Insights

I received a call a couple of weeks ago -- looking to talk about if and how I could help as an Interim Executive. As always, I was humbled to be considered to even have the discussion, flattered that a friend and colleague thought I could help -- and eager to learn more about the problem that needed to be solved.

In search of that problem definition, we had an assessment call. Within the first 15 minutes I heard the words I eventually hear in all of my Interim Assignments - "I just can't do it all myself". Got it.

Now, that's not a knock on the team in place, or the current org chart or the approach at any one company. It speaks more to the loneliness that exists at the top of the company and the challenge to get honest and direct pushback when needed. The other things I heard focused on other common challenges, "I need someone on the team to be honest with me" and "I trust you to do that".

There you go, all in a short assessment call. A CEO trying to do it all himself (or herself), uncertainty as to whether they were getting the truth from their teams AND....trust...in all ways that trust matters.

That is what we as Interim Executives bring to the table. We hit the ground running, bring years of experience in a multitude of situations (we have seen it all) and deliver results. That is the marketing splash type of "what do we do". The difference though is trust and that comes in three distinct ways:

1. Ease the Burden. A good Interim Executive is multi-disciplinary and can bring varied skills to the table. An overworked CEO/Executive doesn't know how to get out of the mess they find themselves in and it is rarely just "one thing". This is why I prefer COO and General Manager roles as an Interim -- the needs support those descriptions.

2. Speak truth to power. I love this phrase, since even in the best organizations, with the best leaders, many people don't challenge the boss. Often it is because of fear of failure (you could be wrong!!) and how that might impact their careers and their climb up the ladder. These are two things we Interims could care less about -- which enables freedom to speak up. BTW, some of us just have that anyway!

3. Removing doubt. Rubber meet road. Too often in organizations doubt can cripple growth and momentum. It is a human nature problem, especially prevalent in growing organizations and in turnarounds and fix-it organizations. You are going fast, taking risk and have no time for doubt -- this is only solved by...Trust.

We are off and running at my new company. We bring many things to the table, but the most important is this one -- a Trusted Partner.

We care about one thing only -- YOUR SUCCESS.