Can leadership talent successfully be outsourced?

Global developments have already revolutionized everyday business life and are still transforming it today. Among other things, the outsourcing of processes or tasks in many companies is now normal. In contrast, when it comes to leadership, there is still the classic view that it cannot be outsourced. 

The Interim Management Report 2019 of EO Germany suggests otherwise.

Overloading the management level leads to problems

In principle, many company managers think that management tasks can not be outsourced, but must be taken over internally. However, the more tasks that are required, the sooner this will lead to problems - on the one hand because the management team is overburdened by too many tasks and, on the other, when they can longer work productively due to the constant accessibility.

Situations that involve specialized knowledge and skills only aggravate this problem. Be it because the necessary know-how - for example when buying a company - is missing, or if there are personnel bottlenecks. If the management level is overloaded, it can no longer manage employees well. The result: a lack of motivation, and bad results. 

Leadership can be outsourced

A proven solution to address this problem is the use of interim managers, who offer flexibility and can temporarily take on management tasks in companies. However, that does not mean that they act as a kind of fire department and should come only when it is already too late. Rather, it is better to bring any specific knowledge targeted at individual projects in the respective company. 

The Interim Management Report 2019 clearly shows that this is primarily about vacant management. At 35 percent, this is the most common reason for using an interim manager. Here they are called to lead important transformation projects, because, for example, the corresponding competencies in the company itself are missing.

In 2019, 30 percent of the interviewed interim managers - ten percent more than two years ago - see the highest added value for their clients in their leadership skills. Naturally, it appears that there is a tendency for interim managers to actually be given leadership, irrespective of whether they cannot or do not want to do this themselves. 

Concluding, the report seems to show all signs that leadership can be outsourced successfully - even in the age of agile leadership and self-organization of teams.

Join us November 12-15 for the Property Portal Watch Conference Madrid 2019.