Five formats, five roles
The consultant
Works on a defined engagement: a diagnosis, a reorganisation, a sales strategy. Brings expertise and a deliverable. Strength: precision. Limit: when the engagement ends, they leave.
The executive coach
Works on you: your posture, how you decide, delegate, handle pressure. Doesn't give answers; helps you find yours. Doesn't structure the business.
The mentor
A more experienced business owner who shares what they've lived, often informally and unpaid. Valuable for perspective, less so for moving concrete topics forward.
The fractional COO or CFO
Takes charge of a function a few days a month: operations or finance. Runs things, doesn't just advise. Ideal when a function is missing, less so when direction is.
The right-hand
Supports the owner over time, across all leadership topics: helps decide, structures, moves things forward and holds the thread. See the right-hand guide.
Your need, the right format
| Your need | Best fit |
|---|---|
| A specific problem to solve, with a deliverable | Consultant |
| Step back on how you lead | Coach |
| The view of someone who's been there | Mentor |
| A missing function (operations, finance) | Fractional COO or CFO |
| Decide better and move everything forward, over time | Right-hand |
| Structure the business (strategy, roles, processes) | Right-hand or consultant, with a tool so the structure lasts |
These formats combine
An owner can have a mentor for perspective, a fractional CFO for the numbers and a right-hand for leadership overall. The trap is multiplying advisers with no common thread: everyone starts from scratch, and recommendations contradict each other.
The common thread. When the strategy, goals and decisions are written in one shared place, every adviser starts from the same base, and nothing gets lost between meetings.
Three questions to decide
- Do I have a specific problem or an overall need? Specific: consultant. Overall: right-hand.
- Is the blocker the business or me? You: coach. The business: right-hand or consultant.
- Am I missing a function or a perspective? A function: fractional COO or CFO. A perspective: right-hand or mentor.
For help specific to structuring, see getting help to structure your business. For the in-house option: hire or outsource.