Diverse clients and industries and being the boss – why women are turning to Interim Management
The opportunities and the challenges of a career in Interim Management for women |
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Over 30 interim managers from the Midlands and from as far as Huddersfield gathered together with representatives from Hill Hofstetter, Interimwomen.com and Russam GMS, the group's founding sponsor for a fun networking event aimed at demystifying business networking at the offices of Hill Hofstetter in Solihull. The highlight of the evening was an inspirational talk on networking and business development from Peter Alfandry, a partner at Reed Smith who is a leading business development expert and Dean at Reed Smith's School of Business Development. Peter has been highly active in the field of business development throughout his career, winning and developing large client relationships and training lawyers around the world on how to win business.
He said the secret to successful networking and making the right impact was people 'simply being themselves'. He believes 'umbrella' pitches are unnecessary and people shouldn't be selling themselves because if they are genuine experts in their field and come across 'interested' in others, they will make the right impression. He stressed that with the right kind of preparation, including getting hold of the guest list and doing some last minute google searches, networking can be easy and fun. Following a successful event, Interimwomen.com is planning more regional |
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| Where are the big opportunities for Interims in 2010? 24th February 2010 On 24th February 2010 we held a very successful Interim Women breakfast event at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, London. The theme of the event was 'Where are the big opportunities for Interims in 2010.' Charles Russam, Chairman of Russam GMS opened the event talking about the current market challenges and the opportunities for Interim management this year – namely in the public sector and helping businesses with reorganisation, turnarounds and projects related to delivering greater efficiencies and cost saving. Charles stressed that Interims need to hone their skills and be as flexible as possible to win assignments – this may mean working part time or in different locations. He emphasised also the importance of Interims promoting themselves effectively by networking continuously to win new clients. Next, Pippa Blakemore, an international business development and networking expert revealed the secrets of successful networking; how to make the right impact with clients and turn contacts into clients and win business in 2010. She stressed the importance of building relationships slowly with potential clients and said that it takes eight to ten contacts on average before someone becomes a client. There are no quick fixes to networking she said and successful networking requires dedication and hard work – she suggested that people set aside at least half an hour a day to follow up on contacts personally and systematically. She stated that one of the secrets of networking effectively is hooking the interest of a prospective client by discovering a shared interest or hobby and then finding a good reason to stay in touch and gaining their permission before calling. She emphasised the importance of meeting people as often as possible and reminded us that people buy people first, so nurturing a good relationship and simply being yourself rather than selling was the most effective route to success. David Harries, director of the IMA Institute then introduced the IMA Institute and the benefits of membership and the range of professional development courses it offers through its partner, The Open University, which are specifically designed to meet the developments needs of an Interim Manager. Interestingly, David also revealed the six core competencies of a successful Interim Manager, which are: • Quick Working - work at fast pace, prefer being busy, multi tasking • Deadline Focused - Punctual, meet deadlines, complete tasks • Continuous Improvement - get to the core of problems, identify ways to improve things • Action oriented - make things happen, impatient to get things started. • Results oriented - outstanding results, persevering, ambitious • Accepting Change The IMA Institute is offering an exclusive 15% discount off the IMA Institute joining fees, reducing membership from £195 to £166. Interim Women members interested in joining the Institute simply need to go online to: www.ima-institute.com/membership.php and type in the Code reference: RIW15 |
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The Christmas Event - The Athenaeum Club |
After months of preparation, Interimwomen was delighted to launch its new report about women working as interim managers, ‘Women in Interim Management, how to succeed, the opportunities and challenges’ at an evening reception at Ball Brothers wine bar in the City of London on 5th October. 1600 women working as interims were surveyed to create this study and it is our most in-depth piece of research yet.
Hilary also discussed the fact that the report is full of great advice for ‘would be’ interims and many of their tips focus on the importance of creating a financial buffer, being really sure that interim is for you, being resilient and the need to network constantly.
On 10 November, Interimwomen.com was thrilled to host its first regional event 'Play to win..Play to your strengths,' in partnership with leading Midlands law firm, Hill Hofstetter.
Peter imparted sound practical advice and great tips on how interims can their use existing skills to win clients and impress people at networking events - from the right ice breaker to use, through to approaching people in the right way and following up successfully without fearing rejection.
The Interimwomen.com Christmas event held at the beautiful Athenaeum
Club in London’s Pall Mall on 10th December 2008 was a great success.
The Autumn Event - The London Capital Club Our 7th October event held at the London Capital Club firmly focused on the economic crisis and the job prospects for Interim Managers in turbulent times. Chairman of Russam GMS, Charles Russam and Director, Jason Atkinson discussed which industry sectors were hit hardest and which were still buoyant. They also gave practical advice on what Interims needed to do Guest speaker was leading employment lawyer, Elaine Aarons who discussed equal opportunities and women in the workplace. She questioned whether the ‘Sex and Power’ report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission A lively debate then followed focusing on whether or not sex discrimination still existed in the workplace and whether not being a women affects or limits in any way the opportunities for Interims. If
you missed the event and would like to see what was discussed, please click here for Elaine's presentation. |
Interim Women meet at The Athenæum Club – 10th April 2008
InterimWomen hosted its second successful networking breakfast seminar on 10th April 2008 at The Athenæum Club in Pall Mall, London. Around 60 Interim Managers from all across the UK braved the early morning start to meet over a hot breakfast and network with like-minded Interim Managers.
Carole Harden, an internationally experienced board level HR Interim Manager, with extensive public and private sector experience, including HM Revenue and Customs, Transport for London, Laura Ashley, Thales Aerospace and Metlife/Citigroup was the keynote speaker and shared the secrets of her Interim success.
Starting out
Carole talked about how when she started out in 1989, there were very few women working in Interim Management at the time, so unusual in fact, that she was given a guest spot on Radio 4’s Women’s Hour to talk about what Interim Managers actually do and how they can fit into businesses. She then talked passionately about why Interim Management continues to hold its appeal for her, namely because she thrives on the variety of the jobs she takes on; she loves the fact that she can move between different industry sectors and that it gives her the freedom and flexibility to take time out when she wants.
To succeed as an Interim, Carole believes that showing confidence and demonstrating leadership from the outset is essential. Also, she feels that Clients need to really believe that Interims are a safe pair of hands and have all the skills required for the job, so that they put their total trust and confidence in them. They also need to feel Interims are value for money, so being accountable is also very important.
Winning assignments
Carole’s career has been seamless; she is never without work unless she wants to be and has moved successfully from one role to the next throughout her career. However, she says that this is because she is really flexible about her job title and location. She also uses Interim providers, like Russam GMS, to search for her next role a month or so in advance of completing which ever assignment she is working on.
She also relies on her networks and often hears about jobs coming up or is recommended to companies. Lastly, Carole makes sure that when she is working on assignment, she is solely focusing on that role and performing well so that she secures great references.
Moving between the public and private sectors
Carole talked about the differences between working in the private and public sector and how to move between the two. She said the one big advantage of working in both is that when the outlook for the private sector looks uncertain, the public sector is not affected in the same way and continues to recruit. She also explained that while initially moving between the two is difficult and the main priority is to get experience and if this means taking a pay cut, it is worth it.
Carole’s positive and flexible approach to her Interim career has certainly ensured she has achieved every success!
