Choosing the right leadership approach for the moment your organization is in.
At 57th Street Partners, we spend a lot of time talking with leaders about one question: what kind of leadership does the business actually need right now?
In today’s market, leadership decisions feel heavier than they did just a few years ago. Hiring has slowed, internal promotions are down, and many organizations are realizing they need experienced leadership sooner than their hiring timelines allow.
That’s why more executives are asking a new question. And it’s one we’re hearing in conversations with leaders almost every week:
Should we hire permanently, or bring in leadership fractionally for now?
The answer depends less on preference and more on what your organization truly needs in this moment.
What to Know Up Front
• Hiring has slowed, but leadership demand hasn’t
• Internal mobility is down, making leadership gaps harder to solve
• Flexible leadership models like fractional executives are quickly becoming mainstream
Why This Conversation Is Everywhere Right Now
If you’ve been following the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, or the Philadelphia Inquirer in recent months, you’ve likely seen the same story play out: hiring is more cautious, headcount growth is measured, and companies are being far more selective about leadership decisions.
But inside organizations, the pressure hasn’t gone away. The work still needs to move forward, the strategy still needs direction, and someone still needs to own the decisions.
What has changed is how leaders are choosing to fill those gaps.
According to the 2025 Workday Global Workforce Report, job openings continue to grow in many industries, but internal promotions have declined across nearly every sector. When organizations can’t move people internally and are hesitant to over hire externally, leadership gaps tend to linger longer than they should.
And that’s when momentum can start to stall.
The Real Question Leaders Are Asking
The question today isn’t: “Should we hire an executive?”
It’s: “What kind of leadership do we actually need right now, and for how long?”
Executive search and fractional leadership are often positioned as opposing options. In reality, they’re simply different tools. And like any good tool, their value depends on timing, context, and clarity.
Where organizations sometimes get stuck is when they default to one model simply because that’s how they’ve always done it. The strongest leaders take a step back first and diagnose what the business actually needs. So let’s dive in and look at each tool:
When a Retained Executive Search Is the Right Move
Retained executive search works best when the role is meant to shape the future, not just stabilize the present.
This model tends to make the most sense when:
• The mandate is long term and clearly defined
• Cultural leadership matters just as much as execution
• The organization is ready to fully integrate a senior leader
It’s also important to acknowledge the reality of timing. A thoughtful, collaborative, retained executive search typically takes 12–16 weeks to complete.
When the business has the runway for that process, the results can be incredibly powerful.
Permanent executives bring continuity, institutional knowledge, and long-term leadership. They become culture carriers and decision-makers who help shape the organization over time. When the mandate is clear and the horizon is long, this model delivers real compounding value.
When organizations get this right, the impact goes far beyond filling a role. It shapes how a company grows, makes decisions, and builds culture for years.
When Fractional Leadership Makes More Sense
Fractional executive leadership has gained traction for a simple reason: it aligns leadership structure to uncertainty.
With internal mobility slowing and promotion pipelines tightening, many organizations are finding themselves short on specific capabilities. Fractional leaders can step in with experience, clarity, and speed without forcing a permanent decision too early.
And importantly, they’re not just advising from the sidelines. Fractional executives step in, own decisions, and move the work forward.
In fact, Gartner forecasts that by 2027 more than 30% of midsize enterprises will have at least one fractional executive on retainer. Leaders are increasingly choosing this model because it allows them to bring in experienced leadership quickly without long hiring cycles or long-term risk.
Fractional leadership tends to work best when:
• A capability gap is slowing momentum
• The scope of the work is clear, but the long-term structure isn’t yet
• The organization needs experienced leadership now, not six months from now
Fractional executives also bring something incredibly valuable: pattern recognition. They’ve often solved the same challenge before and can step in quickly without the typical onboarding ramp.
For many organizations, that’s not a compromise. It’s a strategic advantage.
The Most Overlooked Insight
This isn’t really an either-or decision.
Strong leadership teams use retained executive search and fractional leadership intentionally, depending on what the business needs at that moment.
The smartest question to ask is a simple one: What decision is currently unowned?
Leadership gaps rarely look dramatic at first. They show up as slower decisions, heavier teams, and stalled momentum. Once you identify where ownership is missing, the right leadership model usually becomes clear. And that’s when leadership decisions start to feel a lot lighter.
Want to discuss your executive search or fractional leadership needs? Scroll down to start a conversation with our team.