Organisations are embracing Interim Managers (IMs) to drive transformation management projects. Whilst the external position and influence of an IM can effectively overcome any apathy to new ways of working, there’s much more to the value of an IM in successfully affecting change.
Many Project Managers (PMs) will immediately recognise the progressive nature of organisational change projects, but they can still prove something of a poison chalice. Introducing new strategies and methods can be met with resistance, intensifying the pressures placed on PMs to deliver success and quickly alienating them amongst the very people they’re attempting to influence.
Leading organisations often address such situations by bringing in an IM. The Interim Management Survey 2022 shows that 19.7% of IMs are in business change and transformation roles – the highest across all project types. The report from the Institute of Interim Management also shows that programme / project management ranks as the second highest functional discipline (11.9%). Alongside this, most IMs (23.6%) are carrying out project director and manager roles.
Introducing an expert, who’s not part of the day-to-day, can enhance how receptive stakeholders, such as employees, are to accepting change. It can also avoid any bias or opinions that staff may have about an existing colleague who takes on the PM mantle for a change management project. These factors undoubtedly help smooth the transition to different ways of doing things.
Along with being a fresh face, IMs are ideal candidates for leading change management projects for three key reasons: their experience, their objectivity, and their motivation. Together, these attributes allow them to more effectively act in the interests of an organisation and the goals it is aiming to achieve through transformation.
Experience
Data from the Interim Management Survey shows that interim managers come armed with extensive experience. Two thirds (66%) of IMs are aged between 40 and 60 years, with the majority (29.8%) having worked in the industry for ten to 19 years.
IMs can draw on a wealth of experience, gleaned from previous permanent roles, as well as multiple contract placements. They have encountered and overcome various barriers to change, and fine-tuned strategies and tactics for maximising impact. They’ll have the vision to foresee and consider a wider number of scenarios and can more effectively plan for these to keep projects on track.
A great network of tried and trusted contacts often goes hand in hand with rich experience. IMs can quickly call on experts as and when needed, utilising them to add value and introducing them to the organisation to create new opportunities. This can drive knowledge sharing amongst permanent employees and continue to reap benefits after the IM has delivered the project and moved onto their next role.
Objectivity
Organisations appreciate that an IM’s experience can also bring a fresh perspective. Permanent employees, irrelevant of their own talent and experiences, can find that, naturally, their perspective becomes shaped by the environment in which they work.
An existing employee and teams can be inadvertently confined by the circumstances they are familiar with, leading to them subconsciously discounting possible options to do things differently. An IM allows their experience to shape their recommendations to create new opportunities, rather than allowing their suggestions to be limited by any existing norms.
The value of an IM’s objectivity extends beyond them not being a permanent member of staff. Undoubtedly, they can more effectively drive change management because they aren’t confined by an organisation’s conventional way of thinking. However, it’s their freedom from any internal politics and pressures that presents them with the ability to constructively challenge processes and people.
An IM will operate in the confidence that they’ve been appointed to deliver a certain project. They won’t waiver when it comes to making difficult decisions, because they have less concern about how their recommendations will be received by stakeholders or how the decisions will affect relationships.
Motivation
Leaders of organisations will often prioritise investment in an IM for a transformation project to avoid any conflicting motivations from detracting from goals. In many instances, the level of planned change will be significant. Permanent employees may, unwittingly or with positive intentions, view the project as their chance to impress senior management and peers.
Even with the best intentions, an individual’s motivations can start to take priority over the purpose of the project. Similarly, a permanent employee can exacerbate the pressure they place on themselves for the project to work because they’re so keen to be considered a success. This can create distractions that impair decision making and performance.
An IM’s motivations will be solely driven by the targets of the project. They are there to deliver a very specific brief and can therefore focus on doing exactly that, with minimal distractions.
Focusing an IM on transformation also has the added benefit of allowing permanent employees to concentrate efforts on excelling in other areas of operation. This helps sustain day-to-day performance and avoids a risky dip in momentum that could otherwise derail change.
By Laurence Frantzis, Director at people advisory firm New Street Consulting Group.
