What does it take to step into a void?

The rise of interim management reflects the highly competitive and increasing unpredictable environment that organisations face. Many organisations find themselves without the ability to develop the specific skills needed to keep pace with market developments, let alone anticipate and monetise them in a timely fashion. Recruiting the best senior executive for a role will always take time and resources and sometimes a business needs a faster, albeit provisional solution in order to bridge the gap. Interim management is typically used to either execute and deliver a specific organisational assignment or to plug a specialised skills gap that exists within the organisation, for example, following an impromptu exit by a senior executive. An interim solution can empower an organisation to break free of the time constraints that traditionally hinder their recruitment efforts and rapidly place a person with the specific skills and competence needed.

So, who are interim managers and what sets them apart? Outstanding interim managers choose their career path specifically because of the challenges and rewards that are in abundance. They possess a wealth of experience and mastery in often several core business areas for example leading through challenging periods within business, change management, or perhaps very specific technical and project delivery skills. They are capable of immersing themselves within an organisation’s operations and culture with confidence and little onboarding in order to become decisive catalysts for change. By definition, untainted by company politics, they are able to access and address situations from an unbiased perspective.

“An interim manager is available at short notice and will focus on providing significant results-based value within a specified timeframe.”

A great interim manager is swift and practical. They will have a strong track record of success and a ‘can-do’ attitude, they will get to the heart of the problem quickly. They are also by necessity flexible. They are available at short notice and will focus on providing significant results-based value within a specified timeframe. Their typical experience, skills and gravitas will allow them to hit the ground running.

Being able to deliver clearly and concisely to a range of stakeholders is paramount. This is especially important when it comes to pushing back and challenging attitudes and systems in particular. As an Interim Manager, you need to be able to handle a variety of scenarios, with resilience yet maintain a sense of human nature to really embed yourself into a business and gain respect from your team and wider business.

The best interim managers are agents for change. They have the ability to tap into everything they have ever learnt about business and for a short time bringing all of this to bear on a new assignment. Much of their job satisfaction comes from the knowledge that they have made a measurable difference to the business and succeeded against their performance indicators. They are bold, brave, and brilliant at what they do.

Alumni Interim management

We provide international presence, global reach and local networks delivering unique access to interim consultants whose experience adds value to your organisation from day one.

Our exclusive network of highly professional executive interim managers all excel in their field of expertise and they thrive on the no-nonsense delivery of commercial results. They are able to start within days, highly motivated, brilliant communicators and purely focussed on delivering measurable success. With over 30 years’ experience in the executive search business and having built our broad candidate pool, we are also able to access a wider network of potential candidates with niche expertise outside of the purely interim market. Always applying our tried and tested methods to help verify a match we help deliver immediate value to your organisation.

Do get in touch for a confidential discussion about how we have helped other companies and how an interim solution could work for your organisation.