In conversation with a gig leader, I listened to a commonly held perspective.
“I was frustrated in my corporate role…not getting my voice heard….becoming independent, clients started to really listen to what I had to say and take action. Not having to get embroiled in the organisation’s politics is also a real plus point.”
Sound familiar?
A new book, ‘Rise of the Gig Leaders’ by one of my former colleagues Neil Grant, explores what drives interim leaders and the vital role they play in today’s organisations. I was delighted to be asked by Neil to write the Foreword, because for 25 years I have worked with and appointed some of the leading talent in the field of Interim Leadership.
Not every senior executive is suited for interim leadership. Those who are, remain fuelled by their independence and motivation to deliver within the terms of their engagement. They survive off the fact that they are only as good as their last gig, and place enormous energy into each assignment. An interim is therefore more comfortable with their own ‘professional risk’ than the average leader.
As Neil says, ‘an interim has a skill set that is incredibly well developed and intensely valuable for organisations’. ‘An interim has worked inside-out for many organisations, unlike consultants, who often work from the outside-in’.
The critical competencies that an interim leader demonstrates are explored in detail in Neil’s book. He explores leadership traits such as gravitas, resilience, engagement, attitude and transformational capabilities in the context of interim leadership.
Transformation capabilities are the most frequent context in which an interim thrives. ‘It is part of an interim’s DNA to have a healthy discontentment with the status quo. An interim not only seeks opportunities to lead change, they possess a fundamental competency of being transformational.'
Rise of the Gig Leaders is the definitive work on interim leadership, a truly contemporary assessment of our industry. If you want to understand interim leaders, or you are an interim leader yourself, this book is for you.
Boyden has one of the most established teams in providing interim leaders to start ups, PLCs and other growth organisations. If you would like to hear more about Boyden’s approach to interim leadership, we would be happy to hear from you. For more on Boyden Interim Management click here.
For more on Rise of the Gig Leaders, visit Amazon here.
