Overview
You have a product team, but something isn't working. Maybe your last Head of Product left and the team is drifting. Maybe you're scaling from 2 PMs to 8 and the operating model hasn't kept up. Maybe leadership and delivery are talking past each other.
I step in as your interim Head of Product to fix the operating model, coach your team, and create the conditions for your permanent hire to succeed.
Who this is for
This is the right engagement when you have:
- An existing product team (3+ PMs) that needs leadership, not just direction
- A VP/Head of Product departure and a 3-6 month hiring gap to fill
- Scaling challenges: the team that worked at 5 people doesn't work at 20
- Executive-to-delivery misalignment that's slowing the whole org
If you're an early-stage startup with no product team yet, Fractional Product Leadership is a better starting point.
What you get
Organizational diagnosis. In week one I interview stakeholders across engineering, design, sales, and leadership. I map decision flows, identify bottlenecks, and deliver a written assessment with specific recommendations.
Operating model. I build (or rebuild) the rituals your product org needs: roadmap cadence, sprint ceremonies, cross-functional syncs, and escalation paths. These aren't templates. They're calibrated to your team's size, maturity, and culture.
PM coaching. I work directly with your product managers on prioritization, stakeholder management, discovery practices, and delivery planning. I've coached 150+ PMs across 30+ organizations.
Executive alignment. I translate between the board room and the delivery floor. I run roadmap reviews, manage stakeholder expectations, and make sure leadership has the right level of detail at the right frequency.
Transition planning. Before I leave, you get a hiring brief for your permanent Head of Product, a documented operating model, and a 90-day plan for your new hire's first quarter.
Typical engagement
- Duration: 3-6 months
- Commitment: 20-30 hours per week
- Format: Embedded with your leadership team (remote, with on-site for key moments)
Frequently asked questions
Impact in practice
Measured outcomes from engagements like this one
Delivery Leadership, Kaiser Permanente
One portfolio cut 12 weeks of delivery cycle time, traced directly to blockers value stream mapping surfaced. Coached 70+ teams across 9 portfolios. Aligned 300+ product org members on roadmaps, roles, and rituals. Rated 'Excellent' by leadership and called 'a visionary and a person of action.'
The Home Depot - Vendor Support Team
Support tickets cut by 30%. Vendor onboarding time reduced by 45%. Internal teams aligned around consistent, scalable vendor workflows for the first time.
Related work
Case studies from engagements like this one
Delivery Leadership, Kaiser Permanente
Delivery Transformation: Reduced Cycle Times
One portfolio cut 12 weeks of delivery cycle time, traced directly to blockers value stream mapping surfaced. Coached 70+ teams across 9 portfolios. Aligned 300+ product org members on roadmaps, roles, and rituals. Rated 'Excellent' by leadership and called 'a visionary and a person of action.'
The Home Depot - Vendor Support Team
Centralized B2B Vendor Portal for Home Depot
Support tickets cut by 30%. Vendor onboarding time reduced by 45%. Internal teams aligned around consistent, scalable vendor workflows for the first time.
What clients say
RichExecutive Director, Delivery, Kaiser Permanente“Kate has amazing ideas, is very creative, and highly productive. She brings a lot of great energy, thinking, and leadership to our Delivery practice and is helping me establish and run an effective system for continuous improvement and upleveling our Delivery practices.”
PeteProduct Portfolio Director, Kaiser Permanente“THANK YOU Kate! You've been a great partner: You challenged me in ways I needed to expand my thinking, you're overflowing with good ideas, and your enthusiasm kept us going. I appreciate how you take notes to visualize ideas and keep work moving forward. Your energy is contagious and makes it a joy to work with you. Let's keep collaborating to curve the organization closer to the crystal-clear product model vision you convey.”
JenProduct Management Leader, Kaiser Permanente“Thank you for being so creative, proactive, and thoughtful about how we get results every day. You're crushing it in the "get *^%# done" department! Admiration props and gratitude. Thank you for diving into work with such energy and drive - you're developing a reputation as someone who can execute within moments of being thrown into complex situations, and it's incredible to see.”
From the playbook
Practices I use with teams during this type of engagement
Try it yourself
Free tools related to this service
Related writing
Posts that go deeper on this topic
The Bottleneck Is Bureaucracy, Not the Work
Most product teams are not slow because the work is hard. They are slow because the system around them is designed for control, not delivery. AI just made that gap visible.
The Team Is the Product
Every dysfunctional product I have ever seen was built by a dysfunctional team. The software is a mirror. If you want to change what ships, change how the team works.
How Much Does a Fractional Product Manager Cost?
Fractional product managers typically cost $150-350 per hour or $5,000-20,000 per month. But the real question is not what it costs - it is what it costs you to not have one.
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Interested in fractional head of product?
Let's talk about what you need and how I can help.
Get in touch