From Overwhelmed to Aligned – How a Mid-Sized Tech CEO Used a Fractional Office of the CEO to Refocus Strategy
The Problem
The CEO of a rapidly growing mid-sized tech company found themselves drowning in competing priorities. With pressure from the board, aggressive revenue targets, and a restless executive team, the founder-CEO was stuck in reactive mode. Strategy meetings kept getting postponed, new initiatives were launched without alignment, and leadership offsites had become symbolic rather than impactful. Everyone was busy, but few were clear on what mattered most.
Why It Mattered
In founder-led companies at scale-up stage, a lack of strategic clarity doesn't just slow down momentum—it breeds internal friction, erodes trust, and leads to misaligned execution. Without a clear and realistic 12-month focus, even the most talented teams can get distracted or burned out chasing too many goals. The CEO didn't need a consultant—they needed bandwidth, a sparring partner, and a way to reassert leadership without adding more complexity.
What We Did
We stepped in as a fractional Office of the CEO for a 6-month engagement. The first priority was clarity—we worked with the CEO to define 3 strategic imperatives and map them to quarterly deliverables. We interviewed each executive to surface hidden friction and created an aligned decision calendar to avoid constant reactivity. We redesigned the leadership offsite to focus on hard decisions, not vague discussions. We also created simple tools for the CEO to monitor progress and reset team norms without heavy reporting.
The Results
Within one quarter, the leadership team had a shared focus, a clear decision rhythm, and a renewed sense of accountability. The CEO reported feeling 'mentally 40% lighter.' Time spent in strategic meetings was reduced by half, but the impact doubled. Two major initiatives that had been stalled were either reshaped or paused to free up execution bandwidth. The board noted a marked improvement in cohesion, clarity, and confidence in leadership.
If you're facing similar challenges with strategic alignment and leadership bandwidth, we'd be happy to discuss how our fractional Office of the CEO services could help your organization.