Thoughts

Why cultural fit matters for interims too

Technical credentials matter, but cultural alignment often decides whether an interim assignment succeeds.

Most companies hire interims on technical credentials: sector experience, track record, strategic capability. Of course these matter, but I've seen industry peers fail in interim roles because nobody paid attention to cultural fit.

The attitude tends to be "why does cultural alignment matter when someone's only here for six to twelve months?" In fact it makes the biggest difference to success or failure. My best assignments have had enough cultural alignment that I could work effectively within the system, but enough difference that I could challenge comfortable assumptions.

If we're discussing working together, we both need to consider

  • Pace of working
  • Expected communication styles
  • How decisions are made
  • Tolerance for implementing difficult decisions

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