What I step into
Founder dependence, unclear ownership, stretched leaders, and systems that have not kept pace with growth.
Fractional COO / Chief People Officer
Senior leadership in the seat, without the full-time hire.
When the business has outgrown the way it’s run, I step into your leadership team and own the operations and people side, so you can get back to leading. Embedded, accountable, and built to hand off once it runs without me.
Embedded executive leadership
An operator in the seat, not a deck on the shelf.
I don’t hand you a strategy and walk away. I get inside the business, steady operations, build up your leaders, and put the systems and structure in place to carry the next stage of growth. Then I hand it off.
What I build
Role clarity, operating cadence, accountability, people systems, decision rights, and leadership capacity.
What remains
A stronger leadership team and an operating system the business can carry without permanent dependence on me.
What I build on
The systems your business already runs on.
I work inside your stack and automate the bottlenecks, rather than forcing a rebuild.
The first 90 days
30 60 90
Diagnose
Listen, map, prioritize.
Stabilize
Clarify ownership and cadence.
Build
Strengthen leaders and systems.
If you run on EOS
I can sit in the Integrator seat.
- Vision turned into traction and accountability
- A leadership team on a clear operating rhythm
- The gap closed between the plan and the results
Across every engagement
Strategic Advisory
A first step, or an ongoing partner.
Not ready for someone in the seat? Start with advisory. A clear-eyed look at operations, a plan you can act on, and a partner to help you carry it out.
Strategy & operations
Strategic planning and an honest read on where operations are strong, and where they’re quietly costing you.
Change & culture
Change management that actually sticks, and the culture and communication work that makes it hold.
AI & smart systems
Practical AI and automation pointed at real bottlenecks, plus searchable SOPs, live dashboards, and the training to make them stick.
Who I work with
Different business. Same wall.
It’s never really about the industry. It’s a moment, when the business has outgrown the way it’s run and almost everything still routes through the person who built it. I go deepest in creative design, hospitality, construction, and professional services.
Professional services
Law firms, accounting practices, wealth management, advisory. The founder is the trusted advisor and the one who brings in the work, so the whole thing gets shaky the second they try to step back.
One founder I worked with was sitting in on every hire, partner all the way down to the front desk, because he didn’t trust anyone else with the brand. We built his leaders a playbook they could actually run with, and he let go. The business had gotten stuck on him instead of growing with him.
Construction & design/build
Construction, design-build, engineering. The founder is the expert everyone leans on, so growth just turns into chaos because every decision still runs through them.
A construction client kept getting stuck because site photos showed up unlabeled and out of order. We built simple intake forms and a system that sorts and orders the photos automatically, so the engineers could see site conditions at a glance.
Questions
Good questions, straight answers.
What does a fractional COO or Chief People Officer actually do?
I step into your leadership team part-time and own the operations and people side, the systems, structure, hiring, and day-to-day execution, so you can get back to leading. You get senior leadership without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
How do I know it’s time to bring someone in?
Usually it’s a feeling before it’s a number. Revenue’s growing but profit isn’t. Good people are leaving. You’re in every decision and every hire, and the business has outgrown the way it’s run. If that sounds familiar, it’s time.
How is this different from hiring a management consultant?
Consultants hand you a deck and leave. I get in the seat and do the work alongside your team, then hand it off once it runs without me. You get an operator, not a report.
What does an engagement look like, and how long?
We start with a discovery call. Most fractional engagements run six to twelve months or more, scoped to what the business actually needs. Coaching and strategic advisory can run alongside it or stand on their own.
What’s an EOS Integrator?
If your company runs on EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, the Integrator is the one who turns the visionary’s ideas into traction, accountability, and results across the team. I can step into that role.
What industries do you work with, and where are you based?
Most of them. I go deepest in creative design, hospitality, construction, and professional services, and I work remote-first from Greater Orlando, so I partner with clients anywhere.
Let’s talk
Ready to put someone in the seat?
Tell me where the business has you stuck. We’ll start with a discovery call, just a real conversation about what’s going on and whether I’m the right fit.
Connect
linkedin.com/in/tess-honan
Where
Based in Greater Orlando, working with clients anywhere