---
id: "prereq-senior-leadership-experience"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["¶2", "¶3"]
tags: ["career-capital", "expertise"]
related: ["concept-fractional-work"]
reason: "Fractional roles require plug-and-play senior competence; companies hire fractional workers specifically to access high-level expertise they cannot afford full-time."
sources: ["ecosystem"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-ecosystem"
originDay: 11
articleStem: "hbr-foci-63-fractional-work-questions"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/5-questions-leaders-should-ask-before-turning-to-fractional-work"
sourceTitle: "5 Questions Leaders Should Ask Before Turning to Fractional Work"
---
# Existing Senior Leadership Expertise

**Prerequisite:** significant **senior leadership experience** and **domain expertise** already in hand.

**Why it's required.** [[concept-fractional-work]] depends on companies paying for *high-level, plug-and-play competence* they cannot afford full-time. Without pre-existing **career capital**, there is nothing to sell fractionally — the whole model assumes you arrive already able to lead. The enrichment corroborates this: outside sources describe fractional professionals as seasoned veterans who are "plug-and-play" and deliver value quickly. This prerequisite is what separates high-end fractional leadership from lower-autonomy gig work.