One problem that the professional interim is experiencing today is that of competing for a smaller number of assignments against a larger field of competitors. Wendy Williams from specialist interim coaching consultancy, Frontiers CPE, looks at this and other topical issues.

Not only is competition increasing but so too are individual concerns over offers of work ‘drying up’. Yet the true professional interim is rarely going to be without work for long. Why is that, what makes them so much in demand and how can other interims gain that credibility?

Marketing Your Own Business

You as an interim are a complete business in your own right – you have a product to sell, a target client market and a need to deploy your resources cost effectively. You need to review your business periodically and take stock of performance, profit, wear and tear and - importantly - to determine whether your product requires any further development. In other words the successful interim creates a sustainable market demand for themselves.

Many interims come with highly regarded organisational experience gained in positions where they have honed their skills. They are, in other words, technically sound and confident of their ability. But, is this the same as being a good interim? Not necessarily.

Working with Defined Interim Capabilities

Excellence in interim work means a lot more than just knowing technically what to do. After all, a good interim – unlike a Groundhog Day experience - is not simply going to replicate exactly what they have done before. It doesn’t work like that.

I believe that interim excellence can be described in terms of a number of key interim ‘capabilities’, critical behaviours and approaches that – if applied with due consideration – can be a rich source of differentiation for interim professionals.

The best interims offer technical excellence in what they know (product) but differentiate themselves in how they do it (service).

“I always ask the client to explain what, in particular, I need to have done by the end of the assignment in order that they will regard it as a fantastic job” said one interim change director. “You would be surprised at how few clients can actually tell me. They mention things such as being ‘better’ so I work with them to define ‘better’ clearly and manage their expectations – before I take the assignment.”

This is an example of the interim capability we term Strategic Pragmatism whereby the interim assesses the client’s expectation and the organisational readiness to adapt. An interim shouldn’t go in there with a fixed idea of what ought to happen but, rather, should leave their ego at the door.

Occasionally, a client has extremely clear expectations which are almost impossible to deliver. This too needs careful handling to avoid any future disappointment as well as thorough contingency planning to mitigate risk. In taking this approach the interim is discharging a duty of care and is demonstrating another of the high level professional capabilities – Risk Analysis.

To be able to do even these two capabilities well, and to have sufficient credibility with the client so that your judgement is trusted, it is essential that the client believes that you work with utter integrity. This requires a level of self-awareness that is hard to maintain when working independently because self-awareness requires specific feedback - in very short supply in the interim world.

Successful interims want reflection through objective, independent review which is something that is available through confidential interim business coaching.

An interim HR manager came to coaching worried that he had been out of assignment for six months. He’d worked in many sectors and had an excellent track record but with much of the work gained through one interim provider. He’d contacted other providers but no assignments had been forthcoming.

During coaching he explored what he was good at and focused on the fact that - on nearly every assignment - he had been recruited to tackle a specific HR problem. However, for these same clients he had ended up restructuring the way that the HR discipline operated within the companies. He described how he had built the skills of the team as well as streamlining and re-engineering processes.

He realised with surprise that this was actually his forte, his specific talent. Yet his CV – the first marketing contact with providers and clients - emphasised his professional qualifications, his technical skills and said very little about what he excelled at and what he was really motivated to do. Using the interim capabilities framework he revised his approach, devised a marketing plan for his business and contacted interim providers with renewed confidence. By being clear on how he had added value with his previous clients he successfully gained a lead to another assignment.

Interim Coaching for Continuing Professional Development

Interims often fail to recognise that they are selling a unique product/service combination. They need to develop their own distinctive personal ‘brand’, to demonstrate to providers and clients alike why they are different from the hundreds of others with the same job experience.

Developing your interim capabilities is all about the way in which interims do the job and interims can only market their business effectively to clients if they take their profession as an interim seriously. Coaching is an ideal opportunity to review professional performance, raise self-awareness and ensure that they maintain self development.

Wendy Williams is the Managing Director of specialist interim coaching consultancy, Frontiers CPE Ltd. She is also an experienced senior interim executive and can be contacted at wendy.williams@frontierscpe.co.uk


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