete, but then her and her wife would be moving abroad and she was going into retirement as a consultant or coach or something. Honestly these days, Sam was not sure what the different terms all meant.
Executive Coach
Trusted Advisor
Business Operations Consultant
Interim Executive
Fractional Executive
When he was a young executive, there were employees and consultants - that’s it. But that was 30 years ago and things had changed at an increasing rate. He was coming to grips that he needed to learn more about this and soon. He knew he needed a “consultant” but what kind.
He was going to lean on Janet one more time before she left and that meeting would happen today. This kind of day to day thing had been correctly abdicated to his outgoing COO and he wanted to gain her insights before she departed at the end of the month. She was backfilling her departure with an “Interim” and he knew he needed more to fully grasp what the expectations of this person would be. He had certainly shown the chops to be the next COO in the interviews so why not “just hire them”?
Samuel settles into his office chair upstairs and initiates the video call.
“Hey Sam; you are looking tired, " says Janet as she joins the call. “What about all this snow?” says Janet.
“Well, you could always read me well my friend,I am feeling some stress. And, I hate the cold; it might be time to move farther south or something.”
“If I am honest, I am worried that I don’t know what I am going to do through the integration. The merger is done, now the work begins and I am feeling out of sorts; like I need help. It is the main reason for this call today. I need some of your operational wisdom. I can’t just “imagine my way” past this one.”
“I feel like I am all over the map now. Please know, I am not trying to get you to stay. We have always known this was your exit path and I am so thankful for the time we had together building this thing. But, I need you to help me be prepared. I need a…” He trails off. “Well, something.”
“That is topic one.”
“Help me understand the consultant landscape. I need to make sure I am asking the right questions and using the correct terms. You are one of the few people I can tell that I don’t know what I don’t know.”
“Take me through it; what is the real difference between coaches and consultants and fractionals and such. More importantly, I want to know what you think we need; what I need.”
“It’s all good Sam”, says Janet.”I am happy to walk you through it. I can share what I am doing and how it works and make some recommendations. There are a few folks I can introduce you to that can help once I understand what in your mind is the issue. Where are you spending your time thinking and how much clarity do you have in those areas.”
“But, let’s not jump to the end. Let’s start with your first question - what are all these different kinds of services being offered.”
“First and foremost; these are just terms. Some people, even the providers themselves, will have variations of these. It is a very gray area so do not be surprised if not everyone has the same set of definitions.”
“That little disclaimer out of the way, let’s go.”
Janet shares her whiteboard app screen and starts to type; reading aloud as she does.
“Consultant”
“This is a hands-on role that will deliver a specific and pre-agreed deliverable. This is about output over outcome. The outcome is still on the team with the consultant providing expertise to fill gaps the team could lack or the outside perspective sometimes missing. The CTO hired several consultants as we added medical devices for example. This role typically engages for a specified length of time and bills based on a project by project basis.”
“Advisor”
“This is a lesser hands on role; I would say involved, but not active. Advisors are primarily used as THE expert for specific projects in a specific industry. Our CFO had one during M&A because we needed an expert in merging with a non-US company. This role typically engages as needed and bills on an hourly basis. It is also common to have a retainer base.”
“Interim Executive”
“This role is a full-time role with all of the accountability of a permanent executive. The key difference here is that in this role, one holds this role as part of a transition until a permanent placement can be made. In some cases, the Interim Executive may become permanent. This role typically is a W2 base plus bonus/equity arrangement much as a standard Executive Employee Agreement.”
“Fractional Executive.”
“This role is a “part-time” role where the executive will commonly serve 2 or more companies at the same time. This role has all of the accountability of a permanent role. This role typically engages as needed throughout the month and bills using a retainer model.”
“Executive Coach.”
“This role is a part-time role and can engage with a single executive and/or an executive team. Coaches focus on the client and improvement of the coach rather than directly on the business. This role typically has a set cadence and schedule and bills monthly based on hours of engagement.”
“So, does this help you Sam?”
“Yes, it does, thank you Janet. I think we might need some combination of these kinds of roles. It also helps me understand your intention for the Intirim COO you are going to bring on.For the first time I think I get the appeal of a Fractional as well; that is a leveled up expansion play.. Hearing your definition makes this much clearer now.”
“That is good news Sam, and I did want to provide you with that update today as well. I have the Interim COO coming in on Monday to overlap with me until the end of the month. He is a super sharp “been there done that” COO and ready for his next challenge. He could very well become the permanent hire, but I want to give the team the chance to evaluate that without me here.” “The dynamics will change; especially if you decide to move to the board and replace yourself as CEO; yes, that is a hint” she says with a broad smile.
Sam reflects and says, "I think maybe I could use a coach. With all of this change lately…” he trails off.
:”What am I saying, this has been a full ride of constant change. I should have asked you this a long time ago. I really think I need a coach. If I am honest, I think you have been that for me all this time even though we never labeled it.”
“You know Sam, this is what I see as well. You need someone who asks the hard questions, not someone giving you answers. I do feel I have been that in part for you over the years.”
“In fact, it is my next career now. I am going to be an Executive Coach and help people the way I have been throughout my career while, as you say, not putting that label on it.”
“I am happy to continue being that for you; we have the trust established so it makes sense. That said, this is about you, not me. YOU need to find the best fit for where you are now.”
“Let’s follow up on that as I make my full exit at the end of the month. I am your biggest fan Sam; I want you to be the best you and more importantly the most fulfilled you that you can be.”
“Now go outside before all the snow melts and just enjoy it; let’s grab lunch at Black’s on Guadalupe right after I leave and dive in deeper on coaching. In the meantime, I will shoot you this cool assessment tool that will give us some insights on where you are right now and what you want to work on next. It’s called The MindScan™; you will love it.”
It’s a plan. Later my friend.” says Sam.
The two exit the call.
Sam hears the familiar ding of incoming mail and sees that Janet has sent the MindScan™, He opens the email and clicks the link.
“This looks like fun” he thinks as he starts the assessment...
This story is fiction but rooted in things all executives have experienced. All of us have blind spots and all coaches help with that. But what differentiates a good coach from a great coach is one who can help find the one that matters.
Is your team at an inflection point, on the edge of a growth curve, dealing with the changes of M&A? Some or all of the above?
I am Will Simpson Executive Coach and part time fiction author. If you are an executive dealing with a specific change; let's have a conversation. It all starts with how we think…