What is the difference between a fractional communications director and a consultant?

The simplest way to put it: a consultant tells you what to do. A fractional communications director helps you do it, and stays until it is done properly.

A consultant is typically brought in to solve a defined problem. They assess the situation, deliver a recommendation or a piece of work, and move on.

That model works well when the problem is clearly defined and the solution can be handed over cleanly.

But communications rarely works that way.

The challenges that matter most are not problems you solve once and file away.

You need someone to stick around if your goal is to build executive authority, manage an ongoing media crisis, establish a presence in a new market or shift how an organisation is perceived by its industry.

These challenges are ongoing and require someone who is genuinely embedded in the organisation to navigate them well.

A fractional communications director attends the leadership meetings where communications decisions get made.

They build and manage the media relationships that take months to develop.

They know the organisation's history, its sensitivities, its stakeholders, and its ambitions, because they have been part of the conversation, not parachuted in for a specific task.

They also push back. A good fractional communications director will tell you when a strategy is wrong, when a press release should not be sent, when an executive is not ready for an interview, or when an opportunity is not worth pursuing.

That kind of judgment only comes from someone with genuine skin in the game with accountability for outcomes rather than just deliverables.