I first met the instantly engaging Ben Freeman in 1998 at the Farnborough offices of Cole & Mason. Ben chose interim after a long career as a Finance Director and COO. He’s been a successful interim executive for nearly 20 years.
We met again recently for the second in Holdsway’s interview series, The Expert Game Changers, and in our quick-fire questions I asked him what makes a great interim.
Your company is called Make Change Happen – so, do you? I’m really clear about what value I can add in a short space of time, and when I came up with the name I was realising the power of ‘self-branding’. It was partly focused on communicating my proposition to clients or ‘what it says on the tin’, but it was also a way for me to channel my own values working as an interim. At the time, the terms ‘change’ and transformation’ seemed to be the domain of HR and technology. It was less common for a finance professional to combine analytical skills, project management and operational leadership into a change leadership role.
In a permanent career, wasn’t interim a rash move? I felt my CV was strong enough to be able to take the risk. It was a mix of ‘running away’ from permanent roles I felt were too slow moving for me; but I was also ‘running towards’ opportunities to really make a difference to a series of businesses.
A lifestyle move then? No, I put a lot of energy into my work, and I wanted interesting and challenging assignments and the ability to choose what I did next.
Is it an easy life? No! It’s tough between assignments. But I’m clear on my strengths and the work I enjoy. This is essential to both succeed at interviews but also to be clear on when to say no to roles that are just not right. Whilst tough, the ability to work in roles you enjoy more than compensates for the lack of work in between.
You must get asked “So what do you do”? I’m Chief optimist officer. A big part of what I do is embedding confidence and self-belief in the future, backed up by experience of ‘making change happen’. I’m more interested in what I actually do than what people call me.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve done as an interim? I walked into a business which seemed too broken…and I’ve seen a lot of broken businesses. But there’s always a way forwards. In this case Boston Consulting Group joined me, and we worked the problems together. You get to understand the plusses and minuses of consulting and interim, and how they can work together to help businesses.
Interim vs management consultant? They are both solutions to not doing anything at all, but it is a complex question and every situation is different. Consultants can often be part of the change journey. Yet, in my view, the interim is better placed to lead operational change, using their expertise to inject a sense of belief and get the best out of people. As my interim career has developed, I have benefited from working with consultants to assimilate best practice. But I too am constantly evolving, acting as an agile resource and passing on what works for one business to many others. This is the real acceleration of change. I don’t think you get that fast, adaptive and tailored approach from large consulting firms.
Soft or hard power? My focus is on ‘making change happen’ and I’ve found that using hard power as a shortcut to a solution doesn’t work. You need to bring the team with you and without that even the right answer does not lead to successful change. So interims need an ability to inspire and persuade rather than brute authority. I love that. Joining a business and getting stuff done by encouraging openness and seeking out ‘change allies’ to work with. I’m always looking for people who are open, honest and direct with me. If you can get people to open up, you can open an organisation up to embrace change.
Questioner or listener? I like to be a listening and questioning catalyst. If you start with questions, then you get the listening and you learn an awful lot very fast. A lot of that is down to building trust.
Interim specialist vs recruiter? Specialist interim firms are different. They need to quickly understand what you are about as an interim and a person and then match that to the beating heart of a client. This type of hiring has to happen fast requiring instinct, intuition and a natural expertise in connecting the right people. Hiring interims isn’t a ‘box ticking’ exercise, so it won’t suit a lot of traditional recruiters.
Do you ever ‘hold the fort’? Never! The art of an interim is about being able to unlock potential, to embrace the ideas of others but at the same time, apply learning from elsewhere – regardless of role. I love to progress and improve things and leave a good legacy – even if it’s just getting people to think differently. Interim is about bringing in outside thinking. Look what Steve Jobs did – the classic ‘outsider-insider’.
Long or short CV? I have a lot of ground to cover, but I think four pages is tops as an interviewer myself. You can always expand on it in a meeting. It’s a conversation starter, isn’t it?
Is career DNA important? Yes, it is. I think my journey to interim is like a salmon going back to its source and feeding off it. As an interim I wanted to connect the faster moving ideation of entrepreneurial companies from my early career with my subsequent understanding of what good looks like in larger companies. The past informs the present particularly in interim where we’re applying a lifetime of skills and experience.
Do you have a ‘secret sauce’? Does that exist? I suppose it does. You have to be brave to want to make a big difference. It’s about energy levels, and a positive spirit. You have to enjoy working with people, giving them hope and believing in their potential. You cannot be distracted by the relentless waves of challenge and disruption. Most of all I retain my optimism to focus on the art of the possible.
Holdsway is one of the UK’s highest rated brands in interim management, with a network of pre-interviewed and benchmarked interims helping businesses manage change.
Nick Diprose is founding partner of Holdsway.
Ben Freeman is an interim CEO, CFO, COO and Chief Transformation Officer.
