An Interim Management A – Z

Accountant – Hiring a good accountant with detailed knowledge of interim management and small businesses is essential. Not all local accountants understand the issues but some do!

Benefits realisation - How will you demonstrate your worth, how will it be measured? Make sure results are captured and celebrated and learning shared. 

Client first and foremost - first class communications preferably on a daily basis will ensure you remain focused on serving your client.

Delivery  - delivery, delivery, delivery - But don't over promise and under deliver!

Ethics - always observe the highest ethical standards and behaviours. I observe the following based on RICS standards:

Act with integrity Always provide a high standard of service Act in a way that promotes trust in your profession and interim

management Treat others with respect Take responsibility

Facilitation - a key skill to getting things done within and across organisations – you are rarely the boss with powers of command and control - you need to be good at managing networks and relationships.

Grow your business – you are running a small business. Focus on your target market, know your routes to market, build a compelling proposition, look after your network and refer business to others make business based choices but always act with integrity.

Honesty - be honest with yourself. Is interim management really for you?

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Are you right for the assignment under consideration? Is the assignment right for you? Are you between permanent jobs or committed to carving an interim career - I believe there is a big difference between a professional interim and someone between jobs. Professional interims thrive on change and uncertainty and are prepared to question the status quo.

Institute of Interim Management - consider joining it exists to promote, represent and support professional interim managers & executives and to promote interim management to clients and customers in private and public sectors and to the service provider organisations.

Justification – Your client has invested a lot of stock in hiring you and it is important that you demonstrate your value on a daily basis – I understand my cost and I can demonstrate the value I add.

Knowledge sharing - sharing knowledge is the sign of a confident successful interim executive that clients will want to recommend or hire again - ensure you know how to capture, generate, share, access and integrate learning in your assignments. 

Legacy - Ensure you leave a valuable and enduring legacy - legacy planning starts before day one!

Mentor - and coach clients and their staff overtly or covertly - your job is to deliver the assignment and help your client develop.

Nurture and grow your network - always treat others as you would like to be treated yourself - chose a small number of Interim Providers specialising in your field and build good relations with them they are an essential part of your marketing department.

Organised – you are operating a small business and it is down to you to

manage your business and your assignment – this includes travel, accommodation, diary, timesheets and billing.

Proposition – you must be clear about your proposition imagine you were at a speed networking event for s businesses what could you say about the following areas?

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Expertise Independence and objectivity Speed focus and agility Delivery delivery delivery……... Responsible and accountable Strong return on investment

Questions - ask lots of questions -  in my experience its the only way to get information to allow you to understand your client, their business and the problems you are there to resolve.

Reviews - Constantly review your personal goals Clarify personal outcomes Constantly review your proposition Manage boundaries Focus on downtime, plan and make the most of it.

Social Media – Facebook for friends, LinkedIn and Twitter for business!

Toolkit - Bring your own mine includes: Quality assurance framework Performance management framework Project management templates Improvement/transformation management templates Risk and compliance management templates

Undermining behaviours – sadly not uncommon in my experience. Some client staff or even other consultants (rarely interims) will seek to undermine you. Counter briefings on lines to take, “red herring” interviews, and staff unavailability are all tricks an experienced interim will recognise and solve.

Validation - early validation of your project’s objectives, concept, traction and approach (way upstream of the first business case) is a very good idea.

WYSIWYG – Be upfront from the outset. You are appointed for your practical experience and skillset and must work with the existing management and their teams to add value and bring new direction. Be sensitive to your clients’ culture but do not be constrained by their politics – the emperor may not be wearing

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clothes – he or she needs to know that!

Xmas and Turkeys - Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas but it comes along every year despite their objections!

You - it really is down to you - “When you're in the car, how well you do is down to you and you alone-no band, no management……..” Nick Mason 

Zzzzzz – There should be no such thing as a boring assignment!

Further Details

Chris Gill BSc(Hons) MBA FRICS FCMIDirectorJC Gill and Co LimitedChartered Management Consultancy SurveyorsInterim Managers07783 89663401325 283184chris@jcgill.co.ukwww.jcgill.co.ukhttps://twitter.com/JCGillandCoLtdhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisgillatjcgillandcoltd

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Delivering Asset Efficiency : Transforming Service Delivery

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