Leadership on Demand: how publishing can benefit from Interim Executives

In the fast-paced, rapidly changing, and slightly unpredictable environment in which we currently find ourselves, leadership stability in our organisations – even if we don’t find it elsewhere in the world – is not only attractive right now, but crucial. However, there will be times, now more than ever, where organisations have a business need for more finite, or temporary, leadership. Whether there has been a sudden departure, restructure, or a need for specialised knowledge for a particular project, Interim Executives provide businesses with strategic guidance and expertise without the longer-term commitment of a permanent appointment. 

In 2024, the private sector saw an 11% increase in the Interim market and this is widely expected to increase again this year for a range of factors. Typically, Interim Leaders are in post for 6 -18 months and for the publishing industry there is a host of scenarios where bringing in expertise for this period would be beneficial. Digital transformation projects, restructures, acquisitions, navigating company responses to AI, leading strategies to answer changing reader behaviour to name a few, are all milestones in organisations where fresh, and perhaps temporary, leadership would be valuable. 

But do these people exist? And can it work? The answer to both is nearly always yes! 

Inspired Search, our executive search division, is sharing here with you some of the benefits they have seen Interim Executives to bring to their clients, as well as some key things to consider when hiring Interim leadership positions. 

Why hire an Interim leader: 

• Immediate Expertise: While some Interim candidates have made a career out of doing short term roles, there are many individuals who have done longer, permanent positions in publishers giving them the knowledge and understanding of how what they will contribute in their ‘term’ with you, is likely to feed into the longer-term strategy. Either way, Interim Execs are available and ready to go, with a wealth of industry knowledge and able to hit the ground running!
• Agility: Publishers of all shapes and sizes are undoing significant change currently. Whether it’s a restructure, new product or market launch, system change, or a multitude of other reasons to evolve and adapt, bringing someone in with credibility and experience for a fixed period, can act as a change maker, engaging stakeholders from across the business, and allowing your existing leadership team to focus on their current roles.
• Cost Control: Hiring an Interim leader is not an ongoing fixed cost for the business in the way that a permanent hire would be. You get the level of expertise at a fraction of the cost and can budget a time frame that you can commit to as an organisation, extending the term if it works for both parties.
• Upskilling existing staff: An Interim leader not only brings with them experience to the project at hand, but also a wealth of knowledge and skills that could benefit many people across the organisation. Imagine what 6 months of dedicated knowledge-sharing about a new area or way of working could do for your existing team!

What to consider when hiring an Interim leader: 

• Set Clear Objectives: You won’t have the luxury of time that you’d have with a permanent hire to give them space to use the First 90 Days to build out a strategy and vision. They’ll need to know from Day 1 what the goals are for their period of time with you and who they need to connect with, internally and externally, to make them happen.
• Aligned leadership style and values: In order to effect change in a way that’s right for your business from Day 1, they will need to get the buy-in from other senior leaders around the business and also from any staff that they’ll be directly managing. Ensure that you’ve tested for a leadership style that will work in your business, and one that is able to make change happen, at interview stages and if working with a headhunter, have briefed them on what this would look like.
• Set up for Success: Spend time before they start ensuring that they will have all the tools they need to get going from the offset. This includes technology and also the more interpersonal aspects such as meetings set up with key stakeholders in their first week.
• Exit Strategy: Since you have a clear idea of how long the Interim leader will be with you, plan for their exit as well as their entrance. Effective handovers, clear and shareable documentation of their work throughout and open communication all help to make this smooth and successful.

Here at Inspired, we have a range of fantastic, experienced individuals who are available to take on short-term projects at a leadership level across all functions of the publishing industry. If you would like to discuss how an Interim leader might work for your business, and how Inspired Search can support you through the process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Abigail Barclay, the MD of our Executive Search division for a confidential conversation.