High-Stakes Growth: Interim Leadership Roles in Higher Education - Part 5: Keys to Your Success

How to be successful

Starting out can be daunting. There is so much to do and so little time to get up to speed. While you are developing your strategy before your start date, it will be tempting to focus solely on the work and deliverables. Your leadership will also be informed by a plan that helps your direct reports feel a sense of stability and direction during this time. After all, they will be going through the transition as well.

Prepare and develop your people strategy before your start date by observing and listening to those who will be doing the work. Understanding the work culture (across your area and upwards) helps you understand what’s possible within the established norms and their capacity for change. If your interim role is six to 12 months, it is unlikely you will be able to shift work culture. Calibrate your plan by holding space for your direct reports; hear their challenges and pain points to getting work done. Listening without judgement or fixing respects their way of being, even if it goes against your own way of working. Opening this dialogue with them enables you to design the work mindset with them, even when their work behaviors seem to be fairly set. Doing this early on prevents resistance down the road, especially when the disorientation of a new leader wears off two to three months into your tenure.

Within your first several weeks, demonstrate what kind of leader you will be by setting the tone of transparency and openness. Share as much as you can about your deliverables, priorities, and road map for the interim work, including what you will not be doing. Providing a clear plan for how you intend to bring a sense of stability during this period of time will help settle everyone down. At the beginning, you can also share your values, positive and compassionate leadership approach, and your purpose in the interim role. Helping your direct reports see the human side of you as a leader models the leadership you expect from them.

Cultivating Your Persistence and Well Being

By modeling leadership and setting the tone for expected outcomes, your direct reports can understand how work will unfold during your watch. Being clear about accountability by co-designing goals and outcomes helps set them (and you) up for success. Your ability to persist and be successful will be bolstered by your direct reports’ mindset, so iterate together and be open to continuously hearing your managers’ needs so that you can make adjustments together.

Regularly review your deliverables and track progress. This disciplined approach staves off scope creep. Practicing flexibility strategically and aligned with your deliverables gives you agency to determine what to do when you are asked to do other things. Tracking and sharing progress gives your manager a sense of what your accomplishments are and talking points to represent you well when they share with the President and Executive Leadership. Guiding what is shared about you and your work helps build your credibility especially if you are trying to be the inside candidate for the full time role.

Regular communication updates with your teams helps convey that you are all on the same team, working towards the same goals, and maintains a strong sense of connection and openness, consistent with how you first started. Staying high-level with the communications, especially focused on the progress of your area, also helps people feel acknowledged and seen for their work under your leadership.

While you are communicating with your teams, determine what is important to communicate with your peers and upward. These communications are continuous opportunities to provide talking points for others who can be your best champions. Staying high-level with these communications demonstrates what kind of colleague you will be, especially when you take time to acknowledge their collaboration and shared wins achieved under your leadership.

When you need support, return to those people who supported you as you were considering this opportunity. Expand that support team to include trusted thought partners, perspective givers, and people who can truly listen without trying to solve. I highly recommend an executive coach and therapist at this time to help you navigate and process what you’re experiencing.

Finally, stick to your boundaries and tend to your well being by doing what works for you. Interim roles are a marathon with a clear goal line to cross - hydrate, take bio breaks, refuel, peel off/put on layers as things heat up/cool down, find a good pace, reapply sunblock worn away by sweat, celebrate crossing that finish line by taking a selfie with your medal, and give yourself plenty of recovery time afterwards.

Finish Strong

Closure provides everybody - including you - the opportunity to transition and reflect on your time as an interim leader. Whether you decide to interview for the full time role or return to your original role, exiting with grace is the final way to show the care and intention in your leadership. Assess how you did with your deliverables and share above and beyond things you accomplished in a final report to your manager and leadership. Include learnings and recommendations to continue the work you started. The final report is like a professional love letter to the person coming after you, wishing them success and positive hope. These observations and reflections are your final talking points that shape the narrative of your leadership.

Transition your team with off boarding meetings. This may include conducting retros or creating plans for transition. Help them determine how to continue their work with you and how to transition into their work with you or their next manager. This is also your opportunity to express gratitude for their trust and partnership with you. Don’t miss any opportunities to express gratitude to key partners and others who were critical to your success. They too need to know how to continue the work after you leave.

Finally, give yourself time to transition. Clients who I coach find that this is a natural time to take a vacation to rest and mentally shift from one role to another. If you have loved ones who supported you during this time, helping them transition and understand that your workload is shifting once again. This mental pause will enable them to move with you. Closure rituals are especially powerful during transitions and endings. One client told me that they would purchase a new color of lipstick and cook a meal to share with their partner to celebrate the ending. Choose rituals that have given you comfort and opportunity to reflect on and enjoy what you’ve accomplished.

Final Thoughts

No matter where you are in your career, interim opportunities offer high-achieving leaders the opportunity to contribute to vital institutional change and transition. These opportunities are a wonderful way to try out a role, especially if you are looking for ways to get experience without commitment. Navigating the offer wisely can help you have a great experience.

If you’re considering an interim role or are currently in one, and would like a thought partner in the process, reach out for a quick conversation on your situation.

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I help high-achieving senior leaders reclaim their time for work that matters. I provide immediate strategic support to help navigate the low-stakes distractions to execute high-stakes decisions that define their careers. Together, we move from reactive management to proactive leadership, ensuring you have the bandwidth to lead your institution's most critical initiatives.

Resources

Lu, Adrienne. (2024) “The Age of Interims.”

Pillar, Greg D. (2024). “Interim Leadership: Navigating Challenges and Seizing Opportunities in Higher Education.”

Bain, S. and Varela, D. (2020). “Navigating the Interim Role in Higher Education.”