Fractional Speaker-In-Residence

The idea of a “fractional speaker” is a fairly new one (and perhaps a slight overstep of the intended meaning of “fractional”, but here we are). While it’s a new term, it’s designed to solve a very real problem: businesses need real solutions to real problems from real experts. Traditionally, there were two major solutions to this problem. You can either bring in a speaker for a staff event or training, or you can hire a long-term consultant. Speakers provide expertise with more buy-in, easily digestible ideas, a motivational boost, and a unified vision and vocabulary for the entire organization. Consultants provide more depth and detail, help with implementation over the long term, and increased familiarity with the business to troubleshoot as things move forward.

Speakers are out in front, building rapport with employees. Consultants are often behind the scenes, solving complex problems with leadership.

But what if you could do both?

That is the appeal of the fraction speaker-in-residence. A nice “middle ground best of both worlds”. A medium-term, reliable partner who understands your organization better than a one-off speaker and understands your people better than a behind the scenes consultant. In application this can take a few different forms, but it usually incorporates the following elements:

1. A subject matter expert. While some speakers are purely motivational or inspirational, most business keynote speakers have developed an expertise in a specific area. For example, I specialize in workplace culture issues like communication, conflict resolution, burnout, and turnover.

2. An “event”. The unique benefit of a fractional speaker-in-residence is being able to use the very specific skillset of connecting with and motivating a diverse audience. This event often serves as the public “launch” for the goals and changes the organization wants to make, and functions as the initial turning point.

3. Follow-through. The keynote gets them excited on Day 1, but the goal is to make sure the changes stick and have turned into habits on Day 61. Whether it is hands-on coaching with a select group of leaders, follow-up sessions with certain teams, or any number of other methods, the real focus of the speaker-in-residence is making sure lasting change happens.

Case Studies

Want to see some case studies of what this looks like in real life? Check out the following case studies of my work with with Meta and GE Vernova on solving long term communication and burnout problems.