The Interim Manager Home Page
Interim Manager Jobs
Agencies and Consultants for Interim Management
Qualities of specialist Interim Managers
About Us
Qualities of a top interim manager
Some of the qualities that might be expected of an excellent interim
Generally the experience of interim management speaks volumes.
Look for experience in similar situations such as turnarounds, start ups, restructurings, mergers, downsizing and preparations for sales or closure.
Experience in similar industry helps with contacts, industry knowledge and peer respect. Although it is of course possible for someone to come into a new industry with new challenges and perform well.
Track record in similar sized or bigger companies. A good interim manager knows the market he or she (typically he) is in well and can demonstrate not just in the interview but also to the peers his knowledge of the business and the experience within. Many challenges can be classified into bite-sized areas such as sales, product positioning, production, operations, logistics and so on and so forth and the class of problem can be noticed in very different industries. Sometimes an interim from a different industry can recognise a similar class of problem and suggest a type of remedy that has been shown to be successful elsewhere. Strategic decisions of product line, investment and so on can all be weighed up in a SWOT analysis, however, it is the highest quality specialist interim manager that can deliver all this yet also bring industry specific expertise to the table.
At least 10 years experience in the field. Generally time is a decent indicator but it is important that most of the time is spent active in management situations. It is sometimes difficult to determine what sort of experience is presented as active but may be in the form of passive directorship. A good interim manager will demonstrate their experience accordingly.
Look for experience in terms of the size of the undertaking, and the ability to manage change.
Be prepared to check up on their statements and to talk to people who worked with them in previous projects.
Strong interpersonal, communication and negotiating skills. A good sense of manager humour is always useful as being catapulted into a usually disheartened and sometimes antagonistic if not overtly hostile environment takes some character to beat.
Previous general manager or director level management experience.
Demonstrative project manager skills.
Readily grasps key issues - and a great example of this is a competition run by Harley Lovegrove at his Interim Change and Project Manager's Blog at his CEO's Dilemma challenge a good realistic read.
Be well organised
Ability to drive through change against substantial resistance. For which he/she needs to be strong of character, have attention to detail, excellent leadership skills and the abilities to work a team or group to his/her advantage. Persuading the media is one challenge, convincing the internal staff and line management quite another.
Independent and resourceful. Be someone who takes a hands on approach rather than a born ditherer or delegator. An excellent interim manager knows his brass and is prepared to be the one doing the polishing.
Competence and confidence generally come hand in hand and are relatively easy to recognise in an interim management interview.
Aware of politics but not a political plotter.
A motivator even in times of black moods. A manager with gravitas in times when an authoritarian approach is the right one.
Personal skills and pragmatism.
Adaptable - often the new manager will have to communicate closely with established teams who have set up established bonds and processes.
A good turnaround executive is results oriented.
Flexible over where they and their family may be based
Language ability if required for foreign negotiation and to be appropriately culturally sensitive
Self manager and self starter. There is not usually anyone patting one on the back for every often unpleasant management decision that needs to be made. Often you have to take it on the chin and bear it quietly and gracefully.
Ability to judge risk.
Ability to satisfy demanding clients and pacify unhappy ones.
Being well connectec and having experience with both private and public sector where necessary. An interim manager will have developed excellent contacts in marketing strategy, finance and operations and production but also will have a foot in several "opportunity areas" where knowledge and contacts could provide huge gains for the company if used in a timely fashion. With good contacts, information flow can be much quicker and more effective for the interim manager.
Positive attitude and willingness to take on challenge
Ability to manage stress and work under pressure, strict deadlines and unsettled colleagues
Financially secure so that they are not so tempted to walk away on receipt of a better employment offer during the turnaround process or worse still be forced to leave on personal financial grounds.
Team and group management
Writing and Presentation Skills should be immaculate. Decent presentations will need to be made all along the road internally to staff and management and externally to stakeholders, investors, financiers and suppliers. Suppliers may need to be negotiated with to give leeway in times of trouble. Banks will need coaxing to put them on side. The interim manager should be able to present well.
Time Management
Whilst being a hands on doer, the ability to delegate effectively and properly.
Managing People
Project Planning
Being a Great Manager entails Knowing Your Weaknesses! There is probably no person on earth that scores 10 out of 10 on all point above. It is not so much being the ideal interim manager that should be strived or asked for but rather the optimal one for the task in hand.
Clues on how to find the best specialist interim manager can be found on this linked page.