Member Perspective: Volker Balleuder on his experience as a fractional director

This post was written by Volker Ballueder, Fractional GTM Consultant and member of Fractional on Demand. It reflects his own experience and perspective as a fractional director.

I sometimes joke that I didn't choose fractional work, fractional work chose me. Or more accurately, seven redundancies nudged me firmly in that direction. Yes, seven.

At some point, you stop calling it "bad luck" and start recognising a pattern. Markets shift, strategies change, leadership teams reshuffle, and suddenly you're out. This usually happened a year in, when typically American companies acquired us and put their own stamp on things. What those experiences gave me, though, was perspective. I saw how businesses operate under pressure, how decisions get made (or avoided), and how quickly certainty can disappear.

By 2019, I stepped into what we now call "fractional" work. Back then, it was just... 'sales consulting' and 'coaching'. Interim roles, advisory gigs, stepping into commercial and GTM challenges, often at short notice. No grand label, just practical contribution. I wasn't really building anything, I was just going with the flow. I mean 2020 was a hard slog, and I almost went back to a 'secure job'. But another thing I learned by working fractionally: You lose a job but you never lose 100% of your income as you do when you are in full-time, 'secure' employment. That's a huge point, as it makes fractional work more secure, doesn't it?

What I found was liberating. Instead of being tied to one organisation's agenda, I could apply my experience across multiple contexts. I could focus on impact rather than politics. And, perhaps most importantly, I could choose. Over time, this evolved. Alongside fractional and interim work, including market entry consulting for German or international companies entering Germany, I built my coaching practice, initially as a complement, but now as my core focus. Today, my work spans coaching senior executives, delivering training on leadership in the age of AI or resilience and burn-out prevention, and advising on go-to-market strategies.

It's a portfolio career, though I still prefer the term fractional. It captures the essence better: being deeply involved, just not permanently attached. "Fractional Sales Consulting" always kind of said it all :-) What I've come to appreciate is that fractionality (is that a word?) is not about doing less, it's about being deliberate. It requires clarity on where you add value, discipline in managing your time and energy, and a willingness to let go of the illusion of stability that a single role can provide.

And yet, there's something incredibly energising about it. I still love the flexibility. The variety. The ability to move between coaching a senior executive in the morning, running a resilience workshop in the afternoon, and shaping a GTM strategy the next day.

Would I go back to a single, full-time role? Never say never. But for now, this way of working feels aligned: With how I think, how I contribute, and how I want to live.

Seven redundancies might not have been part of the plan. But in hindsight, they were probably the best preparation I could have had.

Volker Ballueder is a member of Fractional on Demand. You can find out more about him at https://www.fractionalondemand.com/members/volk.