Interim leadership can be useful during a transition, a defined project or a period of change. But experience alone is not enough. The assignment needs a clear purpose and an organisation ready to work with the person it brings in.
Define the result you need
Describe the outcome in terms the business can recognise. Is the priority continuity, a decision, a project milestone or a capability the team does not currently have? Avoid an open-ended expectation to fix everything. Agree what is in scope and what is not.
Make authority and access practical
An interim leader needs to know which decisions they can make, who sponsors the work and where they can find information. Explain the assignment to the team so people understand the role and how it relates to their own responsibilities.
- Who owns the brief and can resolve competing priorities?
- Which decisions sit with the interim leader?
- What people, information and resources will be available?
- How will progress be reviewed?
- What should be different by the end of the assignment?
Plan the handover from the start
Decide who will take ownership of the work when the assignment ends. Build time for documentation, knowledge transfer and conversations with the team. A handover should explain the reasoning behind decisions as well as the current status.
Review the scope as the situation develops. New information may reveal a different challenge, but changes should be discussed rather than silently absorbed. A clear mandate helps both the organisation and the interim leader make a focused, useful contribution.
An editorial perspective for general discussion. This article does not report a client engagement or commissioned research.