A director who unexpectedly drops out. A coordinator who leaves after years, or a recruitment procedure that is still going nowhere after four months. The organization is still running: people are doing their jobs, projects are moving forward, the agenda may be full. But something is missing; there is a hesitation about moving forward. Who decides this now? What do we tell that partner? What is the priority? That is the moment when they usually call me.
Habits keeps things going for a while. But not for long.
Imagine an organization that has been looking for a new business coordinator for some time. The procedures are underway, but these things take time. And in the meantime, operations need to continue; you want continuity. That is exactly what I am there for: to bridge the gap, stabilize things, and ensure that the new person can start from a position of clarity rather than chaos.
What I see time and again: in the first weeks after a leadership vacuum, little seems to be wrong. The team runs on habit, and habit is powerful. But in the meantime, the work piles up and the overview becomes blurred. A staffing question left unresolved. A subsidy file waiting for direction. External partners receiving inconsistent answers and starting to have doubts. And sometimes the board then steps into operations with the best of intentions. Because someone has to do it, after all. The result? Role confusion, tension, and a team that no longer knows where it stands.
The good thing about the coffee machine
People sometimes ask me what the difference is between interim management and a consultant who drops by from time to time. The answer is simple: in the morning, I start up alongside everyone else at the coffee machine. That may sound trivial, but it is essential. You sense what is going on. Who says what, how do people behave, what remains unsaid? You never pick that up if you only meet at fixed times with a fixed group. That closeness provides a completely different perspective and ultimately also a completely different mandate.
Every situation, every client also requires something different. That calls for the kind of tailor-made approach that does not fit the consultant model. Sometimes the need is clear. The business coordinator is not there, the procedures are under way, but it will still take a while. Then your job is simply to be present, make decisions that have been left pending, and be one clear point of contact externally. Little drama, a lot of continuity. So that the new person can soon start from clarity instead of chaos.
At another organization, the picture at first glance was similar. Also a vacancy, also a team that kept working, but beneath the surface there was more bubbling away. Key people who had not consulted each other for months. Decisions that were postponed because no one wanted to confront the issue. There, the work did not begin with structure, but with conversations. Individually, in small groups and above all carefully. First mapping the undercurrent, only then making agreements. They were two assignments with two very different stories.
More than keeping the lights on
There is a misconception I often come across: that interim management is there to keep things running until someone new arrives. Nothing more, nothing less. And that the team can handle that itself. But that is not true. I do understand where it comes from, though; the name suggests temporariness. An interim solution or someone who simply keeps the seat warm for a while.
But in practice, I rarely enter an organization where everything is running smoothly. There is almost always something that has been going off track for some time, whether it is a process that was never quite right, a role that no one really took on, or a way of working that has had its day. Precisely because I am there with my external perspective and enough time to really think along, I can name it. And tackle it.
I also bring valuable experience with me. Because I have answers to questions such as: how do other organizations approach this? Which tools are available? What is financially healthy? Because I work in so many places, I can open doors that would otherwise remain closed. Those insights sometimes deliver the greatest gains.
“But in practice, I rarely come across an organization where everything runs smoothly.”
The profile for the successor also improves
Another thing I like to do during such an interim period is to help with the succession itself. A vacancy that is accurate is already a task in itself, and doing it carefully increases my successor’s chances of success. The recruitment process also takes time that the rest of the team usually does not have, because they are without a manager.
Who you really need as an organization can be answered much more subtly if you spend some time looking at it from the inside. The result is then a stabilized organization, a selection process that is supported, and a realistic profile. That is the difference between keeping the seat warm and truly strengthening the organization.
Let me also add that it is best not to wait until the need is greatest. Organizations often only take action when there really is no other option. When the board is already involved in operations, when partners start dropping out, or key figures are at risk of leaving. But interim management is not only a last resort or a tool to use in times of crisis. It is an opportunity to also make use of a difficult period, to turn it into a strong fresh start. To strengthen processes, clarify roles, and prepare the next phase better than the previous one.
Does some of this sound familiar? Have you been hesitating for a while about consulting someone external? Is a planned transition taking longer than expected?
Don’t hesitate too long, because that also has its hidden costs.
