Why Consultants Become Executive Interim Manages

Some larger consultancies' rules of engagement often prohibit the sort of hands-on management of the implementation process that if they had a choice most of the consultants themselves would like to have. For example: as a matter of procedure some of the bigger practices insist that their supply chain consultants must not lead negotiations with suppliers. Support the preparation of negotiations: no problem. Attend the negotiations: possibly, but lead them: no. This they argue ensures that the client takes full ownership for the solution; which is of course a good thing, but equally if things don't go entirely to plan, it means that the consultancies are able to maintain a politically safe distance.

Having oftentimes come from line management roles in industry themselves, given the chance, most consultants would love to take ownership for the whole process, and with it the kudos for the value that they deliver. Having to maintain a safe distance is often a source of some frustration.

Since even large business change programmes, that hitherto have been the realm of the bigger consultancies, are increasingly being won by teams of executive interim managers; many consultants have seen how increasingly attractive the prospect of solutions based upon a team of executive interim managers can be to clients. How much more compelling a solution then, would be a team of executive interim managers, with the full range of sophisticated management consultancy methodologies at their disposal?

From time to time, as in any business, when times get tough for the bigger management consultancies, they rationalise around their core high value fee income streams, and in some cases, consultants are given the opportunity to take redundancy packages and set up as independents; and become available to the market at much more competitive daily rates.

Often the consultants that are approached with the opportunity to take a golden parachute are senior and middle managers, below partner level. These individuals may have been recruited as consultants, have been promoted through senior consultant to managing consultant; some even being raised to principle or executive consultant and who may have been charged out at as much as £2500 per day. Yet as soon as they become independents they bring what is enormous amount of specialist expertise, and finely honed interpersonal skills at a much more affordable daily rate.