From Redundancy to Fractional Leadership
TL;DR I packaged what I already do: stabilise chaos, build rhythms, and coach teams
Start before you're ready. Don't prepare, begin - Mel Robbins
The moment everything tilts
I started building the series before I had a perfect view of the horizon. It felt premature and also completely right - momentum reveals the map.
I had considered consulting and contracting one of my ‘back-up plans’, not my main goal. It wasn’t until a very personal revelation changed my perspective on this and made me believe that consulting could possibly be my main plan.
What’s at stake (for me)
My strengths show up in stabilising, structuring, and pacing. The offer needed to reflect that without promising transformation theatre. I love what I do, no matter where that is and I knew that I wanted to keep doing it, I started thinking about my options for the future and their viability.
The moment of decision
Part of the redundancy arrangement was a number of hours with a career transition coach who validated the consulting thought.
The ultimate moment of decision came when I revisited an old decommissioned website and saw the previous coaching series I’d created in there but had retired. My service offerings started to cement themselves.
What I did
Service Offerings
I set to work straight away, building out my service offerings - what am I great at, where have my tangible successes landed, what do I want to do (and, importantly, what don’t I want to do).
I radically adjusted my LinkedIn profile to present as a consultant. This included trimming some of the extra content that didn’t add the value it once did and a pragmatic review of top skills to align with my service offerings (which they did already but weren’t presenting that way to the public)
Network Building
I reached out to people in my network, not to ask for jobs but to shout them a coffee and get to know them and for them to get to know me. A resume or LinkedIn profile will never do me the same justice as I can do myself by just showing up.
Started a Campaign Calendar
11 years in a Marketing-as-a-Service agency and social media management for my own ventures taught me the values of planning your campaigns months ahead, leveraging the low-hanging fruit of public holidays, familiar celebration dates and so on. I gathered my themes and thought about what my strategy would be. Then I started to implement it.
What surprised me
Starting my processes early created options I couldn’t see from the sidelines.
Refactoring in public built trust faster than polished decks.
How much fun it can be (and time-consuming) learning new skills for marketing your services and your ‘voice’
Leader’s Lens: If you manage people through change
If you need interim calm, try a single stabilised period of time before asking for big commitments.
Ask for artefacts, not adjectives.
Diary excerpt (lightly edited, anonymised)
“The hustle to get things ready ahead of time to clear the way for the meaningful days of redundancy is starting to ease off. There is a decreasing amount of work to do and my thoughts are turning away from a future here towards my own future, one that’s bright and exciting.”
Try this (this week)
List three strengths and think about what service offering you might be able to turn them into.
Connect with your network, shout them a coffee
Checklist
□ Service offerings drafted
□ Coffee dates organised
□ Networking event tickets acquired
If your organisation is navigating change and you want calm, people‑first delivery without the drama, I can help.
This is based on my personal experience, anonymised to protect privacy. Nothing here is financial, legal, or medical advice - please seek professional guidance for your own situation.