“Making a difference” is a phrase I used to hear all too often from interim managers.
The problem with this phrase is that it is all embracing and says everything and yet at the same time it says absolutely nothing. It is too woolly by half for my liking, as is the phrase “high revving “ interim.
When I sit down with interim managers who wish to be in the Alium family, I want to understand, amongst other things, what motivates them. There is a noticeable difference between those interims who want to “make a difference” as a statement and those who are able to unpack the granularity and speak in terms of outcomes, outputs, deliverables, timelines and legacy. Clarity of intent and then ability to deliver are common drivers, and there is a whole level of underpinning factors behind these drivers.
The interim market has changed and it is undoubtedly a market pull environment where interims are talking less about themselves and more about delivering demonstrable value. The traditional reasons to be an interim often cited have included, flexibility, quality of life, skills renewal, financial reward and diversity of challenge. It is a while since I have heard these quoted, except by those who are anchored in the past.
