Why you should consider a career as a strategic executive interim

As we journey through life and our careers, we gain key insights into what we are great at and what doesn’t come so naturally to us. Over the course of my career I have interviewed thousands of talented professionals, and I suppose what I am quite good at is assessing people’s strengths, weaknesses and fit (in case you were wondering, I am not so great at being told what to do and I can be too direct at times). These interviews have led me to conclude that executives tend to fit into various categories. I know we should not put people into boxes but that is just how the brain works and in this case it does make sense.

I have found that some people are great at managing bureaucracy, maintaining the status quo and leading teams on a day to day basis. Individuals with these traits are well suited for a traditional operational leadership role and can be found leading teams in organizations across the country.

On the other hand, you have the candidates who are excellent at driving change and generating results, fast. These creative thinkers are agile and can be called upon to troubleshoot any variety of business problems. In particular, these professionals are great during times of duress; they thrive under pressure and can help companies pivot and adapt. However, I’ve noticed these people tend to get bored and disengaged with repetition.

Some leaders can possess both sets of traits, and can successfully navigate each end of the spectrum. These types of professionals are the ideal candidate for interim roles. Over the years I’ve loved watching interim professionals thrive in various roles for our clients as they set out to solve the unique business challenges.

Which description best fits you ?

Deciding to have a career as an executive interim will allow you to choose assignments that suit your talents and interests and is specifically attractive to the change agents amongst us. Post-pandemic is a great time to be brave and launch your interim career. We expect demand to exceed the supply of talent as most organizations look to be nimbler while acquiring key skills and expertise.

As more leaders become creative and hire executive interims, there is a real possibility in Canada for experienced executives to build a career as an interim executive. We have many talented professionals we have worked with 5 to 10 times. Often, they will take a 6 – 12-month assignment followed by a brief period of time off before we place them again.

So, I ask you, is now the time for you to take the plunge and challenge yourself? Do you really want to take on another permanent role and commit yourself for 5-7 years to one organization, and potentially just repeat what you have already achieved?

Too often I hear from leaders after 18 months to 2 years in a role that they’ve becoming uninspired in their roles. They’ve set up and embedded new strategies, re-organized and re-energized teams, driven down costs, improved profitability, and now the role has become more routine and about cranking the handle, so they are bored. They admit that a direct report could run the operation and they look to move onto their next gig. As they have a safe job, they take their time searching for a new role, which ultimately ends up the plateau stage lasting for 12 – 24 months. We only have a defined time to make an impact in our careers so don’t waste a minute of yours.

I ask all executives in Canada to think about what types of leaders they have—are they in the right roles? Now is the time to be creative about how organizations go about achieving their goals and objectives. The standard approaches of hiring an external professional on a permanent basis, promoting from within or bringing in a consulting firm are traditional and safe. However, they are no longer the only options. Hiring executive interims has been the fastest growing market in recruitment firms globally for the last decade, and our business has grown by over 300% in the last five years and continues to accelerate. This gives companies a viable option to acquire specifically skilled talent on-demand to address problems or opportunities. Plus, they can do this without changing their operating cost model, and in most circumstances, decrease headcount and cost in the long-term by not carrying any management fat.