The Art of Restraint: Getting Things Done as a Fractional Exec Without Fixing Everything

One of the trickiest parts of working as a fractional executive isn’t the high pace or juggling multiple clients. It’s knowing when not to fix something.

Let me explain.

When you step into an interim leadership role—say, as a temporary Chief Growth Officer—you’re often brought in to keep the engine running, stabilize key functions, and make sure the transition to a future full-timer is smooth. You’re not there to rip everything apart and rebuild it from scratch.

But here’s the challenge: it’s hard not to.

You see the inefficiencies. The broken tools. The duplicated work. One team uses HubSpot, another uses Pipedrive. Someone’s still managing campaigns in Trello while their neighbor swears by Asana. There are Slack channels no one checks, email threads that should’ve been a ticket, and dashboards that show five different versions of the truth.

You want to clean it up. Streamline. Unify. Solve the mess.

But that’s not always the job.

Focus on What You Were Hired to Deliver

When I’m working in a company for three to four months, my priorities are clear:

– Keep momentum.

– Generate results.

– Build a handover-ready system for the next person.

That might mean closing open sales loops, fixing underperforming lead flows, or ensuring that high-priority initiatives don’t get lost. It always includes documenting what’s working, what’s broken, and what still needs a decision.

But trying to overhaul tooling and workflows during a short-term engagement? That’s a trap. It distracts from outcomes. It burns political capital. Worst of all, it can confuse the team and reduce the impact of the person who comes after me.

Document > Fix

Instead of fixing, I document.

When I see structural issues—duplicate systems, unclear processes, conflicting goals—I write them down. Not just for myself, but for the next leader.

I make it easy for them to pick up where I left off. I give context, flag inconsistencies, and share the observations that will help them get started faster. I put these notes into onboarding materials, or better yet, into a simple internal handover doc that outlines what I’d do if I were staying longer.

Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is not take action—but make sure the right action can happen later.

The Discipline of Letting Go

It’s counterintuitive, especially if you’re a builder at heart. But this kind of restraint is what makes a great fractional executive effective. We’re not measured by how many fires we put out—we’re measured by whether the machine still runs when we leave.

You don’t have to fix every broken system.

You don’t have to unify every tool stack.

You just have to deliver on your mandate—and leave things better prepared for what comes next.

Curious how this kind of approach could work for your company?

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or book a short intro call here.

– Remco