Welcome to the Year of the Snake, a symbol of transformation, strategy, and shedding what no longer serves you. It’s the perfect metaphor for what businesses need most in 2025: to evolve with intention and move with precision.

But transformation doesn’t happen all on its own. You need alignment. You need execution. You need a catalyst.

That’s why 2025 is also the Year of the Integrator. Integrator is a term for the COO, as defined by the Entrepreneurial Operating System, a framework aimed at helping business leaders run their organizations more effectively.

Visionaries can’t do it all

Founders are natural visionaries—big-picture thinkers, risk-takers, creators of momentum. But too often, that spark gets smothered under a mountain of day-to-day decisions, damage control, and missed deadlines. In a world moving faster than ever as AI disrupts everything and markets keep shifting, it’s not sustainable for the founder to be both dreamer and doer.

Every day I talk to founders who are exhausted, frustrated, and wondering why their company isn’t scaling as fast as their ideas. My answer? It’s not about working harder, it’s about having the right person in the seat next to you, acting as your thought partner, driving operational efficiencies, leading your leadership team and helping you achieve your vision.

The Integrator is the unsung hero of growth

The integrator is the ultimate force multiplier and catalyst in your company. The integrator can take the vision out of your head and build the structure to bring it to life. The integrator can align the leadership team, drive accountability, and protect your energy so you can focus on what only you can do, such as:

Dream, create and cast the vision.

Build strategic relationships that fuel growth.

Participate in peer groups like a mastermind focused on how you want to grow as a person, leader, and business owner.

Engage in cultivating and amplifying the company culture.

At Catalyst Integrators®, we have watched companies unlock exponential growth, not by adding more to their plate, but by adding the right leadership to the team. An integrator becomes the steady rhythm behind the visionary’s most intentional moves.

When is it time to add an Integrator?

If any of these situations sound familiar, then you’re ready to add an integrator to your team.

You’re stuck in the weeds—constantly pulled into details your team should handle.

Your big ideas fizzle because no one’s owning the execution.

You’re putting out fires more than forward-planning.

You haven’t had a real, unplugged vacation in years.

Your team is confused, disconnected, or overly dependent on you.

Here’s the truth: There’s nothing wrong with you or your team. Your leadership team is just missing a critical member.

An Integrator doesn’t need to be full time

If your company doesn’t need a full-time integrator, you’re not alone. That’s exactly why the fractional leadership model has exploded in recent years. Companies don’t always need another executive on payroll, and someone sitting in the integrator seat doesn’t always need to be full time. You need seasoned leadership that can plug in, level up systems, and lead strong without working 40-plus hours a week.

Fractional doesn’t mean temporary or transactional: It means experienced, strategic, and custom-fit to your stage of growth.

Think of it as hiring a snake charmer: You don’t need a full-time wrangler; you need someone who knows how to work with the coils of complexity and help your business shed what’s holding it back.

This is the year of the Integrator

2025 isn’t about chasing shiny tools or hustling harder. It’s about evolving. It’s about getting intentional. And it’s about surrounding yourself with the kind of leadership that helps your company grow without growing apart.

If you’ve been carrying the load all on your shoulders, this is your sign. The Year of the Snake is about transformation. Let this be the year you shed the overwhelm, step into your zone of genius, and finally get the support you—and your business—deserve.