3. Fractional Leadership

In this chapter, we explore the ten obstacles to high performance, resulting from fractional leadership practices and how leaders and their teams can transform these obstacles into results. Fractional leadership occurs when leaders do not create and lead with an open and holistic executive agenda. Playing with only a partial agenda at the executive level leads to low employee engagement, little willingness to challenge the status quo, and a lackluster strategy that does not create an intellectually clear and emotionally compelling story of their strategic future. Even executives are confused about what an executive agenda is. Some think it is the organization’s strategic plan. Others think that it is a series of events in the life of an executive. Still others think it is the actual agenda at an executive meeting. The executive agenda is not a plan. It is the collective output of your leadership team. The executive agenda is like a film of how relevant others perceive, experience and are influenced by the senior leadership team. Relevant others include stakeholders, shareholders, colleagues, peers, staff and customers. If you feel that parts of your organization do not show the ownership you expect of them, come back to the clarity, alignment and ownership of your executive agenda.