Interim Leadership

As my consulting business has grown, one thing that I have realized, but haven’t ventured into, is the concept of “interim” leadership by filling a chief development officer position for a short span of time for an organization who has lost theirs. For my business model perspective, it’s kind of tough to consider, but I’m noticing more and more interim titles, both in fundraising areas as well as CEOs of hospitals and Higher Ed institutions. 

At the same time, an article recently in The Chronicle Philanthropy discussed the role of an interim and some of the positive and negatives. On the positive side, having a truly qualified interim leader can bring stability to an office, keep current employees moving forward, filling gaps on experience/skill sets, and other things. In the same vein, negatives might include the organization, or department, becoming stagnant as most interim leaders aren’t willing to make big strategic decisions---or are not allowed to.  By the end of the article, you really don’t get a sense that one side is better than the other and that it’s more about the right fit for the right situation.

But it does beg the question about how to ready an organization for the potential interim leader and/or find the right one when it is actually needed? And does that interim leader need to come from the outside? As I thought about whether or not I would ever consider an interim roll, there was a moment of emotional excitement, thinking about helping others in the organization reach their goals. There was also the realization that you might not be able to do what you need to do to move the organization to higher levels of achievement considering the lack of overall authority.

I’ve never worked for an interim leader. Never been in an organization that had an interim leader---at the organizational or departmental level. So, in some ways I really don’t know what I don’t know. But with the “great resignation”/ “great reshuffling,” it’s more prevalent. It’s worthy of noting the pluses, minuses and the challenges that come with such a position.