Ragnar Norbäck, previous CEO of Nobina AB, has experience of Executive Interim Management from both being and Interim Manager himself and as by hiring Interim Managers. With over 30 years of experience of reporting to boards, he knows what works and what not.
What is the benefits of engaging an Executive Interim Manager?
“The most important point is that you get access to a person that can do everything from the analysis, strategy, development, and implementation. As a leader, you handle important projects and changes that must be successful, and with an Interim Manager you get the skills that are hard to access otherwise. People that are highly skilled in leadership and leading large transformations are hard to recruit. Their competence level is too high and they prefer to not be tied by employment. I would say that Interim Management should be part of every executive’s tool kit, besides employees, staff, and consultants.”
Ragnar tells us that an interim is very goal-focused, lacks internal dependencies, can stay out of internal policies, and thinks outside of the box: “You might think that an Executive Interim Manager is more expensive than hiring a permanent employee, but sometimes it is the other way around. Partly because it can become a mismatch, partly because we are missing out of a lot of experienced and competent people. One of the absolute best value add-ons is that they know “how to do it” by previous experience. Analysis is one thing, but extensive experience is more valuable. Nobina’s definition of leadership is “to get others to voluntarily achieve the agreed goals”. Just the “know-how”, without being able to lead, is not enough.”
What is important in your cooperation with an Executive Interim Management service provider?
“Talking from experience, I would say that long-term relations are valuable. After the initial assignment, the provider understands our business thoroughly and knows what kind of support and input we need. When you go into a dialogue with the interim provider, you should initially make an analysis of your own needs, and then to jointly develop a specification of requirements. You should ensure that you meet several candidates and not just go with the first resume you pick up.”