Leadership and Change Management Seminar

“Show me an Interim who is making a big impact and I will show you a recognised Leader of change”

The words of guest speaker Peter Leadbetter at Interim Partners’ recent Leadership and Change Management Seminar held on June 9th at the Institute of Directors in London.

Having returned from a challenging and worthwhile sponsored cycle tour of the Great British Battle Fields for Help for Heroes, Peter kindly lent Interim Partners some of his valuable time to share his insight into this fascinating area. A Chartered Psychologist and a Director within Ernst & Young’s People & Organisational Change team, Peter has over 18 years experience within consultancy. His work has been centred on the design and delivery of major programmes of change across a range of global clients and sectors. As a presenter with a reputation for delivering high energy, amusing and engaging presentations around a range of themes related to change, leadership, personal development and conflict resolution, Peter received great feedback from all those who attended.

The presentation and debate centred on the challenges faced by leaders of change and the tools and resource available to them with an emphasis on coaching and support. For Peter “Strong leaders of major change programmes are a key differentiator between success and failure but robust Interim Managers who build good relationships with such leaders can make a significant difference through coaching, challenging and sharing of experience” This was a point Andrew Villars, a leading professional interim within supply chain operations, returned to in the subsequent debate asking “Should interim managers ever lead change within organisations?”

After some interesting exchanges all agreed that interim managers play a critical role in facilitating change and supporting existing senior management in delivery however ownership always rests with the permanent leadership team. Peter concluded “The challenge for Interim leaders is to overcome through their evident commitment, expertise and interpersonal skills the perception that they really do not care about the change and its impact on its people when they are inevitably scheduled to leave”

The event was well received and provided a great opportunity for interims and clients to discuss these challenges. Andrew Villars added “Peter was an inspiring speaker who explored the importance of organisations utilising the skills and experience of interim managers in leading and supporting significant change programmes… often providing rapid payback with reduced timescales.”

Following such positive feedback Interim Partners are looking forward to organising an extended event with Peter in the near future. The seminar along with recent networking events in London and Leeds is part of a general drive within Interim Partners to get closer to interim managers and clients and to provide a forum for discussion and debate and hopefully some thought leadership.