How to select the right interim manager
By Susan Moor | Published: 16 November 2011 | Comments (0)
The key to selecting the right interim manager (IM) is to remain extremely focused on what the business objective is; the timescale in which it must be achieved and the knowledge base that the IM will need as a minimum to ensure it is fulfilled.
The short-term focus of an IM placement cannot be underestimated. Too often businesses choose IMs in the same way that they would recruit a permanent member of senior management. An IM is a different beast to a full time senior manager and the company must be geared up for that difference to get the most from the appointment. The IM is there to achieve concerted short-term change and key to their ability to do this successfully will be:
- A rapid decision-making process
- An empowered senior management team to implement plans quickly
- The avoidance of long discussions and a focus on strong policy implementation
Look at it this way – a company’s senior management team is there to protect the business today and plan for its long-term growth. The long-term vision to realise that growth is owned by senior management and Board members, but often the short-term changes needed to make this vision a reality will be outside the scope of the existing team’s skill-set or capacity. The IM is there to make these short-term changes happen so the business is ready to achieve its long-term goals – whether that is acquiring a business to boost innovation and product development, or up-skilling a section of the workforce to enable the company to go after a different market.
Once the business is ready to work effectively with an IM, the second consideration is of course the personality fit. Immediate warning signs of a potentially unproductive IM relationship include:
- Feeling bullied or patronised by an IM
- For smaller businesses in particular, evidence that the IM is not a personality fit with the existing management team
As with any manager, fundamentally the IM must be respected and trusted – not necessarily liked, but without the trust and respect of the existing staff it will be incredibly difficult for him/her to effect real change.
The main challenge with selecting the right IM is the inevitable emotions involved at the time. To have a need for an IM a business will be going through a significant change - and this makes it a pressured and emotionally loaded decision for management. It’s also not a very comfortable admission – the management team is acknowledging that they don’t have the skill-set, or perhaps capacity, to guide the business through this change. I don’t know about you, but so far in my career I haven’t met very many senior managers and directors who enjoy admitting that there is something they cannot do.
That is why so many companies turn to advisors who de-risk the decision; who can see the objective clearly, who understand the sector in which the company operates and have a good knowledge of the IM marketplace to immediately source appropriate potential candidates.
Those of us who have been in this industry some considerable time – longer than I perhaps care to remember, understand fundamentally what works and what doesn’t, where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them.
Selecting the right IM isn’t straightforward, but neither should it be. You are trying to identify that one individual who can help the business get ready for its next growth phase – no small feat. But getting it right delivers such exponential rewards that the investment upfront is always worthwhile.
Susan Moor