Interim executives assume a critical leadership role in the acceleration of change in organisations. If correctly profiled and suitably overqualified, an interim will be unfazed by most change situations you put in front of them. They add agility and capability quickly – essential to businesses in today’s fast-paced and unpredictable economy.
What are the three main reasons for hiring an interim executive?
Turnaround
“Disruption at the end of the day exposes things that aren’t working,” declared Alex Karp CEO of Palantir yesterday ¹.
The highest-profile use of interim executives has been in crisis management or turnaround situations. Here the interim executive offers an ideal solution.
They are an objective outsider, available immediately, able to focus solely on the problem at hand, and if correctly profiled, heavy hitters specialising in turnaround. Time is of the essence, as the business may be running out of cash – there will be little time to review and reflect. The experience of having done this before is non-negotiable.
Leadership transition and critical vacancy cover
Interim executives add value fast by filling critical gaps in management teams. This could be the result of a sudden departure of an executive or senior manager, an internal promotion, or a business transitioning from one leader to another – we call this leadership transition.
An interim is the perfect, experienced solution to step into a leadership role quickly. Unfazeable, they are experts in playing the game in front of them, whilst making strategic decisions which benefit the future of the business. They also provide input into recruitment and onboarding if a new hire is made.
Engaging an interim executive in this situation also allows the business a window of opportunity to implement change. As the interim has no career aspirations with the client, they can think and act objectively, taking difficult decisions if necessary.
Planned change programmes
Interims are ideal for engaging people and gaining buy-in for change programmes. The most successful interims have undimmable energy and enthusiasm for delivering change for good. Change programmes can include acquisitions, disposals, mergers, integrations, systems implementations, new operating models, shared services and outsourcing and supply chain upgrades. In these situations, an experienced interim will also take recommendations from a consulting firm, sense-check them, and lead their implementation.
Some studies ² estimate between 50 and 90 per cent of strategy implementation and change programmes fail – meaning either not implemented or implemented with poor results. Experienced interims know how to rescue and turnaround failing change.
So much more than “holding the fort”
Taking responsibility for a situation or maintaining operations in someone else’s absence, keeping things running smoothly while others are engaged elsewhere is seen as part of the role of an interim. As the pool of interim talent has become more sophisticated, the depth of expertise and high quality on offer fast is much more than just place holding.
They bring a refreshing degree of independent objectivity unfettered by vested interest. Best of all, they work from within a business, engaging with people to achieve strong and lasting ‘buy-in’ to the benefits of change.
Interim executives are most definitely multi-dimensional when it comes to accelerating change for businesses.
The author is founding partner of Holdsway, one of the UK’s highest-rated networks of interim executives.
¹ Uddin, R. (2025). Palantir predicts windfall from Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting. [online] @FinancialTimes. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/b9f00d80-bd60-4660-a544-3b7f79795d5f [Accessed 4 Feb. 2025].
² Cândido, C.J.F. and Santos, S.P. (2015). Strategy implementation: What is the failure rate? Journal of Management & Organization, [online] 21(2), pp.237–262. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2014.77.
