Contingent Leadership = Fuel for Agility

Many of us were not in the workforce when Apple ousted Steve Jobs. The year was 1985. Despite Apple’s innovation and growing market share under the leadership of Jobs, the board pushed the cofounder out of his CEO role due to his “aggressive management style.” Fast forward to 1996. In hopes of rekindling its creative fire, Apple bought Jobs’s second startup “NeXt.” What did the board really want? Jobs as an advisor? A mature interim leader? Within months of his return to Apple, Jobs moved from advisor to Interim CEO. You know the rest of the story.

Contingent leadership is an umbrella concept that drives benefits of non-permanent flexible workers such as fractional, interim or contract hires. We’ll look at these through the lens of leadership. As the name implies, fractional leadership allows businesses to hire executives for a “fraction” of a full-time employee’s time. Fractional hires often work for multiple companies simultaneously. A fractional financial officer, for example, might manage an audit at one business while crafting a budget for another. When done well, fractional work gives execs – usually seasoned ones – the opportunity to share their leadership acumen and generate income while working a flexible schedule that optimizes opportunities outside of a single organization. What do businesses get out of the arrangement? Deep expertise that will not break the bank. When a company pursues the fractional leadership path, often in C-Suite positions, critical gaps in the leadership structure are filled, giving the organization time to grow and/or craft and execute a long-term strategy. Fractional hires bridge leadership gaps, typically, for start-up organizations and those that are scaling.

While I’m a fan of fractional leadership, it’s never been a path I’ve personally pursued for myself, but I have recommended it to many start-up CEOs I’ve coached. Where I have spent a significant amount of my time is around contract or outsourced hires. After all, I have made a career in professional services, creating value through selling and delivering such individuals or teams ;-). Contract leadership is project-specific or time-bound and is prolific in the tech sector, whether to assist in developing a strategy, implementing new technology or managing the change associated with such. With the proliferation of AI in all environments, there is significant growth in those exploring contract leadership hiring. Back in December, Matthew Mottola of the Human Cloud Podcast commented that companies “don’t know where to look” to find leadership-level AI talent.1 He’s right. As I’ve noted in earlier pieces, many of us at the leadership level didn’t arrive at the C-suite with a robust AI skillset, hence our need to upskill through micro and macro learning. Given the rapid emergence of AI and, therefore, a smaller pool of AI leaders is shallow, particularly given the heightened demand. Contract leadership can fill the gaps around tech strategy and projects while companies recruit permanent hires and upskill existing team members. Mottola adds, “They can identify problem areas that are ideal for AI, create roadmaps, go to market and workback plans to go from ideation to product market fit.”2 I’ll add innovation to the plus column. Arriving at these companies with experience in many organizations and diverse projects like their fractional counterparts, contract leaders bring an outside perspective to the work they do, which is jet fuel for innovation. I’m confident that many organizations will thrive when a given license to hire contract workers. My AI strategist could help your business. Your marketing leader could help mine. Win, win.

The Rub of Contingent Leadership

While contingent leadership has value in all organizations, there are important considerations as you make the hires. Ideally (but in not all cases), your fractional and contract employees should align with your organizational culture. Remember, the Apple board fired Jobs for a decade because of “fit” not aptitude. A contingent leader may arrive with a phenomenal CV and a history of innovation in their portfolio, but will they mesh with your team? Here’s where your leadership is essential. Vet the “fit” of the hire; don’t just laud their credentials. Offer peer interviews and invite feedback. A brilliant jackass is still a jackass.

In the same way, ask yourself if your contingent hire will follow your vision. A contingent leader who arrives with an agenda that doesn’t align with yours will not drive your goals forward. Contingent leaders will function best with appropriate enablement and when they are successfully integrated with the existing team. Even on short-term projects and initiatives, integration and change management is necessary. Once you’ve made the hire, do all you can to facilitate a strong connection between the expert you bring in and the people who are already in place.

I am not a status-quo kind of person. I like change, and I like challenge, I love transformation. Continuity of team would be great, but to be clear, the transitions we experience in the business environment – especially given the proliferation of AI – highlight the agility and expertise needed in our organizations right now. Contingent leaders, especially those equipped to guide us through the dynamic tech landscape, offer us a real-time pathway toward innovation. Don’t be afraid to make contingent hires.

Maybe your next contingent hire is your Steve Jobs (the one rehired after he matured a bit 😉 ).