Why Candidates And Clients Are Moving Towards Interim Leadership Roles And Structures
Since the pandemic, a lot of things have changed. From four day work-weeks to hybrid workplaces, to entirely remote organization the workplace has morphed into an entirely new landscape. As a result, the employer and employee relationship has changed significantly especially when it comes to senior level management positions. Over the last year we have seen a dramatic shift in preference by both Candidates and Clients towards Interim Leadership. There are a number of benefits to pursuing Interim Leadership roles for both Candidates and Clients and here’s a look at both.
Learning From New Experiences Even If It Means Stepping Into A Lower Management Tier.
Interim leadership roles present candidates with a number of options, flexibility, growth and learning opportunities. With this shift in the talent landscape toward Interim Talent, Candidates know that they need to remain relevant through experience. Even if a role is slightly below the level they normally would work at (for example a former CEO stepping into a VP or Executive Director level position), an Interim Leader can still apply and bring their CEO breadth of experience and knowledge to that position and the team around them. Assuming a VP level role today, in comparison to being in a VP level role 10 years ago – will also present them with an entirely new set of challenges to learn from. They can bring more value to the organization from past experience, while learning new things along the way, and the organization gains considerable value from both.
Fractional Talent = More Flexibility.
Many Interim Leaders and Candidates are attracted to the idea of allocating a fraction of their time, focus and attention to an organization. This allows them the opportunity to engage and work on multiple projects simultaneously part-time, presenting a variety of challenges on a daily and weekly basis. As a result, Interim Leaders and Fractional Talent bring their full experience and leadership potential to the table for a fraction of the cost to organizations. Most Interim Leaders prefer the flexibility that a Fractional Role can offer as they aren’t interested in working permanently for one organization. They appreciate the fact that they can drive for change and impact across multiple organizations at once, rather than effecting change for a single company.
Bringing More Immediate Value To Leadership
The Interim Talent Pool is made up of highly experienced and seasoned professionals in the industry. They’ve held senior level and executive team roles in the past and have experience collaborating and leading Board Directors, other C-Suite stakeholders, investors and more. Eventually, these leaders will grow their careers to become independent consultants and contributors, and Interim Talent is a stepping stone in that direction. As a result, a Fractional Leader or Hire will get quickly involved and work closely with the Board to define a clear strategy. With their past leadership experience, they have the soft skills to navigate difficult conversations, situations and crossroads with a natural ease. With time limitations driven by their contracts (6-12 months) Interim Leaders know they have a very limited window of opportunity to drive change for turnaround, success and performance and have little hesitations to getting to work quickly. In some cases, if an Interim Leader or Fractional Hire can perform and meet their set goals before completing their contract, the organization has the option to extend and retain an Interim Leader to spend more time at the company past their contract expiration.
Lower Risk All-Around For Companies and Candidates
At the end of the day, Interim Leaders and Companies alike seek out Fractional Talent engagements as it is a relatively low-risk and high-reward arrangement for both. While offering Candidates the freedom to maintain their own flexibility, Companies are able to hire and bring senior executive talent to the organization that they normally would not have access to. In some cases, we have seen younger companies create a role or positions for an interim leader solely based on learning from a candidate and their invaluable experience and expertise. Even at the C-Suite level, organizations that are in growth mode are able to retain an Interim Leader to support them through this time of transition while maintaining stability and leadership. Interim Leaders can be onboarded much quicker and are well-versed in these dynamics, while simultaneously a search firm can partner with you to find and hire a full time C-Suite leader to assume the position several months later.
To learn more about Interim Talent or Fractional Hiring, get in touch with us here.
Author:
Jim Rudman
CEO
Ashton Tweed
