Interim Organizational Change management assignments are trickier than they first appear. Interim executive assignments range from

• "just keep things going until we have a permanent solution"

to

• "make sure the place does not fall apart, but also turn it around, (that is, clean up the mess,) then help us get a permanent executive team in place and ensure a smooth transition to them."

The "just keep things going" assignments are more straight forward to scope and to get going. They generally require expertise in a particular industry, and can be filled by an interim executive level person has a good contact base in the "local" industry. (Of course, the word local is used in a relative sense here, since for a global company, the world may define local). Fit, operational experience and availability are the 3 most important criteria for finding such a person. A number of senior level executive search and boutique interim management firms are good options for finding such people.

The "make sure the place does not fall apart, but also turn it around, ... ..." assignments are very much more challenging. They require superb organizational change ability, as well as strategic, operational and people smarts on the part of both the interim executive and the change sponsor associated with the organization. They required a staged approach to succeed. (Click here for a brief outline of 1 potential set of such stages. Click here for a short "experiential" perspective on such organizational change assignments, based on more than 10 years experience at both the business unit and organization level.)

Roelf Woldring will take either a "trusted consultant" or an interim executive role in working with organizations faced with the need for this kind of change. We will be pleased to dialogue with you about this. Please contact us to arrange a meeting.

Doug McMara's "Roller Coaster of Change" is a good framework for appreciating complex dynamics of real organizational change.

John Kettle's 1994 or 1995 FutureLetter "15 Myths About Change" is a clean summary of the myths that people believe about that make the work of a change leader even more difficult.