An interim manager who makes himself indispensable has failed his mandate. The task is not to fill the gap. The task is to make yourself superfluous.
An honest classification first, because the term means two things. One is the temporary takeover of a leadership position, say to push through an unloved transformation. That kind appeals to me; I have not yet been engaged for it. The other is time-boxed responsibility for a program that you lead to success. That kind I do with every mandate. Because a client who has no unpleasant or hard-to-handle topic does not hire an external program lead.
Of the „first hundred days“ I think little. The number lays a template over a very complex process and rarely does it justice. What counts is something else: that from the start an expiry date stands in the room and changes the decisions.
A resource is not just a resource
The difference from an expensive vacancy fill lies in behavior. Both bring resources, but only one does not lodge itself permanently in the organization. Everyone knows that, and it has two sides. The external can analyze, plan and execute with more detachment, because he is not playing for his position in the house. In return he does not have the closer network, and quickly gets the reputation of the „wind-down guy“. Both belong to the role.
The exit is part of the mandate
You leave a mandate correctly by involving the future responsibility-holders throughout the whole runtime, as well as you can. Often no full replacement follows my position. If there were one, it would be onboarded early into history and current state. Decisions are documented and justified, open points listed, strategies clear and aligned. If there is no successor, the knowledge goes to the team and stakeholders in a structured way. The motto is simple: better to have than to need.
The test for an interim mandate stands at the start, not at the end. Is it clear from day one to whom you hand over? Where that stays open, the interim fills a gap instead of closing it.
