Experienced leadership without a permanent appointment.
Sometimes a business needs someone who has actually done the job. A leadership gap, a period of growth or a difficult transformation can call for more than advice.
Explore a leadership engagementA real conversation with Dave. You don’t need a perfectly formed brief.
Advice is useful. Sometimes you need someone responsible for doing it.
There is no shortage of people willing to tell a business what it should do. There are times when what you need is someone who has been responsible for doing it, with budgets, people and performance attached.
You might be growing faster than your management structure can support, preparing for a transformation, entering a new market or dealing with a leadership gap. Another permanent executive appointment is not always the right answer.
A fractional or interim arrangement brings senior experience into the business at the level it needs. That could be a few days each month, a defined transformation project or a more involved interim appointment. We start with the responsibility, rather than a job title in search of a job.
“We’ve got a plan.”
Who has the time and authority to make it happen?
A transformation can stall even when the direction is sensible. I want to understand ownership, decisions, dependencies and the capacity of the people expected to deliver.
“We’re growing quickly.”
What is the growth asking your leaders to carry?
The management structure that got you here may now be stretched across new customers, more people and more complicated operations.
“We need a UK presence.”
What needs to be represented beyond the sales pitch?
For an international business, commercial leadership includes understanding the market, the proposition and the operation that sits behind the promise.
The right experience. The right amount of involvement.
Not every leadership problem needs a permanent appointment.
- A few days each month
- Fractional direction, governance and performance accountability alongside the existing business.
- A defined project
- Responsibility for a transformation that needs coordination, decisions and practical delivery.
- An interim appointment
- More involved support for a leadership gap, operational stabilisation or transition.
“The relationship style was very collaborative and there was always a good balance between listening to our views, offering an external perspective and challenging our thinking when needed.”
Customer operations is where I come from. Business leadership is what I bring.
Revenue, retention, profitability, employee engagement, technology investment and the reputation of the business do not stop at the contact centre door.
The responsibility can take a few different forms.
My career includes more than 20 years at senior executive level across customer operations, outsourcing, technology and commercial management. Here is where that experience can be useful:
Fractional customer operations leadership
Senior direction, governance and performance accountability without assuming the business needs a full-time executive appointment.
Interim executive support
Stepping into a leadership gap, stabilising an operation or supporting a transition while the business decides what it needs next.
Transformation leadership
Turning agreed plans into practical improvements, coordinating delivery and making the decisions that keep the work moving.
UK market representation and executive advisory
Supporting international businesses, particularly BPO providers, with market understanding, commercial leadership and constructive challenge alongside founders and leadership teams.
Agree the job before deciding how much of me you need.
Understand the responsibility
We discuss what the business needs, what is currently missing and what a useful contribution would look like. A leadership gap and a transformation project need different arrangements.
Set the boundaries
We agree responsibility, authority, time commitment, intended outcomes and the commercial arrangement. The role should strengthen the existing team rather than create confusion about who decides what.
Work alongside the business
I become involved at the agreed level, keep the work connected to the intended outcomes and review what involvement remains useful as the business changes.
Stronger leadership. A business that can keep moving.
The exact outputs depend on the role we agree. The purpose is to add useful responsibility and experience, not another layer of management.
- Clear responsibility and direction
- Know who is accountable for the agreed work and how decisions will be made.
- Practical delivery coordination
- Connect the plan to the people, dependencies and everyday decisions needed to carry it out.
- An executive perspective
- Consider customer operations alongside commercial performance, people and technology.
- A stronger existing team
- Give people the clarity, confidence and authority to act, with involvement reviewed as needs change.
Sometimes the best outcome is that you don’t need me anymore.
I am not interested in becoming another layer of management. Bringing in experienced leadership should make the business stronger, not more complicated.
Sometimes that means making difficult decisions. Sometimes it means giving an existing team the confidence and authority to act. And sometimes it means recognising that the business no longer needs me involved. That is a good outcome too.
I have worn a few different hats: inside major organisations, alongside technology providers, with outsourcing businesses and directly with leadership teams. The useful part is understanding what comes after the presentation, when everyone has to make things work.
A bit more about the person you’ll be working withDoes this sound like the right conversation?
- An important responsibility needs senior experience, but not necessarily a permanent appointment.
- A leadership gap or transition is affecting delivery.
- A transformation or market opportunity needs someone to take practical ownership.
Scope and commercial arrangements are agreed before paid work begins.
A few things you might want to know.
If there’s something else you’d like to know, ask me. You’ll be talking to Dave.
Ask Dave a questionWhat is the difference between fractional and interim leadership?
A fractional engagement provides an agreed level of senior involvement alongside the business over time. An interim appointment can be more involved and address a defined leadership gap or transition. The responsibility and commitment are agreed around the actual need.
How much time would you spend with us?
That depends on the work. It could be a few days each month, a defined project or a more involved interim appointment. We agree the responsibility and time commitment before beginning.
Is your experience limited to the contact centre?
Customer operations is my specialism, but executive responsibility includes revenue, retention, profitability, people, technology investment and the wider business. That broader perspective is part of the role.
Can you support an existing leadership team?
Yes. An engagement can provide direction, constructive challenge or delivery support alongside existing leaders. We agree the boundaries so it adds clarity rather than another layer of management.
Do you help international businesses enter the UK market?
UK market representation is one of the ways I can help, particularly for outsourcing providers. The starting point is understanding the business, its capabilities and the kind of commercial leadership it needs.
How long does an engagement last?
There is no single term that suits every business. We agree the work and review the level of involvement as the business progresses. Any ongoing arrangement should remain useful.
How are fees and responsibilities agreed?
We discuss the scope, intended outcomes, authority, time commitment and commercial arrangements before any paid work starts. The role is shaped around the business rather than a standard package.
A problem to solve? An opportunity to explore?
You don’t need a formal brief.
Tell me what’s on your mind.