Interim vs Consultant
[At time of writing i was] Six weeks into an interim CEO role, I'm experiencing a crucial difference between consulting from the outside and leading from the inside
I'm 6 weeks into a 13 week Interim CEO role. I'm there to support continuity of work, look after everyone, and make a clean handover to the incoming permanent CEO.
Like every small NFP, it's got it's challenges. What's interesting is my orientation to them with my 2 years of consulting experience, and how that is different to how I acted as a CEO in 2020-22.
Different starting points require different mindsets
When I'm brought in as a consultant, i'm taking a brief from a Board member, CEO or executive. The 'problem' usually starts as a known, describable thing: we want to review our strategy, we want to grow the capability of the exec team. As i take the brief, there's often more under the surface, but there's a place to start. After all, someone's decided to make the phone call.
But as an interim i am starting before a clear question is posed, at a slightly confusing moment. While the summary brief is clear - '‘keep the work flowing’ - as soon as i’m in the chair i see
the exiting CEO didn't quite complete the handover docs
a decision that's half-made, without a path to closure
deep context and history i can't understand
sector assumptions and relationships that I can't read
three meetings tomorrow - who are these people? why are we meeting?
When i begin as a consultant, the thought process runs like this:
receive a need expressed by a client
→ what are the issues and questions behind the need?
→ what should i do next?
But walking in as an interim i need to do this:
what are the issues and questions around here?
→ what is/are the central need/s?
→ what should i do next?
This is a different mindset. I'm exploring what the question might be (and, is there even a question?).
On the other hand, some things are so flippin obvious, the decision is easy. Staff and Board all agree this contractor is just guilding our perfectly adequate lily. Terminate.
The microwave is broken, staff are frustrated trying to get their lunch hot, and worried they're going to get food poisoning. On my third day, I bought a new microwave.
And this big thing over here - that's a blind spot from the last two years that needs fixing right now. I'm on it; whether i get it finished or not, it's too urgent to simply hand to the next person.
Knowing the difference between exploring the forest and chopping down a specific tree is the mindset for an interim.
Some examples
Being honest and direct
Staff are sizing up this new CEO: What's he like? Does he want a phone call or a drop by the office? What have the Board asked him to do? They have no reason to trust me, and every reason to be sceptical. The cultural assumption around a CEO is they come in and change things. And a temporary one, who works as a consultant - is he a downsizer? is he here to make us redundant?
To combat this, I am being clear and consistent
I am here to steady the ship, look after everyone, and handover
I am not staying, I am not a candidate
I will take action if I must, and can make progress in 13 weeks
I will resist decisions if I don't have to take them, and frame the issue for the incoming CEO
In my first Board report, i wrote what I knew, pretty bluntly. This included
describing what I was prioritising and asking if I was right: "the Board are invited to redirect my attention as necessary"
you have significant and rapidly growing talent in the organisation
I've terminated that contractor
It's built more trust, more quickly, than trying to fit in and be like the last CEO, or the culture average of the way things are currently done.
Leadership as behaviours
In my first CEO role i was nervous. Every first time CEO is. The usual solution is to project something that you don't quite feel to ease your anxiety: expertise, confidence, decisiveness, networks. This time, I've done it before and i've worked with many Boards and Execs on Big Stuff. So i wouldn’t be nervous, right? Wrong.
I was nervous - i just didn't need to compensate for it. Instead, I owned it: "I am nervous about this, I am not sure what the right answer is. Help me understand. What's your recommendation?"
Five years ago i believed staff would be unnerved by this. Actually, they were reassured. We explored together. One said how refreshing it was to talk through the bits of the strategy that didn't quite seem to make sense - and discover that they kinda do.
I have been absurdly open about foibles. I love a whiteboard. I will talk about my dog for hours if you don't stop me. I spent a quarter hour talking with a colleagues about what we'd seen at the film festival.
Why this matters for boards hiring interims
You’re not my only client - I’m also working for the future permanent CEO
The notion of service is (or should be!) integral to coaching and to consultancy. There is some idea of who or what I am serving: Uplift the exec team capability for the CEO. Deliver a strategic thinking workshop for the Board.
But as an interim, my client is less obvious. It is the Board who appointed me, for sure. But it is helpful to think of the incoming CEO as my client. I might leave them a well-oiled machine idling in first gear or a banger with a dead battery and a flat tyre. Thinking of them taking over helps focus on what matters.
Maybe there aren’t any quantifiable outcomes - and that’s OK
I'm obsessed with closing out a project well. It's an area i always want to improve - leaving a client better off than before with a clean, crisp conclusion that answers both their stated needs and some 'needs behind the needs'.
But as an Interim through a CEO transition, I don't really have outcomes - there’s no HR template of KPIs. All glory and success flows to the team, the incoming CEO and the Board. If I do my job well, in a year's time, I'm just that guy who brought his dog in a couple of times. I like it, it's an act of service.
Side benefits
There's things i wasn't brought in to do that i'll be leaving them with anyway. Many of these are intangible.
A peer organisation's CEO offered to do some backgrounding for me. In the convo, they gave me complimentary feedback on two team members that I passed on immediately. Confidence building for the rapidly growing leaders.
Discussing a challenging issue from a previous year and leader with a staff member. Being able to say 'I have seen this issue happen many times, that is not how it should have happened, and it wasn't your fault' was affirming and healed a little wound for the staff member.
And this week I am running the Board strategy workshop from the Interim Chair. This is a cost-effective solution for the Board, but it’s far more than that. I have 6 weeks of deep knowledge of the organisation, and expertise in strategic thinking and facilitation.
Interim-consultant balance
The obvious question is, If you like it so much, Paul, why don't you do interim work all the time? First off, there is a level of intensity in the deep dive that wouldn't be enjoyable for me on an ongoing basis. I like variety: of client, project, intensity, assignment and sector.
But I've discovered that consultancy has made me a better CEO, and i suspect that being an interim CEO is going to make me a better consultant.
I am close to the coalface, in an organisation of 13 people. I see the reality of strategy implementation, leadership development and culture change that is impossible to fully experience from the outside. My advice, and my facilitation of diving into strategy and implementation, will be better for this knowledge.
So I think, if i had a magic wand, one interim assignment every 2-3 years would be perfect.
Takeaways
For Boards managing a transition of more than a month, an interim would be the best option when,
There is no internal leader ready to ‘act up’
The environment is too complex / challenging for an acting-up appointment; they wouldn’t learn they’d drown
You need a clear-headed rethink / reset / re-energise
You do not 100% understand what is happening inside and around your organisation, and need someone in the detail to tell you
You know you don’t have time for an incoming CEO to shunt wagons and you need them taking over an accelerating train
You are considering Board work on strategy, governance, policy or systems - is there a 2-for-1 opportunity with the right interim?
And if you know the central challenges within the organisation, finding an interim with that background is perfect. I can work on all sorts of strategy, execution and culture issues while in the role. But if your biggest concerns are stakeholder management, fundraising or financial sustainability there are others out there!
