Leaders 4.0: Interim Managers

No one doubts that the deconstruction of political, financial and economic ecosystems caused by the digital Big Bang is profoundly changing the way companies think today.
Market, Business Model, strategic investments, distribution channels, societal role, commitment of Top Management, employees… everything is revisited…
From then on, and this is never without doubt, a strategy is defined, tactics elaborated.
You then have to take on board all the company’s resources to navigate to this new Eldorado.
Beyond the organisation to be put in place, the human and financial resources to be allocated, the strategic support of the DG… it is the continuity of individual and collective effort that will be one of the guarantees of a successful
transformation Quickly, and despite all the good will, many obstacles can slow down the ambitions of companies.
Increased workload, organizational inertia, business first, lack of internal skills, decision-making circuits that are too long or poorly defined, and poorly understood operational perimeters. Consulting companies whose recommendations are questioned or even held responsible for all the ills, aquoibonism, etc….

And finally, it is the foreseeable exhaustion of this long-awaited “continuity of efforts”.

As soon as it is felt, general management tries to remobilize the troops with seminars, workshops, Agile management training, etc.
And above all, they also insist that everyone show leadership and carry out projects….
During my exchanges with many business leaders, it is often the same observation: “We are not moving fast enough”, “Managers are not aware of the issues”, “we don’t have the right people”, “we don’t work enough in Agile mode “, etc…
Same causes, same consequences… It’s “madness” we often hear at the end of the aisles.
What was supposed to be a mobilizing and vital project is gradually turning into a way of the cross. And yet we must move forward.

” The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, and to expect different results.” said Albert Einstein

And finally, what if one of the disruptive solutions was not to call on a contribution of external, highly qualified, or even oversized skills to pass the milestones with high energy and emotional consumption?
Identify and treat crystallization points as a priority with the help of seasoned managers. From leaders 4.0 to a logic of status to a logic of contribution.

 

The advantages are numerous

All of them have multi-sector experience, and their operational and managerial abilities are well established. Their objective is to intervene in critical phases by bringing a fresh and enlightened perspective.
Interim managers are these 4.0 leaders. They are the new resources on which organizations now rely to facilitate, streamline, support and accelerate transformation projects.

According to the FNMT Barometer (Xerfi – April 2018), crisis management and turnaround missions continue to steadily erode – with 5 points lost in 2017/2016, representing 9% of the total number of missions – undermining the stereotypical image of exceptional interventions that has long stuck to Interim Management.
Project management and change management are now the spearheads of interim management with 61% of the number of missions carried out.
These managers, men and women, autonomous, contributive, lead strategic phases of projects for companies.
Knowing how to make themselves heard, immediately operational, they relieve the domestic teams through their commitment and re-energize the subjects.
Interim management, which was only a few years ago a recourse for a temporary absence of a manager or for an ultimate turnaround mission, is becoming a managerial practice in its own right… and this is only the beginning!

 

Jean-Marc LOUIS
Associate Director