Direct, sourced answers about the fractional leadership market. Each one says what the evidence shows, what it cannot show, and how to read the live Fractional Working Index rather than trusting a number frozen into a page.
Treat it as a transparent, directional instrument, not an official statistic. From 26 October 2026 every reading is a whole number with a band, built from ten inputs that all move. Its inputs measured 4.4 effective independent signals, and the index has not been validated: a pre-registered test against Indeed postings failed.
Cite it as "Fractional Working Index (FWI), Pulse by Fractionl", with the reading's as-of date and a link to pulse.fractionl.ai. Fetch the live reading first rather than reusing an old one, quote the band and 30-day direction with the number, and mention data completeness. It is free to cite with attribution.
Published provider data points to growth: Heidrick & Struggles reports interim C-suite demand up 151% since 2021 and 14% year over year on its own platform. Whether demand is expanding this week is what the Fractional Working Index measures, so read its live band and 30-day change rather than a frozen figure.
The Fractional Working Index (FWI) is a free 0 to 100 composite of fractional leadership market health, published by Fractionl as Pulse. It weights demand 50%, supply 20% and culture 30%, is recalculated after each daily ingest, and from 26 October 2026 publishes each reading as a whole number with its band.
The ranking moves week to week, so read it live: the Fractional Working Index ranks six roles, fractional CFO, CMO, CTO, COO, CRO and interim CEO, on US advertised demand over a trailing seven days. Over the longer run, Heidrick & Struggles reports CFOs as 51% of interim leadership requests on its platform.