Let’s open the window and let some fresh air in

“It’s past 11 pm and we still haven’t finalised the response document we’re due to hand in tomorrow. At one end of the table, several pizza boxes are piled up, and at the other, the words and ideas flowing from four minds gathered round a laptop. On the wall, a whiteboard still bears the outlines of what should be the definitive solution to the client’s problems. But we can’t quite get there. After a week of intense work, the ideas aren’t flowing as they should. Someone opens a window to let in some fresh air, hoping it might clear our heads and get our brains working again.”

As they say, any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental, but how many times have we found ourselves in a similar situation and had to go and seek that ‘fresh air’ by opening the window, going for a walk or asking for the opinion of someone outside the team? The fact is that when teams have been working together for a while, they achieve levels of efficiency and rapport that are very useful for certain types of tasks. But it is equally true that when faced with situations involving change, transformation or requiring a certain degree of creativity, the team needs that ‘breath of fresh air’ because it has reached a point where it thinks as one, working in the same way it has been doing for some time, and needs an outside perspective – a fresh perspective.

It is in these kinds of situations that an Interim Manager can prove extremely valuable. The fact that they are not influenced by the group’s way of working, that they come from outside with their own past experiences, and that they are focused on achieving specific objectives within a set timeframe, can provide that much-needed ‘breath of fresh air’. From the Interim Manager’s perspective, the aim is to rebuild the team so that it can tackle the new situation. To achieve this, they will draw on a series of basic principles:

• Creating a new shared focus within the team, which entails a new vision and agreed-upon goals.
• Putting the team together based on complementary skills.
• Clearly defining the roles of the individuals who make up the team.
• Fostering trust amongst team members through continuous and open communication between them all.

All of this will facilitate the team’s individual and collective commitment and, consequently, the achievement of the new objectives set.

Let us therefore take the plunge and not delay any longer in opening the window. At a time when changes and transformations need to be carried out with a certain degree of speed, an external perspective and the collaboration of an Interim Manager can be of great help.

Through interim management, it is possible to engage executives for a specific period of time to address a particular need. This recruitment solution is widely used in the US and Europe as an alternative to the permanent appointment of executives. [BUTTON url="http://epunto.es/contacte-con-nosotros/" text="Request further information" side="right"]