When do interim appointments make sense?

College and university leaders often face cabinet-level vacancies. Whether expected or unexpected, departures of senior staff are important occasions to pause and reflect on staffing options. In particular, it is worth considering the respective advantages of hiring a permanent replacement or appointing an interim.  Interim appointments are worth considering in virtually all situations, if only to be ruled out.

When is the appointment of an interim leader (from either inside or outside an institution) likeliest to be a strong strategic response to an institution’s needs? The literature on the subject, and AGB Search’s extensive experience in working with colleges and universities, converge on some key points.  Here, briefly, are some (not mutually exclusive) situations in which an interim appointment is often the best response:

• A cabinet-level leader is leaving suddenly, and there is a need simply for continuity and an experienced hand at the helm.
• A search has failed and the departing incumbent’s contract cannot be extended.
• A departure (perhaps of a long-serving leader) is at hand and time is needed to build consensus about future directions and to plan and focus an effective search.
• An unusually popular leader is departing, and there is a wish to spare a permanent replacement having to undergo direct comparison.
• A leader’s departure leaves in its wake controversy and upset, and there is a need to reestablish trust and collegiality before next steps are taken.
• A departure leaves behind critical problems that need to be addressed before a search can be effective, preferably by someone with particular skills and experience who is also not associated with any internal agenda.
• Difficult decisions and actions are needed – perhaps the elimination of programs and positions - and it is best that this work be done by an interim rather than left to a successor whose tenure it might endanger.
• The position in question will report to a permanent person who is not yet in place and who will wish himself or herself to make the selection.

For more perspective on interim leadership today, see “Interim Senior-Level Appointments: Why, When, How?“ by Joseph Johnston, AGB Search Senior Consultant for Administration, in the January/ February 2014 issue of Trusteeship.

For assistance with interim searches:
AGB Interim Search
jsj@agbsearch.com, 202-776-0827