From Wikipedia comes a great definition that concisely explains what interim management is about:

“Interim management is the temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive manager to manage a period of transition, crisis or change within an organization. In this situation, a permanent role may be unnecessary or impossible to find on short notice. Additionally, there may be nobody internally who is suitable for, or available to take up, the position in question.”

The book Leadership on Demand, adds that interim management, while often utilized at the executive level, can also be successfully applied at the group-level position as well.

In essence, interim management is the utilization of an experienced manager to temporarily fill a gap in an organization.

The most common need for interim management occurs when an executive leaves a position for whatever reason, and the firm seeks an immediate replacement, while they search for an ideal permanent replacement.

However, an interim manager often does more than keep the seat warm. A good interim manager will add tremendous value to the organization by applying their experience and skill set to move the organization closer to achieving their goals.

Every large organization should have conversations with an interim management company like OneAccord (which specializes in marketing and sales interim management) or Tatum (which focuses on finance), so that they can tap the vast pool of experience and skills that OneAccord can provide when the need inevitably arises.