Signal · 2026
When Positioning Becomes Reactive
Positioning is either deliberate or inherited. In the fractional market, a growing number of consultants operate with positioning that reflects accumulated opportunity rather than intentional design. The result is market presence without market authority.
The pattern
Reactive positioning emerges when consultants accept engagements based on availability rather than alignment. Each engagement slightly adjusts how the market perceives them. Over time, the consultant's position reflects what they have done rather than what they are designed to deliver.
The pattern is self-reinforcing. Reactive positioning attracts reactive work. The consultant becomes known for availability rather than capability. Pricing compresses to match.
Consultants in this pattern often describe themselves through past engagements rather than future intent. Their introductions are backward-looking. Their positioning is descriptive rather than declarative.
The market interprets this pattern accurately. Consultants with reactive positioning are treated as interchangeable. Selection becomes a function of timing and price rather than capability and fit.
What this reinforces
Positioning is not a description of what you have done. It is a declaration of what you are designed to deliver.
When positioning becomes reactive, the consultant cedes control of their market presence to accumulated circumstance.
The pattern reinforces the necessity of intent. Without deliberate positioning, market perception defaults to the lowest common denominator of past work.
Professionals operating without structure will feel this first.