The Mindset of an Interim

Zero Politics

Let’s think about what holds you back for a moment .

When you’re in that professional setting, very often its having to play politics with the people dynamics within the business you work for.

I’m reminded of the lyrics of Morrissey in “Heaven Knows I’m miserable now”.

IYKYK! 😀 

How often are you unsure of taking a certain action or making a statement within an e-mail for fear of how it might be perceived?

Worse, that situation where you’re having to second guess what you say to who, based on who they’re connected to.

It creates a labyrinth of thoughts that leads to procrastination and stops you from being who you really are.

It stops you from simplifying your messaging too. You end up over speaking, over reaching or being obsequious to appease.

Ever been in that situation where you’re writing an e-mail and spend 30mins or more choosing your words carefully, for fear of who you might upset?

What a waste of time that is!

I love working in a zero politics environment, I’m not sure such a thing actually exists in the corporate world.

But how much of this is down to our own inner fears and a perception that masks reality?

The advantage of adopting an Interim mindset is you no longer have to care about such things.

You can just say it as it is, to whoever you want and this becomes your superpower.

Hierarchy Agnostic

I’ve been guilty of this too.

Worrying about what the COO thinks about me or perhaps concerned the CEO might have a different agenda?

In truth, while we should be respectful of position, isn’t our role in Procurement act as guardians of the future of the business?

Power is after all transient.

How often have you worked hard to try to impress a member of the existing c-suite only for them to leave within a year (under a cloud!)

I wonder if you’ve fallen into the subservience trap too?

You know that feeling where you’re just so grateful for Procurement to have been engaged that you end up just appeasing the senior stakeholder, in the hope they’ll involve you again in future projects.

The brilliant advantage of the Interim mindset is that none of this matters.
Hierarchy is a practical irrelevance.

Your career is not determined by them and you’re not looking to get a seat at the table.

My gosh I hate that phrase.

The bias towards action

and here’s the killer secret when it comes to:

(i) your self-confidence

(ii) how you’re perceived within an organisation.

Interims have a set date they have to deliver by.

They have no choice but to deliver X project by XX date.

This definitive timescale means you have a bias towards action.

Every day counts, in fact every day counts.

When you’re in a permanent role though, it feels timeless. There are so many competing priorities, it becomes pretty difficult to focus on the right tasks that will move things forward.

This is also when my self-confidence wains too.

You know those days where you feel anxious about all the things you need to do, but you don’t actually deliver a great deal?

Confidence, on the whole, comes from taking action. It’s a mentality shift but when you’re in that interim mindset, you have no choice but to get on with things.

You start to get the small but important dopamine hits when it comes to accomplishment, and this is what stimulates further motivation to achieve more.

The legacy mindset

I always have this to be fair, but I’m not sure anything makes this feeling so prevalent than when you know you’re not going to be around long-term to defend your reputation within the business that’s paying you.

I’m always thinking…

1. How do I want to be remembered by the organisation?

2. What will be the legacy perception of Procurement when I’ve left?

3. How will colleagues or direct reports feel about me after I’ve left?

There’s nothing that beats the mindset of the person who has handed in their notice but is conscientiously focused on going out with a bang.

When you have limited time within an organisation you’re far more likely to focus on the key tasks and outcomes that will deliver a permanent impact.

Moreover, because you have the psychological safety of being able to keep things real, simple and focused towards action, colleagues respect you more and are more likely to respect what you say.

It’s so important to remember this doesn’t just apply to interims.

It’s a mindset any of us can adopt.

And remember, the only real difference between an interim/ fixed term member of staff and a permanent role is the interim knows the exact date they are leaving.

Neither are actually permanent.

That word is a misnomer manufactured within corporate lingo to make you feel like it’s forever.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.