The Challenge with Using Interim Leaders

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Nursing leadership is hard today. Unsurprisingly, using interim leaders to fill a void for these hard-to-recruit positions is rising. Sometimes the leader has been placed by an executive recruiting firm, but more often, they are internal candidates who still need to be offered or are unwilling to commit to doing the role full-time. Either way, there are challenges with having leaders in interim roles. Consider the following email from a member of our blog readership community:

We are struggling with the volume of nurse leaders in interim positions. With the increase in leadership turnover and hesitancy of new leaders to jump into new, challenging roles, we’ve utilized interim status. We also have had interim CEO for 18+ months. When interim leaders lead teams, I observe that it adds a layer of challenges. Perception is interim leaders are more risk-averse and willing to maintain the status quo. However, with everything the nursing profession faces today, we must be willing to try new things and be supported by leaders at all levels.

I have been thinking a lot about this email recently and have noticed an increasing number of leaders signing into the chat as interim leaders on my programs. We lack nationwide data on how many leadership roles are filled with interim appointments. Still, anecdotally, it is a growing trend as it becomes more challenging to fill leadership roles.

Many interim leaders today are new to leadership and are still determining the duration of how long they will be in their roles. They need the help of their leaders to establish boundaries and figure out the right answers to the following questions:

• Should I move into the office with my personal belongings? – this may be the right thing to do if there is no current leader and the interim role is expected to last for an extended period. It might not be the right thing to do if the current leader is on extended sick leave OR if there is active recruitment for the role and you are one of the candidates.
• Should I move forward with disciplinary action against staff that have performance issues? – this is usually the right thing to do if you have the organizational support to take action. In some unionized settings, the interim leader is not considered the leader of record, so this might not be appropriate. You should ask upfront about whether you are expected to assume all of the role responsibilities,
• Should I initiate change and if so how much? – some interim leaders are recruited specifically from the outside to be a change agent.  The position goals may even be written right into the contract. For other interim leaders, the organizational goals may want a placeholder until a permanent leader can be found.
• Should I demand the salary given to the previous leader? – this situation is tricky in many organizations, especially if you are not currently in a leadership pay grade.  It should also be negotiated BEFORE you take the interim role.
• Should I ask for time limits on the length of the interim role? – when interim roles are arranged with outside executive search firms, your time limit is usually in the contract along with any restrictions on your recruitment into the position. The situation is much less clear when you accept an interim role within your own organization. Often leaders accept interim roles thinking it will only be a few short months but this morphs into a year or more. Transitioning back to your prior role after a long absence could prove challenging.
• What if I change my mind and decide to apply for the position? – often interim roles are given to individuals who indicate that they will not apply for the position. The challenge may come if you move into the role and have a change of heart after taking a “test drive”. How this change of heart is received will depend on many factors.  If the position is one that is highly coveted with many candidates, you may find that others resent (and perhaps distrust your motives) when you now decide to apply. If on the other hand, there are few candidates and you have done a good job – your willingness to apply may be warmly embraced by both staff and the leadership in your organization.

How interim leaders manage themselves in their roles will depend on many factors including the organizational culture. As new interim leaders are appointed, it is important to talk about the questions that I have outlined above. As my blog reader observed, it can be challenging to move an organization forward without candid conversations about role expectations.

© emergingrnleader.com 2023

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