Leading as an Interim: Experience, Adaptability, and the Discipline to Let Go

Stepping into an interim leadership role brings a very particular set of challenges — many of which aren’t visible from the outside.

You’re brought in because of your experience, your judgement, your ability to stabilise, assess, and act. There’s an expectation that you’ll move quickly, bring clarity, and make decisions that others may have been avoiding.

But the paradox of interim leadership is this: the very experience that gets you through the door can also be the thing that trips you up.

Experience Is a Guide, Not a Blueprint

One of the earliest disciplines of an effective interim leader is recognising that this is not the last organisation you worked in.

It’s tempting to see familiar patterns and reach for familiar solutions. To assume that what worked before will work again. Sometimes that instinct is right — but often it isn’t.

Every organisation has its own history, incentives, scars and cultural dynamics. What looks like indecision in one business might be risk management in another. What feels like resistance may simply be fatigue from too much change, too quickly.

The best interims use experience as a reference point, not a prescription. They stay curious, they test assumptions and they should sometimes listen longer than instinctively feels comfortable.

Finally – they should resist the urge to demonstrate value through speed alone.

Building Trust Without Creating Fear

Trust is fragile in an interim role as people are trying to work out who you are, why you’re really there, and what your presence means for them. Even when intentions are good, uncertainty fills the gaps.

Move too slowly and you’re seen as ineffective by those that bought you in. Move too fast and you risk creating fear in the people you are trying to help succeed.

The balance is found in how you show up day to day:

• Being open about what you know — and what you don’t
• Explaining why you’re asking questions
• Sharing thinking early, even when it’s still forming
• Making it clear that identifying issues isn’t the same as assigning blame

Trust, in this context, isn’t built through authority. It’s built through consistency and transparency.

The Weight of Early Decisions

Interim leaders are often asked to make difficult calls early on. For example, you may spot risks others have normalised. You may be asked for an honest assessment before the organisation is ready to hear it and perhaps the biggest challenge, you may need to surface issues that pre-date your arrival.

This creates a genuine dilemma; delay the message, and you lose credibility but deliver it too bluntly, and you risk destabilising the team.

The most effective interims handle this with care with some simple steps;

• Anchoring decisions in evidence
• Separating problems from people
• Framing issues as solvable, not terminal
• Being direct, but never careless

Raising hard truths early is often necessary — but how you do it matters as much as the message itself.

Investment vs Involvement

One of the least discussed aspects of interim leadership is the personal toll. You care about the outcome, you care about the people but you also know you won’t be there forever.

That creates a tension between investment and involvement. Too little investment, and you appear detached. Too much involvement, and you carry stress that isn’t yours to own long-term.

The healthiest interims strike a balance:

• They stay committed to outcomes, not politics
• They invest energy where they can genuinely add value
• They avoid over-identifying with problems they didn’t create
• They know when to lean in — and when to step back

It’s not about emotional distance, It’s about sustainability.

What Good Looks Like

Strong interim leadership isn’t about leaving a personal legacy, it’s about creating clarity, building confidence, and leaving the organisation better equipped than when you arrived.

Often, the real measure of success is invisible:

• Decisions made easier
• Teams more confident
• Risks surfaced early
• Momentum restored

And when it’s done well, the greatest compliment is this: the organisation continues to thrive long after you’ve gone.