My first interim role was supposed to be a career side quest. A temporary pause. Something a little slower and a little easier than the relentless pace of long term leadership. I imagined myself as a helpful bridge, stepping in for a few months to keep the lights on, and stepping back out with minimal drama.

Boy, I was so naive.

Nine interim roles later, I’m still here, having fallen in love with leading in the liminal: that strange, potent space between what was and what’s coming. But I’ve also learned some hard lessons along the way, in ways I could have never expected. The hardest one? Interim work will require something very specific and difficult from you: To go deep, build real trust, put the full weight of yourself and your expertise into a mission… and then leave before you see what grows.

It’s easy to find and read up on the skills needed to be successful when leading through turbulence and transition: strategic thinking, financial acumen, decisiveness, communication, adaptability, etc.. But rarely do I see anyone talking about what it would really require of you professionally, personally, emotionally.

So I want to name it, and share what’s helped me keep saying yes, again and again.

What Makes This Work Hard

📍You rarely see the impact of your work.

As hinted, many leaders spend years, even decades, at a single organization, stewarding initiatives from conception to maturity, building lifelong friendships, and witnessing the full arc of their impact.

An interim leader’s experience is very different. We arrive, often thrust into making major decisions that will shape the organization for years, and leave before seeing most of them fully play out. I've helped organizations completely overhaul their mission and strategic plan, launch new programs, initiate partnerships and funding relationships… I mean, major, foundational work.

But I didn’t get to carry it all the way through. I left and had to watch from afar to see if the calls I made the right calls. The responsibility is heavy, and sometimes I'm only left with hope that the work will hold.

📍Relationships are intense, then over.

Any time you join a team, you build real relationships. You learn people’s anxieties, celebrate their wins, sit with them through hard conversations and sometimes tears. You become someone they trust. And these relationships can be more intense than typical work relationships, as you’re often going through hard things together, under a lot of pressure, in compressed time.

I once joined an organization where the entire C-team had collapsed. I spent months recruiting and integrating a whole new leadership team, setting up shared values, coaching them through their first big decisions, celebrating when things clicked. We went through the intensity of culture redesign and enterprise-wide systems change together… and we became a real team.

But then the assignment ended, and I had to hand over the work and step back. Unlike most professional relationships though, you don’t get to let this evolve into something long-term. There’s no shift from boss to mentor to ex-colleague I grab coffee with. You have to cut cleanly and create space for the next leader… only to just jump in and do it all over again with a new team.

📍High Stakes, Little Grace.

A typical new leader gets 90 days to learn before they’re expected to act…. Interim leaders sometimes get half that. Heck, sometimes day 1 arrives with a crisis that needs solving immediately.

I once walked into a an organization facing a multi-layered crisis: a double executive transition, a call-out that threatened donor relationships, financial gaps that required immediate audit, and governance problems that had festered for years. There was no orientation period, no grace for learning the culture first. Day one was triage.

And I've found that as an interim, the margin for error is thinner than usual. People are less resilient during transitions… tired and anxious. Trust is fragile and small mistakes can more easily amplify into crisis. You need to make people feel heard, while also making hard calls.

Hardest of all though is that the learning and the doing has to happen simultaneously. You sometimes have to make a decision today without all the information you want or need… and just stay humble and flexible in the execution.

📍Sometimes you can’t move the needle.

Not every problem can be solved in an interim window (…though, id argue, not every problem should). Some challenges require longer timelines than the time you have or more resources or, simply, a long term leader’s authority and longevity to see through.

In worse situations, sometimes the solution will be crystal clear to you… you can see exactly what needs to happen and the path forward is obvious… but the board or staff aren’t ready to move. They need more time, more trust, or a different messenger (or something…!)

So, in these cases, you do what you can, document what you’ve learned, name what still needs attention, and hand the rest to the next person, hoping they’ll have better luck. It's frustrating and unfulfilling.

📍The isolation is real.

Long-tenured leaders get to build networks counterparts at similar organizations over years, whereas interim leaders tend to move between missions. And the people who truly understand this work are few, and we’re often mid-assignment and unavailable to one another.

And gosh, the problems I confront…. every assignment is similar but different, and I long for peer guidance. But it’s so hard. How do you bring someone up to speed about all the complexities in an organization, its people, its problems, its politics... in an hour, with time left over for actual advice? And when the environment is shifting rapidly, week to week sometimes, the context you shared last month is already outdated. It gets lonely fast. You start to realize that you need to get way better at seeking advice in fragments, at trusting your own judgment more, at making peace with the fact that no one else will ever fully understand the situation you’re in.

📍No proper goodbye.

When a permanent leader leaves after years of service, there’s usually a farewell… a party, a toast, moments of collective gratitude. Interim leaders don’t often get that. The new person starts, the organization’s energy shifts toward them, and you fade out. This is appropriate; it’s their moment, not yours. But it means you often leave without ceremony, without much acknowledgment of what the work took.

I once spent a year with an organization, leading through a painful downsize, pivoting programs, and championing some serious culture change. When the new executive was hired, I got ready for transition. In many of my assignments, I’ve been lucky to get a few weeks of overlap with a new executive… you know, time to transition knowledge and relationships, to get closure. But this one? Four days. All virtual. When Friday came, I signed out of my email, and just like that, I was done. The organization just moved on, quickly, with problems still left to solve and work still unfinished.

Though this doesn’t happen often, you need to be ready to pack up quietly and move on.

📍Change is constant and exhausting.

New organizations, new teams, new cultures, new problems… again, and again and again. It is both exciting and draining. It is both exciting and draining.

Just as you’re hitting your stride, building real momentum… it’s time to leave and start over. Most of my assignments last about a year, which means every twelve months I'm starting from scratch on relationships, credibility, and context. The weight of that change is cumulative, even when each individual assignment goes well.

My 7 Tips for Sustaining Yourself in This Work

So, what's helped me keep saying yes? Here's what I've learned. Not all of these might be right for you, but maybe they'll give you some inspiration for finding the right rituals and guardrails to make the work sustainable.

• 1️⃣Develop a toolkit for leading under constraint.
  Interim leadership requires different skills than permanent leadership. Here are some of the core practices I’ve learned to rely on:

  • Use the 80/20 principle. 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts. Identify what truly matters and concentrate there

  • Use frameworks to cut through complexity. Tools like the pyramid principle and MECE can really help you make sense of massive quantities of data quickly and structure your thinking under pressure.

  • Understand one-way and two-way door decisions.. You need to be an expert at figuring out what decisions you should make vs the long term leader, and why.

  • Define decision-making authority up front. Make sure everyone knows who can decide what, and how quickly.

  • Timebox decisions. Give yourself or your team a clear deadline to decide, then move. This prevents analysis paralysis.

  • Treat early decisions as drafts. Master provisional decision-making… make the best call you can now, stay open to adjusting as you learn.

  • Admit mistakes quickly and publicly. This builds trust faster than pretending you had it right all along.

  • Set clear expectations. Be honest about what you can and can’t promise in your window.

  These skills, and more, are learnable. You can check out more of my some of my specific advice for leading under pressure here or subscribe and follow along as I share my toolkit over the next few months.
  

• 2️⃣Find a trusted partner inside the organization.
  External peer support is hard to access when you're deep in the complexities of a specific organization. You need to find a trusted staff member or board member who can really go side by side with you… someone who understands the nuances without needing constant context and who can be your sounding board in real time. This internal partnership can help bridge the isolation gap and give you someone to think through decisions with when outside advisors can't fully grasp the situation
  

• 3️⃣Protect the new leader by protecting your boundaries.
  This might be a hard take, but when I leave an organization, I maintain low or no contact with former staff for at least six to twelve months. This gives the new leader room to build their own relationships and prevents the team from splitting their trust. When a former colleague reaches out for advice, the kindest thing I can do is redirect them to their new leader. The boundary can feel severe, but it serves everyone. Eventually the connection can be reforged, but I found honoring that space is best for everyone.
  

• 4️⃣Create rituals for closure.
  Find your own way to mark endings. For me, I take a picture somewhere on site and frame it in my home office. I write goodbye notes and give small gifts to staff and board members and donors. I schedule final coaching sessions and exit coffees. I take a weekend away with my husband. And I write a reflection right away, then revisit it a few months later once I’ve got some distance. You need to find a way to make peace and prepare for the next assignment.
  

• 5️⃣Build real community outside your assignments.
  The only way to do this work well is in community with others doing the work. Seek out other interim leaders. Stay connected through your state np association or informal groups. For me, this looks like a group chat with peers in similar roles, attending conferences, and staying active in online spaces. I also serve on a board and have volunteer commitments, which keep me connected to the sector in a different way, grounded in relationships that extend beyond any single assignment.
  

• 6️⃣Anchor your identity outside the role.
  When your position is always temporary, it’s easy to lose track of who you are professionally. Identify what stays constant across assignments: your values, your craft, your approach to leadership. Write about it. Talk about it. Let your sense of self travel with you rather than depending on any single organization.
  

• 7️⃣Rest between assignments when you can.
  If you have the option and flexibility, building in time between roles to decompress can make all the difference. Even a few weeks can help you arrive at the next organization with a fuller tank. (Truthfully, I’m not great at taking my own advice on this front, but when I have been able to honor it, I feel the difference.)
  

And… 8️⃣Recognize that the weight you’re feeling is not weakness.

The exhaustion after an intense assignment, the sadness of leaving a team you’ve come to care about… these are not signs that you’re unsuited for the work. They’re the natural cost of doing it well. Caring about places you cannot stay is hard.

Honor it, feel it, and give yourself real time to recover before diving back in.

Why I Do It Anyway

As I said at the start, I never expected this to be my career path. I came into interim leadership by accident and fell in love with the dynamic nature of it. I get to see organizations at inflection points, when they’re most alive to change. I’ve built diagnostic intuition that only comes from variety. I’ve learned to travel light, emotionally and operationally, and there’s freedom in that.

And I get to help people—really help them--navigate those moments. To walk alongside someone as they find their courage, rebuild their confidence, or finally feel heard. The organizational work matters, but it's the human moments that stay with me.

So, if you’re considering this work, or already doing it, know that it is both rewarding and costly. To repeat: The weight you’ll feel isn’t weakness. It’s the natural cost of caring about places you cannot stay.

❓Are you an interim leader? What do you do to make the work sustainable?

📖Looking for your next read?

Executive leadership transitions create uncertainty across all facets of an organization, and uncertainty creates anxiety… especially in fundraising.

So it’s no surprise that interim leaders are often being asked to take on a substantial role in fundraising during their tenures.

But an Interim can’t be a short-term ‘rainmaker’ for the organization or act as a temporary advancement officer. That’s neither realistic nor aligned with the strengths of interim leadership.

Instead, an Interim should play a different strategic role: protecting organizational relationships, maintaining stakeholder confidence, and strengthening the foundation for the incoming leader.

Over the last few years, I have served in a transitionary leadership capacity in eight nonprofit organizations, and as president of four boards, each facing different financial challenges and fundraising demands. Through these experiences, I’ve come to learn what an organization and its interim leadership should and should not be doing during a time of transition..

My Three Rules for Fundraising as an Interim Leader

1. Provide Stability & Maintain Donor Confidence

As mentioned, executive transitions can unsettle even your most loyal funders… many of whom have made investments not just in your mission, but in the leadership that brought it to life. The first job an interim has in regards to fundraising is to reassure funders that the organization is stable and moving through the transition with purpose.

Interims can:

• Ensure communications go out early, clearly, and consistently about the transition plan and timeline. This includes reviewing all donor-facing materials for clarity and tone. This includes things like press releases, FAQs, talking points. It also is critical to create and distribute a simple internal script so the board and staff are aligned on how to discuss the transition and common questions.

• Meet with the Development Committee to align on transition strategy and ensure the board is visible in stewardship where it matters most.

• Prioritize outreach for sensitive or high-impact donor relationships. This could be as simple as sending personal notes, co-signed with a board chair or advancement leader, acknowledging the transition and inviting questions, or a meeting if called for.

• Serve as an articulate resource when donors express concerns or ask questions about stability, governance, or future direction.

Most importantly, an interim leader should not become the new face of the organization. Their job is to reassure the community that the ship is in sound hands through the transition.

2. Support Board & Staff in Maintaining Donor Relationships

Fundraising needs to remain where it belongs: with the organization. An executive transition can actually be a valuable opportunity to expand a donor’s relationship with the organization and to elevate both board and staff leaders in those relationships.. Donors should experience continuity through the organization’s mission and long term people, not through the interim.

Instead of becoming the fundraising figurehead, so to speak, an interim should be a guiding hand and stabilizer.

• Through a mix of coaching and education, build board capacity to support donor stewardship so more people feel confident engaging in donor conversations

• Meet with key donors in partnership with board or staff …never solo. It is essential that permanent staff continue to lead solicitation and stewardship efforts.

• Coach board and staff on messaging or strategy, especially around how to speak about the transition.

• Ensure campaigns and commitments continue on track

Organizations that get the most out of a transition treat it as an opportunity to strengthen fundraising leadership at all levels… leading to stronger resilient foundation for the future.

3. Strengthen Systems, Reporting & Future Readiness

One of the greatest gifts an Interim can give an organization is readiness. Professional interims have the benefit of seeing the inside of far more organizations than a single permanent leader might encounter over the course of an entire career. They can bring an objective eye and a much bigger toolbox of strategies, systems, and practices that can significantly enhance an organization’s fundraising infrastructure and set the next Executive Director up for long-term success.

Some things an interim can tackle include:

• Assessing and auditing the current fundraising strategies and tactics for additional opportunities or gaps.

• Improving clarity around roles and responsibilities across staff and board to reduce confusion.

• Strengthening reporting cadence and donor communication practices so funders receive consistent, confidence-building information.

• Addressing deficiencies in systems, reporting, and data management

A professional interim can help ensure the permanent Executive arrives to an organized and functional fundraising operation that is ready to run.

What an Interim’s Fundraising Role is NOT

An interim executive can fill a leadership gap, not a relationship gap.

Donor trust should rest with the organization itself, not with any single executive. When a funder relationship feels at risk during a transition, the solution isn’t to position the interim as a substitute relationship-holder. Instead, it’s a signal that your stewardship structure needs strengthening.

This is an opportunity. Use the transition to widen donor touchpoints, deepen board engagement, and build a more team-based approach to relationships. Donors should be building durable connections with the mission, the organization, and its long-term staff…. Not just with whoever currently holds the top title.

Interims should not become the anchor for donor trust. That anchor must be the organization itself, its people, and the enduring work they do together

Interim leaders can not provide a Short-Term Fix for Long-Term Fundraising Problems

Expecting an interim to “find new money fast” is unrealistic. As a colleague of mine often teaches: sustainable fundraising requires stewardship. Stewardship means building trust and connection with donors over time. Big gifts come from relationships cultivated over months and years… not from cold outreach during a transition from a temp leader.

An interim can help you see your fundraising landscape clearly. They can assess your position, spot opportunities, and point you in the right direction. They can bring fresh eyes and stronger systems.

But no interim can shortcut stewardship. They can set you up for success… but the relationships must outlast any single leader.

Interim leaders do not bring a Rolodex of Funders

Ethically and practically, interims do not and should not bring a personal network of donors/funders to your organization. Nor should they make a guarantee of new revenue. The AFP code of ethical standards make this clear: donors aren’t portable assets. If an interim is making you this promise, you should reconsider their placement.

A final thought

Interim leadership during a transition is about maintaining confidence while building a stronger foundation. The organizations that make the most out of the moment use it as an opportunity to distribute and broaden fundraising leadership, deepen institutional relationships, and create stewardship systems that outlast any executive.

Your interim can leave your organization more prepared to raise money, not more dependent on any one person to do it.

When an executive leader departs, the board faces an immediate question: Who leads now?

For many, the instinct is to rush into a search for a permanent replacement while cobbling together some sort of internal stopgap for leadership. Yet over the past few years, more nonprofits are turning to a different option: bringing in a professional interim executive to guide the organization through the transition.

So what exactly is an interim executive? And when does it make sense to use one?

Defining the Role

A professional interim Executive Director/CEO is a temporary leader who steps in to run an organization during a transition period. Unlike a permanent executive, these folk know from day one that their role has an end date. They’re not building a long-term vision or positioning themselves for the permanent job. They’re there to stabilize, assess, and prepare the organization for what comes next.

Most interim placements last between six and eighteen months, though the timeline varies based on the organization’s needs and search process. Some interims are brought in to address specific challenges: a financial crisis, a turnaround, organizational restructuring. Others simply hold steady while the board conducts a search for permanent leadership.

Professional interims also bring something a permanent hire or an internal staff member acting in an interim capacity can’t: objectivity. They have no personal stake in maintaining the status quo or protecting/building a legacy. This distance allows them to see clearly, act decisively, and make changes that might be politically difficult for a permanent leader or internal staffer to navigate.

What an Interim Executive Actually Does

The scope of an interim’s work depends on what the organization needs. In my experience serving as an interim in eight nonprofits over the last few years, and learning from others operating in the space, each scope of work is slightly different… because each organization is different. However, regardless of context, all interims offer the following three things:

• Stability. Staff need reassurance. Funders want confidence the organization is in good hands. The Board could use a partner to better understand their context…and time to make a good decision. An experienced interim can step in quickly and competently, and keep the organization moving forward.
  

• Insight. Outside interim leaders often see things that boards and long-tenured staff have stopped noticing. Operational inefficiencies, financial concerns, gaps in systems or governance, cultural dynamics that need repair. This fresh perspective is valuable, and can assist the board in picking a better long term fit.
  

• Readiness. Professional interims are more than caretakers. They can make decisions, implement necessary changes, clarify roles, improve board function, and address deferred problems. While major strategic decisions should likely wait for permanent leadership, your interim can ensure the organization is in a stable position for the new leader to build from.

When Does an Interim Make Sense?

Not every organization needs an interim executive. Small organizations with strong staff teams or engaged board chairs may be able to manage internally during a search. But there are clear situations where bringing in an interim is the right call.

• Unplanned or Difficult Exits. When an executive leaves suddenly or under contentious circumstances, an interim can provide quick stability and a clean break. An interim also prevents the board from rushing into a permanent hire out of panic. Boards that take time to make thoughtful decisions consistently report better outcomes.
  

• Org Distress or Dysfunction. If the organization is facing significant challenges like financial strain, operational breakdowns, cultural issues, or staff turnover, an interim can step in with an experienced, objective perspective. They can make tough decisions without the political baggage a permanent leader would inherit and address long-standing issues so the next executive begins with a stronger foundation, not a crisis.
  

• Internal interest. If a senior staff member wants the executive role, naming them as interim may seem like a natural test. But this approach is risky. If it doesn’t work out, the organization may lose a valued leader or create tension with whoever is ultimately hired. An outside interim creates space for a clearer process. They can help assess the internal candidate objectively, coach them through development areas, and facilitate honest conversations about readiness. The board gets perspective on the candidate’s potential without turning the transition into an audition.

What to Look For

Professional interims should bring proven executive leadership experience, ideally in both permanent and interim roles. They should be able to point to real outcomes supported by data: steadying organizations, improving operations, strengthening teams, or guiding successful transitions.

A strong interim also needs a broad understanding of organizational design, nonprofit governance, and change management. In practice, expertise in operations, finance, and HR is often more essential than deep mission-specific knowledge. Program and fundraising leaders can supply the subject expertise. The interim’s strength is in stabilizing systems, improving clarity, and strengthening internal capacity. The best interims are highly adaptable leaders who can quickly understand a new organization’s context and mission.

Equally important is comfort with ambiguity, complexity, and change. Interim leadership requires political skill and the ability to build trust quickly. Look for someone who can read organizational dynamics, work effectively with boards, and earn credibility with staff in a compressed timeframe. They should be able to point to real examples of how they’ve built trust or articulate a clear philosophy or method for doing so.

And perhaps most critically: choose someone who understands the role. A good interim should not be angling for the permanent position, crafting a personal agenda, or trying to reshape the organization around themselves. They are there to serve the organization during a specific window, strengthen it for the next leader, and step aside when the work is done.

Final thoughts… Interims are a strategic choice, not a stopgap

Bringing in an interim executive isn’t about finding someone to warm a seat for a few months. It’s a strategic decision that can provide your organization with time, stability, and expert guidance during a vulnerable moment.

Done well, an interim placement will not just get you through the transition… it will position your organization to emerge stronger and ready for the leadership that comes next.

There are many decisions a board faces during a leadership transition, but none more important than who will lead in the interim.

As an interim leader, I often begin assignments in a fog… stepping into organizations where the board knows change is needed but can’t define what kind, or why. It’s rarely because of a lack of commitment on their part. Rather, leadership transitions are complex, emotional, and fast-moving. In the urgency to act, boards sometimes skip the hard questions that would help them find and select the best possible interim leader.

So, to make the right match, here are five conversations your board should have before hiring an interim leader.

1. The Leadership Context

The board should start by trying to understand the environment the interim leader will step into. Every transition period is slightly different: some call for continuity and calm, others require renewed momentum or deep change. The kind of leadership skill required depends on whether the organization is steady, shifting, or under real strain.

The Boards understanding of that context will shape every decision that follows: the interim’s mandate, the authority they’ll need, and the kind of candidate most likely to succeed. In some cases, you may find that sector expertise is essential; in others, what matters most is situational experience (e.g. someone who has led a turnaround, navigated financial distress, or stabilized a team in flux.)

And, if the full picture isn’t yet clear, (and of it is not), the board should acknowledge that uncertainty and include diagnostic work in the interim’s early mandate. Understanding before acting is often the first act of effective leadership.

Discussion questions:

• What is the current state of the organization: steady, shifting, or under strain?

• Where are we most vulnerable during this transition?

• How confident are we in accurately representing organizations operating context?

• How long do we expect this interim period to last, and how stable do we think the conditions will be during it?

2. The Definition of Success

An interim leader’s success begins with the board’s clarity around success. What do you hope to see accomplished during this time of transition? Is the priority to stabilize finances or complete an operational review? Perhaps the organization is in need of cultural repair or has a set of special projects needing stewardship?

The clearer the objectives, the easier it will be to identify the right interim candidate and set them up to deliver results.

But clarity must also come with realism. Expectations need to match the interim’s time in role, level of authority, and resources available. For example, a short-term or part-time leader can steady the ship and make targeted improvements, but will likely not be able to drive deep transformation.

Defining success also means identifying what must be protected and what can be reshaped. Knowing which areas require continuity and which are open to evolution can help the interim focus their efforts where they will have the greatest impact.

Questions for Board Discussion:

• What immediate outcomes or behaviors do we need from leadership in the first 90 days?

• What will success look like at the end of the interim period?

• Which priorities are critical now, and which can wait for the permanent leader?

• Are there specific projects, initiatives, or issues we want the interim to complete or advance?

• Are we being clear and realistic about what this leader can achieve within the time and resources available?

3. The Increased Need for Engagement

Because interim leaders often step in under pressure, they usually need a board that is present and available… not to manage operations, but to enable them to act decisively. This may mean maintaining shorter feedback loops, more frequent meetings, or additional coordination between the board chair and interim leader. At the end of the day, the goal is to ensure alignment without creating delays or micromanagement.

Boards should also anticipate that decisions will arise that cannot wait for a permanent hire. Discussing in advance how those decisions will be handled, and by whom, can help reduce confusion and maintain confidence throughout the organization.

• How will the board stay closely informed and responsive without overstepping into management?

• Who will serve as the primary point of contact with the interim leader?

• What cadence of communication will best support timely, effective decisions?

• How will we decide which decisions must be made now, and which can wait for the permanent leader?

• Are we aligned on how much authority and support this leader will need to achieve those outcomes?

4. The Authority, Resources, and Constraints

Even the most capable interim can’t succeed without the right tools, mandate, and support. From the outset, the board must communicate what decisions the interim can make independently, which require board input, and what resources are available to achieve the agreed outcomes.

This includes more than budget and staffing. It extends to ensuring the leader has access to information, advisors, systems, and the confidence of the organization. A strong interim cannot lead effectively if their authority is unclear or if internal constraints quietly undermine their work.

Boards should also take a realistic view of what can be accomplished within the available time and conditions. If financial limits, policy restrictions, or cultural resistance are likely to shape what’s possible, naming those constraints early helps the interim prioritize and plan.

Questions for Board Discussion:

• What key decisions can the interim make independently, and which require board approval?

• What budget, staffing flexibility, or external support will they have access to?

• What organizational constraints (financial, structural, or cultural) could limit the interim’s ability to act?

• Are we prepared to invest the resources required to attract and support the caliber of leadership this situation demands?

• How will we communicate and reinforce the interim’s authority with staff and key stakeholders?

5. The Transition Timeline

From the start, the board should start talking about what comes next, looking at what is necessary to ensure the organization is ready to transition smoothly to permanent leadership. This means getting early alignment on the recruitment approach, timing, and communication strategy.

Boards should also define the interim’s role in that transition. Some interns are deeply involved in succession management, including participating in recruitment and advising on candidate fit. Others focus solely on operational continuity. Which will be right for you?

Questions for Board Discussion:

• When should the search for a permanent leader begin, and how prepared are we to start?

• Will we engage an external search firm or manage recruitment internally?

• What role, if any, will the interim play in supporting or advising on the search?

Final Thought

Every leadership transition is different, but success always begins with clarity. Boards may not have answers to every question on day one, but starting the conversation early sets the stage for better decisions and stronger outcomes. By thinking through these five areas first, boards lay the groundwork for selecting the right interim: someone whose expertise fits the moment, whose mandate is clear, and whose leadership strengthens the organization for what comes next.

When a CEO, Executive Director, or other top leader leaves, whether by resignation, retirement, or an unexpected termination, the ripple effect is immediate. Emotions run high, priorities blur, and the urgency to “just fill the seat” can be strong. But choosing the next leader is one of the most consequential decisions a board will make, and rushing it can be costly.

That’s where interim leadership comes in. A skilled interim leader doesn’t simply hold the fort down, they help the board and organization pause, reflect, and strengthen before the next chapter begins.

Over the last few years, I’ve come to specialize in interim leadership, stepping into organizations at their turning point, when things feel uncertain and the path forward isn’t yet clear. Through those experiences, I’ve come to recognize what I call the three gifts of interim leadership… gifts I wish every nonprofit board had during times of transition.

The Gift of Time

An interim leader gives your board the gift of time. Time to slow down, to breathe, and to look at the bigger picture. Leadership transitions, especially sudden ones, can leave organizations disoriented. An interim period offers a board a valuable window of time to reflect and realign before rushing into a permanent hire. It’s a chance to ask and answer some of the most important questions about your organization’s future:

• Where are we right now? What’s working and what isn’t?

• Where do we need to go next?

• ...and what kind of leader do we truly need next? A builder? A maintainer? a fixer?

These are critical questions a board needs to answer together. Alignment around vision and priorities is essential before starting the search for a new leader… and, sometimes, finding that alignment takes time.

At the same time, the organization doesn’t have to stand still. A professional interim leader can onboarding quite quickly and ensure that operations continue to move forward under capable stewardship. Critical deadlines can still be met, key relationships maintained, and staff supported by a steady, experienced hand. In doing so, an interim leader can provide the stability and continuity needed for the board to take the time it needs to make the right long-term decision.

And while the board focuses on reflection, readiness, and recruitment, the interim leader can help them answer those big questions even more fully by offering the second gift: perspective.

The Gift of Perspective

The gift of time is amplified by the gift of perspective. Interims bring a blend of fresh insight, real-world experience, and specialized expertise that can help an organization see itself more clearly and move forward with confidence.

• Fresh Perspective/ Outsider Insight - An interim leader brings an outsider’s lens, free from internal politics, entrenched assumptions, or history. They often can see patterns, cultural dynamics, and operational gaps that may have gone unnoticed by those too close to the work. This objectivity allows them to name challenges honestly, surface blind spots, and identify high-impact opportunities for improvement. This neutral, big-picture view can be invaluable to a board seeking clarity during a time of uncertainty.

• Breadth and Depth of Experience - Because they’ve worked across a range of organizations, often during periods of transition, turbulence, or transformation, interim leaders carry a much broader professional “toolbox” than the average executive. This diversity of experience allows them to introduce new ways of thinking and operating that can strengthen the organization, from the board governance level down to day to day management.

• Translating Complexity - Effective communication is one of the most valuable skills of interim leadership. Interims can take their observations and translate complex challenges into clear insights and actionable recommendations. By doing so, they help strengthen board literacy around the organization’s realities (financial, operational, cultural). This level of clarity can improve alignment and help both board and staff understand not only what is happening, but why and where they could go

With both time and perspective, the interim can then offer a third gift--that of organizational readiness.

The Gift of Readiness

Perhaps the most powerful gift of interim leadership is readiness - the ability to move an organization from reflection to action. Once the board has gained clarity on where the organization stands and where it needs to go, the interim leader helps move that understanding into practice. Their focus is simple: strengthen the foundation, steady the people, and set the stage for the future.

• Strengthen the Foundation - After assessing the organization’s needs, an interim leader can focus on reinforcing its core, ensuring that essential systems, structures, and roles are aligned to support the mission. They might refine processes, clarify accountability, or address operational gaps uncovered during the transition period. And in times of urgency, such as one requiring turnaround, restructuring, or other high-stakes change, an experienced interim can act quickly and decisively, bringing both speed and expertise to stabilize the organization while keeping it moving forward.

• Team Stability & Trust - Periods of leadership transition can test even the healthiest of teams. A skilled interim can help restore confidence and continuity by modeling and maintaining transparent communication, setting clear priorities, and creating space for open dialogue during the transition period. They also can help maintain morale, retain key staff, and begin to rebuild trust where confidence may have waned. Through calm, impartial leadership, they can help reestablish a sense of steadiness, so the organization continues to function effectively while preparing for the future.

• Set the Stage for the Future - As the organization approaches the next chapter, an interim can help ensure that the incoming leader steps into clarity, not chaos. They can document insights, clarify roles, and strengthen internal alignment so that the handoff and onboarding process is thoughtful and well-designed.

When used well, an interim period can be more than a pause. It can be an opportunity to realign, strengthen, and prepare for what comes next. The gifts of Time, Perspective, and Readiness can turn uncertainty into momentum, helping boards and organizations move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose.