The 5 tips for a successful transition mission

1 – Valuing your experiences and expertise

The interim manager is an executive with proven business experience. With a significant maturity, he must assert his expertise and put it at the service of the client . Indeed, the management positions he has held during his career have led him to develop technical and relational skills that he will have to use in the context of a mission.
The other important aspect to highlight is the transmission of this experience. It is essential for this expert on a mission not to isolate himself and to share the stories of past experiences. Thus, he will make himself understood more quickly and make his expertise known to his collaborators.

2 – Responsiveness and adaptability

A transition mission is always triggered by a problem to which the manager must respond . In collaboration with the team team present at his client, he must be operational immediately and provide a relevant perspective and solutions .
One of the first tasks that the manager must perform is to identify the company’s processes, to understand them and to master them. By quickly mastering the information and validation circuits, by having an overview, he becomes reactive and adapts the answers given to the client by knowing the issues and the people to turn to.

3 – Resistance and objectivity

One of the most important elements for an interim manager is to remain calm and in control even in emergency and/or difficult situations. He has critical responsibilities in the company where he is on assignment.
He knows how to deal with the sometimes complex context facing him and shows himself to be resistant to pressure so as not to lose sight of the objectives that have been submitted to him. His neutrality and objectivity must allow him to be able to respond to any situation in a clear and structured way .

4 – Listen

Transition assignments are not intended to last longer than 12 months. As a result, the manager has little time to immerse himself in the culture of the company and will therefore have to listen attentively to these different interlocutors .
The ability to listen is to resonate with the other. The manager must know how to listen without being overwhelmed or falling into indifference : he must find the right balance to ensure the success of the transition project.

5 – Open-mindedness

A manager’s open-mindedness is directly linked to his ability to listen . Indeed, it is essential to know how to listen to your interlocutors, to hear their fears, their expectations and especially their vision of the manager’s scope of intervention . Apart from relational work, this quality makes it possible to broaden the field of possibilities with a view to the completion of the mission.
Be careful, however, not to fall into a form of hyper-sensitivity and to constantly change strategy according to the ideas of others.