For any business, succession planning is a challenge. According to research by Deloitte, although 86% of leaders believe leadership succession planning is an ‘urgent’ or ‘important’ priority, only 13% believe they do it well. For founders, the challenge is even more pronounced. Succession planning isn’t just a corporate exercise but a deeply personal journey that involves letting go of something they have built from the ground up.
With a strong emotional connection to the business, the idea of handing over control can feel to founders as if they’re losing a part of themselves. Paradoxically, handing the succession strategy over to a neutral but highly experienced third-party can be the best way of navigating it – which is one of the many reasons why any startup that’s scaling up should consider bringing in an experienced C-suite.
Many fast-growing companies have done this extremely successfully. In 2017, Gymshark founder Ben Francis stepped down as CEO and brought in an experienced C-suite team to manage the company’s rapid growth while he focused on brand development. The team’s expertise in operations, finance, and international expansion helped position Gymshark as one of the world’s leading fitness apparel brands. Francis returned as CEO in 2021 to lead the company in its next stage of growth.
Gymshark is a great example of why – and when – a founder should consider hiring a C-suite team. Francis was able to leverage the operational and financial expertise he needed to scale up rapidly without fully relinquishing control of his business. And, believe it or not, this is an option that is available to smaller startups in the form of fractional leadership.
Fractional executives offer founders a flexible and affordable way to bring in the real-world expertise, skills, and knowledge they need to grow the business, without the huge expense of investing in a full-time C-suite. Operating across various disciplines such as finance, marketing, people, and technology, they are top-calibre candidates who have left corporate roles to gain more flexibility and control over their lives. Working with a portfolio of growing entrepreneurial businesses or larger organisations on a part-time basis, they have the flexibility to adjust to meet the needs of the business, working to the founder’s schedule and goals, with clear priorities and outcomes agreed upon.
It’s often the case that entrepreneurial organisations lack an incumbent leader in a specific function, such as a CFO. Fractional leadership can fill this gap affordably and provide on-the-job training and mentoring to the next level down. They can also help recruit the right talent to develop.
As far as succession strategy is concerned, these seasoned veterans have ‘been there, done that, and got the T-shirt’ many times over. They can support founders to adapt and make way for new leaders – which can be a delicate path to navigate. What’s also important, from a founder’s point of view, is that fractional leaders are non-threatening. They have chosen portfolio work deliberately and are not seeking full-time employment with one organisation. This means they are not competition for the individuals they are mentoring or the business leaders they are supporting. Their sole focus is to enable the individuals to perform to the very best of their potential.
For founders, utilising experienced fractional leaders makes sense on many levels. When it comes to the tricky issue of succession, it could change the game forever, ensuring a smoother transition and a lasting legacy.
