I was chatting with an experienced Interim CFO recently, and I asked her about the most common issue she encounters when turning around businesses. To be fair, it wasn’t my most original question, and I expected something predictable:
“Underperforming teams.”
“Weak financial controls.”
“Poor cash management.”
Instead, she surprised me:
“Steve, the one thing every struggling business I’ve stepped into has in common is a leadership team gripped by magical thinking.”
Businesses underperform for all sorts of reasons, from structural flaws to operational inefficiencies. Yet one particularly damaging issue arises when leaders rely on magical thinking. Hoping instinct or optimism alone will deliver results without meaningful action.
This is where experienced interim leaders make a significant difference.
Seasoned executives who step in temporarily during crises offer deep expertise, operational clarity, and most importantly, freedom from internal politics. This independent perspective swiftly replaces wishful scenarios with realistic, achievable strategies.
The impact is immediate. Fast, objective analysis dispels comfortable myths about market downturns, COVID, Brexit, or plain bad luck. Hard truths backed by clear data force leadership to confront realities they’ve often avoided.
Instead of vague ambitions, interim executives deliver clear, actionable plans tied directly to measurable outcomes. Their pragmatic approach restores confidence in teams previously paralysed by indecision.
Their arrival sends a powerful signal: genuine change, not just cosmetic adjustments, is underway. By engaging directly with teams and aligning incentives to real performance, they build accountability and decisiveness, sharply contrasting with magical thinking.
Importantly, this external input also offers existing leadership space to regroup. Leaders overwhelmed or uncertain can stabilise, reflect, and recalibrate without pretending to have every answer.
Ultimately, bringing in interim leadership isn’t just a temporary fix, it’s an honest, practical first step toward meaningful, lasting improvement.
Steve
