Winning as a Fractional Leader

What if the most effective business strategy started with giving? What if a free 20-minute coaching session could become the single biggest growth engine for a consulting business? Kate Sargent, a career coach with more than 20 years in leadership, recruiting, and people operations, has built her career on those ideas. She coaches executives, supports underrepresented talent in VC and tech, runs recruiting services, and guides consultants and fractionals who want to build mission-driven work. Here’s a direct look at her approach, tools, and lessons.

Who Kate Sargent Is and What She Stands For

Kate brings deep experience from talent acquisition to VP-level people operations, with multiple exits and an IPO under her belt. She has coached over 1,000 clients, mostly through referrals, and partners with organizations focused on underrepresented talent. Her work centers on practical career growth and workplace navigation with a strong focus on generosity, connection, and authenticity.

"My deepest desire is to make the best connections out there, almost like a matchmaker, and find people that can build businesses together and help each other out."

The Generosity Flywheel: Give First, Create Value, Build Momentum

Kate’s business philosophy is built on what she calls the generosity flywheel. It is the idea that generosity is both morally good and strategically powerful. Give value intentionally, donate time, share knowledge, open doors, and that generosity tends to come back in unexpected and compounding ways.

• Give without expecting immediate reciprocation, but be intentional so you are not exploited.

• Free work can be a marketing engine if it demonstrates capability and creates word of mouth.

• Design your business so that a small, consistent percentage of your time (she suggests 10%) is dedicated to giving back.

Kate used this model to grow her consulting practice quickly. After launching, she offered free 20-minute LinkedIn profile coaching sessions. The result was immediate: 47 signups on day one, high conversion to paid relationships, two fractional roles, recruiting engagements, and eventually a community and training programs for other consultants.

How Her Free 20-Minute LinkedIn Profile Reviews Work

Her offering is simple but highly effective. Kate runs these on the phone so she can do back-to-back sessions and get straight to the work.

• She reviews your LinkedIn profile and gives direct feedback on your headline, about summary, and experience bullets.

• She uses a five-part segmentation for the about section to make it scannable and compelling.

• She asks where you want to target your career: pivot, reach, settle, lateral, or industry hop.

• By the end of 20 minutes, you walk away with about ten actionable items and a clear next step.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what it is, quickly. Don't be precious. Walk away with ten actionable items in 20 minutes."

These sessions are a clear example of the generosity flywheel in motion. They deliver high value with low friction and demonstrate capability that builds credibility and leads to bigger engagements.

LinkedIn: Stop the Salesy Noise, Start Adding Value

Kate’s view of LinkedIn is tactical and human. Instead of posting self-promotional content, she leads with useful insights and tangible help. Make your profile a clear signal of what you do and who you help. Most people assume others know what they know, but they do not.

Be clear and specific:

• Craft a three-part headline that goes beyond your title to communicate value.

• Make experience bullets outcome-oriented and easy to read.

• Teach something simple that others can use and let that become your marketing.

Using AI: The Second Pen Strategy

AI is a major efficiency tool in Kate’s work, especially for writing and iteration. Her approach is what she calls the second pen strategy, which starts with human input and uses AI to refine and scale.

• Write from the human first: draft the story, voice notes, or client notes.

• Use AI to generate versions, iterate quickly, and create templates at scale.

• Always apply a final human edit to preserve voice and authenticity.

"Write something real first and then ask AI to improve it. If you start with AI and rely on it completely, the result often won't sound like you."

Kate uses AI to create consistent resume drafts, accelerate iteration, and help executives describe AI competency in interviews. She is also developing executive AI training to help leaders explain how they will use AI to support teams and strategy without losing the human touch.

Leadership in an AI World: Human Connection Still Wins

Technology can make work faster and cleaner, but leaders who succeed are those who maintain human connection, clarity, and sound judgment. Kate works with purpose-driven organizations where people strategy is business strategy.

She cautions against two mistakes:

• Believing AI can replace core people skills. It cannot deliver empathy, trust, or long-term culture stewardship.

• Failing to explain why AI is being introduced. Communication matters. Leaders must show how AI benefits teams and frees them to focus on higher-value work.

The best leaders position technology as a supplement, not a replacement, and remain invested in their people.

Fractional Roles vs Consulting: Embedded and Invested

Terms matter. Kate explains the difference this way:

• Consultants are project-based. They plug in for specific deliverables, complete the scope, then move on.

• Fractional executives are embedded. They may manage functions or teams across multiple organizations, bring strategic continuity, and are invested in outcomes.

Two words define the fractional mindset: embedded and invested. Fractionals gain broad experience across industries and functions, learn faster, and build reusable frameworks. For many professionals, fractional work provides flexibility, variety, and a path to test new directions without leaving the security of contracted work.

Networking: Deposits, Withdrawals, and Asking for Help

Kate views relationships like a bank account. You make deposits by connecting and helping others. That generosity builds social capital. But you also need to make withdrawals, which means asking for help. That requires clear, simple requests and authenticity.

• Deposit consistently with introductions, knowledge, and time.

• When you need help, make a focused, concrete ask so others can respond easily.

• Bring people together instead of positioning interactions as self-serving.

On Imposter Syndrome and Defining Your Own Lane

One of the biggest challenges Kate faced was imposter syndrome. She was told to “stay in her lane,” but that lane felt too small. A turning point came when someone told her she was “a CEO in disguise.” She changed her LinkedIn to reflect who she truly believed she was.

"Get over your imposter syndrome. Try things. If you are truly good at something, don't let people tell you how to package it. Trust your gut."

Her advice for anyone feeling boxed in:

• Experiment with different approaches. Failure informs better success later.

• Ignore conventional niche advice when it conflicts with execution. Strategy without execution is empty.

• Follow your instincts to give generously and build relationships, but do it sustainably and with boundaries.

Practical Takeaways You Can Use Today

• Offer a high-value, low-friction free product such as a 20-minute coaching session, workshop, or profile review.

• Use AI as a second pen. Draft with a human touch, refine with AI, and edit for your authentic voice.

• Make LinkedIn less sales-oriented. Teach, show results, and signal clearly who you help.

• Explore fractional or consulting roles for variety and accelerated learning. Know whether you are embedded or a plugin.

• Build relationship equity through consistent deposits and clear asks.

• Trust your instincts, take action, and refuse to let others limit you. Action cures imposter syndrome.

Resources and Where to Find Kate

To connect or follow this approach, start on LinkedIn. For deeper involvement, visit Kate's website to learn more about her weekend workshops, consulting services, recruiting, and a consulting collective for purpose-driven freelancers and fractionals.

Generosity as strategy is not about giving your work away for free. It is about creating value, showing capability, and building a network that amplifies your impact. Pair that generosity with the smart use of AI and an intentional approach to fractional work, and you have a repeatable path for fulfillment and growth.

Be generous, be clear, trust your instincts, and invest where it matters. Those are the simple moves that lead to winning from within.

Watch this full episode from the Let's Go Win podcast on YouTube.