High-Stakes Growth: Interim Leadership Roles in Higher Education - Part 1: Overview
The rapid and chaotic changes in higher education have impacted higher education professionals at every level. Some of the areas of greatest impact have been with leadership transitions created by a departure, reconfiguration of roles due to organizational restructuring or budget cuts, or a leadership vacancy caused by dismissal.
Clients who hire me to help with these changes are most concerned with the gap created by leadership turnover. At the senior leader level, the issues are broader and impact the university exponentially because entire areas are suddenly without a strategic leader. Once prioritized initiatives are in limbo and future uncertainty heightens anxiety across the board.
For those who are current or rising senior leaders in an organization, interim roles are an opportunity for rapid learning and advancement. Navigating these situations with care can result in rapid learning and career acceleration. However, eager leaders decide to accept an interim role without having a clear plan on how to manage the realities of holding down two senior leader roles, no plan on managing areas that they may not have full knowledge about, and lack of understanding of the broader implications of misnavigating the relationships.
In this series I offer insight for any higher ed leader who is considering taking an internal interim opportunity including:
Fractional vs. Interim vs. Acting
Why are these roles created?
Why consider an interim role?
What are the challenges to interim roles?
What do interim roles say about the institution? Are there red flags?
What is your Why?
Key Skills to Consider
Negotiating Your Offer
How to Be Successful In Your Role
Cultivating Your Persistence and Well Being
Finish Strong
Let’s first start with some basics.
The top two trends for higher education last year were Change Leadership and Leadership Turnover (Higher Learning Commission Trends for 2025) and boy, did all of us in higher education feel that! Following the “great resignation” of higher ed professionals during the COVID pandemic, compounded with an aging senior leadership population who have opted for retirement, and general burnout caused by prolonged experiences with the pressures and demands of roles, interim roles are now part of the normal operations of any American university.
Fractional vs. Interim vs. Acting
A fractional leader is a highly experienced senior-level professional with specialized knowledge or skills who takes a temporary, short-term opportunity. Fractional roles tend to focus on strategic or scaling work that help with operational improvement, growth or long-term strategy. Fractional roles can be filled externally through agencies like The Registry (who specializes in placing retired executives) or internally with offers to existing employees. Employers opt for a fractional hire as a cost-efficient solution to cover a leadership departure or vacancy when there is budget constraint. These roles can also buy more time for the organization to conduct a full-time hire. As a strategic decision, organizations who are experiencing restructure or expansion turn to fractional hires to start-up new departments or merge areas. Ideally, these roles are limited in scope and schedule and have clear priorities and deliverables.
Interim roles are often synonymous with fractional roles in higher education as they tend to focus on bridging the gaps or transitions. Interims bring stability, focus on fixing issues, managing crises, and taking critical projects. These leaders have experience that enable them to begin a temporary role at full speed. These roles have been generally associated with senior leader functions but with increasing instability and turnover in higher education, interim opportunities have expanded into mid-level positions.
Acting roles focus on maintaining business continuity and are very short term. Think of acting roles as providing short term coverage for someone who is on leave. These roles are often taken by internal employees.
Why are these roles created?
My prior experiences with fractional and interim roles have been through referrals out of specific organizational necessities:
Leadership transitions/vacancies (domino effect of others moving into interim roles)
Need to provide transitional support during reorganization
Establishing a new area
Preparation for new senior leadership
Provide immediate support after a failed search
During an emergent issue requiring risk mitigation.
In my consulting practice, I have also helped clients develop and work with interim roles in change management projects.
Several of my coaching clients find themselves with interim offers as a “number two,” next in the leadership reporting structure and most familiar with the vacant role. A few others have taken interim roles because they work in small institutions that have experienced significant talent loss and there just isn’t enough time to fill all the vacancies; this stop gap measure buys the organization time. On a rare occasion, a manager has offered an interim role as an intentional part of their direct report’s growth and professional development.
Why consider an interim role?
For both external and internal candidates, these opportunities provide immediate and rapid growth. You can gain skills and experience with new partners, projects, and areas in a very short amount of time. This try-it-out period gives you insight on whether or not you’d like to pursue this role in a full time capacity while building your resumé. With an end date and clear deliverables, you can quickly show efficacy, and rapid, adaptable flexibility. For those interested in the full time role, interim roles are appealing because you’re getting on the job experience as the inside candidate. And if things don’t work out, you can retreat to your original role. However these situations must be managed carefully. I’ll talk more about these considerations in the next part.
