Mark C. Winters defines the integrator as the operational leader who executes company vision, removes obstacles, runs day-to-day activities, harmonizes the major business functions, and champions EOS processes (e.g., Level 10 meetings). He explains what fractional (part-time) integrators are, acknowledges they can provide useful support (especially versus none), but argues they struggle to fully accomplish the integrator seat—particularly building deep trust with a visionary, driving peak performance, or acting across multiple companies/roles. Winters recommends the goal always be to have a single, full-time integrator (or avoid one person holding multiple leadership seats), summarizing three points: fractional integrators must fully engage; fractional/multi-seat integrators limit leadership-team power; and the objective is to fill the integrator seat full time.
Chapters
An integrator is defined by the role they serve in an organization. Integrators execute the company vision and are the glue that holds the organization together. Plus they remove obstacles to help others do their best work. They have a gift for running the business's day to day activities and harmoniously orchestrating human energy from all three traditional major business functions. They also serve as the EOS champion for the business, making sure it's truly followed by all. Yes, integrators often lead the leadership team's weekly level 10 meetings and during discussions they will serve as the tiebreaker if needed. Integrators also must stay on the same page with their visionary. They vet all those grand ideas the visionary has, determining which ones are doable priorities and creating the actionable steps to actually make them happen. Now, we've talked about situations where a company needs to grow into a full time integrator for one reason or another. They're just not ready for a full time integrator yet. So they turn to a fractional or part time integrator to start. Fractional integrators aren't simply defined by hours, but also by their level of engagement. They may not be in the business full time, but they still have multiple important functions to perform. A fractional integrator is more than just someone who leads your weekly leadership team meetings or keeps the visionary's focus off chasing shiny stuff that doesn't align with the business goals, although those are both important parts of the role too. There's been a lot of discussion about whether a fractional integrator can do all this effectively on a part time basis, especially for more than one company. I'm going to say this straight up. It's not ideal, but it is possible. The level of detail and support an organization receives from a fractional integrator will be different from someone embedded full time in the business. This situation is especially true if the fractional integrator supports multiple organizations. This way. It's technically possible, but really hard, maybe temporarily. That's okay. The business is better off with some support than none. But it's hard for a fractional integrator to truly create rocket fuel with their visionary. If they provide a lighter version of these roles, the business may run a little more smoothly, but it still won't reach its full potential. It's also harder for the visionary and fractional integrator to build the trust that's necessary for the visionary to learn to let go of tasks or let go of responsibilities. And if they're still doing integrator tasks, they're not really living in their personal core focus. When the visionary does not or cannot delegate these tasks, they're not actually serving the greater good of the organization. When a company has a fractional integrator, the goal should always be to get them or someone in that integrator seat full time. One other thing I want to mention this is also true. If an integrator is fully embedded in the company but has to wear several leadership hats, they're essentially doing multiple jobs and it's hard to be fully invested in each role. Integrators sitting in multiple seats on the accountability chart will typically struggle to do all their seats well, and the integrator seat is often the one that suffers the most. To sum it up one, fractional integrators need to fully engage all the roles of the integrator seat. Number two, a fractional integrator or an integrator sitting in multiple accountability chart seats is not tapping the full power of the leadership team. And number three, the goal should be to get someone in that integrator seat full time.
