Modern workplaces often treat “experience” as something to be acquired slowly, like a fine wine. Businesses hire graduates and wait for them to become useful, which usually makes sense. But in a crisis, a change programme or a leadership gap, this approach fails. When urgency strikes, the smart move is to buy the experience needed, use it, then move on. That’s the purpose of an interim executive.

The case for interim leadership is practical. A business facing transition or uncertainty can either build capability internally or import it from someone who has done it many times elsewhere. The second option is usually cheaper, faster, and less likely to result in costly mistakes.

Experience, pre-tested.
Interim executives are hired for their proven track record, not potential. Yet many organisations prefer to promote optimistically rather than hire empirically. An interim’s value is that previous employers have already absorbed the risk.

Low management overhead.
A good interim requires little handling, having completed enough assignments to know what “done” looks like. This gives the business a senior operator without the usual need for oversight and hand-holding.

A bias towards leaving, not staying.
Permanent hires often build empires, but interims are paid to make themselves redundant. Their incentive aligns with the client’s long-term interests: the more knowledge they transfer, the better their reputation for future assignments.

A relentless bias to action.
Interims aren’t there to observe or theorise—they’re there to execute. Given a mandate, they move with the brisk efficiency of someone paid by the day.

Speed, above all.
The most underrated feature of interim leadership of change is speed, or more accurately velocity. Speed with purpose and direction. Where a permanent search takes months, an interim can be placed in days. For a board facing sudden departures or uncertainty, that speed is often essential.This isn’t an argument against permanent leadership, which remains the backbone of organisations. It’s a case for recognising that experience can be rented as well as owned—and that renting it at the right moment is often the smarter move.

Nick Diprose MA has been introducing interim executives to businesses for 20 years. His firm Holdsway, the fourth interim firm he has either led, built or founded, has been a UK Top10 firm for over a decade.
#InterimManagement #Recruitment #Experience #Change