Guide to Becoming a Freelance Interim Manager

Now that you have the basic idea of who can become an interim manager, let’s shed some light on some important skill sets. 

1. A desire to make things better

Change management is an important aspect of interim management. In fact, many times, interim managers are brought on board to implement a change. You see, bringing a new change in an organization is easier said than done. Employees may get upset, executives may disagree, and internal politics can take its toll. 

So, if you’re someone who is bold enough to point out what’s wrong and propose a better way, read on. In every organization, both leaders and staff can get used to the ‘usual way’ of working. But, as you may know, the business world is very dynamic. Customer demands and markets change frequently. This is why a change can make or break a company. And if you have the courage to plan and implement successful changes, you’ll shine as an interim manager. 

2. Communication skills

Interim management is all about high-level leadership. This is not the ‘assign tasks to juniors’ type of leadership. It goes way deeper than that. You may literally have to change existing attitudes and values in an organization. You may have to challenge the assumptions of even the oldest and most skilled employees. 

Also, at an analytical level, you will have to provide reports and analyses routinely. Your opinion will be expected for every major decision—whether it's strategy, budget, or organizational structure. All this will require you to have impeccable communication skills.

This is why you should be well-versed in something called top-down communication. The top-down method involves stating the end result first and moving on to the details later. So, basically, start with the “what”, then move on to the “how”, and finally, finish with “how exactly”.

If you want to read a detailed article on this, check out: How to Nail Top-Down Communication

3. A natural proclivity towards being result-oriented 

As an interim manager, you should know what you’re truly hired for. Your job is to get in, examine the company quickly, offer and implement recommendations, and provide results (this is important). Now, the last part, which is providing results, is exactly why they bring you on board. 

Your role may be temporary, but you’ll be expected to permanently change your employer’s organization. To do this, you must be results-oriented. Simply put, people who care about results deeply have a ‘win at any cost’ mindset. All that they look at is their goal, and they ignore any other thing that’s a potential hindrance. Yes, this sounds a bit brutal, but, as mentioned before, interim management may not be for everyone. 

4. The ability to adjust 

Working as a freelancer in interim management will bring you new challenges frequently. This is simply because things won’t always go as planned. For example, if you present a disruptive idea, like closing all retail stores and going fully online, not everyone may agree. When this happens, you’ll have to adjust your idea. So, if you can convince the board to close only 50% of retail stores and move online, consider it a victory. 

And that's just one example. There may be many cases in which you’ll have to be flexible. Even if you’re a leader, not everything will go your way. So, if you feel pressured in situations with uncertain outcomes, probably don’t get into interim management.

5. The ability to create winning strategies 

There are two types of people: the ones who create strategies, and the others who follow them. And as an interim manager, you have to be the former. While working as a freelancer in an interim management position, you’ll have to examine an organization from all angles. Then, you’ll have to present the best approaches to ensure long-term results. 

For example, you may find that many other companies are selling the same product as yours. So, to differentiate yourself, you can come up with a strategy—market domination through cost leadership. Although this may result in lower profits initially, in the long run, this may result in competitors leaving the industry. And in that case, your client can raise their prices again.

You see, you could either network with a hundred people at an event, message a thousand people on LinkedIn, or simply contact a freelance consulting platform. These platforms can easily connect you with many clients who are actively looking for interim managers. 

Here at Consultport, we have thousands of well-experienced professionals in our talent pool. Many of our projects are staffed within 48 hours. That’s right—just two days. We have found high-paying and exciting projects for many freelancers relatively quicker than other platforms.

So, if you want to be one of those freelancers, get in touch now.