Interim Management- a rewarding career choice

Companies are always looking to grow. They strive to increase revenue, improve efficiency and profitability and ensure they are best positioned to capitalise on changes in their markets.  This often drives the need for the engagement of an individual to guide the business through change and transformation. The demand therefore for help in the short term from someone to guide them through this continues to increase.

Traditionally, the image of a typical interim manager was that of an individual who was at the end of his/her career and he/she chose interim management in order to stretch his/her career further.

How the times have changed. Many career paths are now following the temporary and flexible working route as a career of choice. Interim provides more choice over work life balance and with new ways of working and the rise of social media it’s never been easier for an interim manager to raise and boost their profile.
According to multiple surveys what really appeals to today’s interim manager are new challenges and the opportunity to make a difference. Assignments are focussed on results and delivering real benefit to the organisation.  This in turn requires someone to provide objectivity to the Board and doesn’t allow nor does it need time spent on company politics.

A career as an Interim Manager isn’t for the faint hearted.  It requires a particular mind set and a determination and focus to get results.  This is usually refreshing to the organisation and provides a platform to help move their business forward.

Whilst the rewards and benefits are appealing and the barriers to entry relatively low, there is little point embarking on this career choice if you prefer the status quo.  Macallam Interim ensures the success of our placements by matching personalities with cultures, and goals with capabilities to create sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships.

To discuss an immediate business need or for more information on how an Interim Manager can help you, please call us on 01423 704153 or email enquiries@macallaminterim.com

The capacity to attain capacity

I have worked in organisations with ExCo members whose complaint is that they don’t have anybody available to do a specific something.    They need someone with the capacity to resolve the problem, but how does the searcher identify someone with the capacity?

It needn’t even be the six degrees of separation thing.  I know that the person with skills is almost at their fingertips.  It’s like they have their hand in the fish pond but don’t know that their fingers are millimetres away from the trout.  

The interim manager is the trout.  Here the analogy falls down, because we want to get caught.  Like most interims, I’ve been working for a long time.  So I’ve done a huge variety of things.  It’s got to the stage where, frankly, I’m drawing on a large array of skills, but use them in a different mix each time.

So what’s the value that I, and many interims, bring?  In my most flippant moments I have been known to quote a chap called Woodrow: that I have “the capacity to attain capacity”.  This does not go down well with junior recruiters; so I have stopped saying it.  Although that does not stop me from thinking it.  

What I mean is that if you (ExCo person) throw a problem at me: I will work out what to do with it.  Then I will roll-up my sleeves and get it done.  I don’t need to demonstrate that I have resolved that particular problem before, but I can show that I have successfully sorted-out a wide variety of problems.

Last year I had dinner with a potential client and her Mr Fix-it.  After the starter they outlined their problem.  Frankly they were both woolly when explaining this problem.  The underlying question was how to stop a major client making lots of noise about something which was distracting everybody up to the board of directors.  

She wanted this thing fixed.  I got the job.  In the first days I got to understand the problem, but I didn’t have the faintest idea how to resolve it.  What she and Mr Fix-it had spotted was that I had the capacity to sort it out.  Which I did.  How I got from problem identification to a set of solutions I do not know.  But I did – and (by the way) I got a substantial follow-on piece of work.  

I knew that I had sorted-out complicated things before.  I knew that if I thought about it, and talked it through a few times with the client and her people, that I’d come-up with a solution and a plan.  I also had the confidence to roll my sleeves up and sell-in and run the plan.

That is what I mean by the capacity to attain capacity.  That’s the value good interim managers bring.  In fact, the value that anybody brings who is any use.  So what is it that enables a hiring manager to identify that you have the capacity to attain the capacity?  A referral?  Your CV?  Penetrating interview questions?  What?  I’d like to know please.

With thanks to Alan Greenwood, our new guest blogger who will be posting regular insights into various subjects surrounding interim management and the ever changing recruitment landscape.

Alan has over 30 years experience in the Financial Services industry with Citibank in Europe and for various consultancies.  For the last 12 years he has been an interim manager and has a track record of delivering significant  business  transformation projects in the UK and internationally. 

To discuss how we can help with any recruitment requirements, please call 01423 704153 or email steven.wynne@macallaminterim.com

Does the engagement of an interim manager ensure project success?

Bringing in additional project management resources can not only save a failing project but also help define what constitutes project success at an early stage



Projects fail all the time. What constitutes a project’s success and how it is defined will differ from organisation to organisation.

The standard expectation for a successful project is that it’s delivered on time, on budget and is of the right quality. This is often the case if the project has been competently managed and led.

It is, however, much more important that the business case and the benefits are made clear at the beginning of a project and readjusted along the journey, because this is the real measure of a project’s success.

Projects fail because the latter point hasn’t been realistically set out, the requirement has changed due to market or economic forces, or there has been a lack of communication at all levels.

If a project’s success is determined by its delivery in line with expectations, then the person who has set the guidelines will have a determining factor as to the success or failure of the project. This is usually the project sponsor, the person who “owns” it.

Project governance is the key to success, and business managers should be involved along the way to ensure the project is delivered in line with expectations.

A more fruitful solution is sometimes to resource externally to lead the project from the outset Formal project governance is the big change we have seen over the past few years, and this was a response to the lack of ownership and control by the very people who require and fund the outcome of projects – the business managers.

A project running behind budget and time would usually be seen as a failure, but in fact a project’s success is determined by the benefit it delivers to the business, and if that means the cost and completion date have to be moved with the agreement of the stakeholders, then so be it.

Interim managers are often bought in to rescue “failing” projects. This can make perfect sense, because having a fresh set of eyes on the situation and making the necessary changes to drive the project forward can get the project team and its sponsors realigned.

There are real benefits to doing this, not least because once the project is underway and costs have been incurred, it can be difficult for the project team to pull it back on track. An interim manager can ensure that stakeholders become realigned to the outcomes and that people are ready for the change the project was intended to deliver.

Finding and retaining the right resource is challenging but critical. Once the right skill set has been defined, engaging externally can sometimes be the only option.
A more fruitful solution is sometimes to resource externally to lead the project from the outset, with someone whose only focus is to enable change and who won't be drawn in to business as usual.

One of the key ingredients is to spot the warning signs and act immediately Planning is paramount to the success of a project, and it is important to define what constitutes success at the early stage of the process. It is often the case that the project manager will be held to account if the project is deemed to be a failure, but actually the project sponsor is the person truly responsible for the project’s success. If the expectations have not been realistic, if communication has been poor, if the original business need has changed, and if adequate training has not been provided, then this all points to the project sponsor.

Taking this back to grassroots, there could be a cultural problem if the business is not one that is used to embracing change: the people won’t have the motivation to make it work and hence it’s another pointer towards project failure.

The adoption of a strong, centralised project management office (PMO) allows for the transfer of knowledge and sharing. Knowledge-sharing and best practice will help ensure the future success of projects.

If this is led with a good PMO director and appropriate, experienced project managers, not just certified project managers (as this only shows they understand a method), then at least the risk of failure is minimised. Again, interim managers can be engaged to set this up.

Ensuring project success is not easy. If it was, there would be far fewer failed projects. There are, however, good practices to adopt in order to minimise the risk of failure. If the proper planning, communication and governance is adhered to, stakeholders’ expectations are properly managed and the right business requirements have been set, then you stand a fighting chance.

After all, nobody sets out to fail or to do a poor job, but one of the key ingredients is to spot the warning signs and act immediately. If that means bringing in an additional resource, then it could be money well spent.

For a confidential discussion about how Macallam Interim & Executive Search can help rescue your project, call 01423 704153, email steven.wynne@macallaminterim.com or visit www.macallaminterim.com >>

Please follow the link to view the article featured in the Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/business-reporter/11570241/find-project-managers.html