*** VI*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT WORK PATTERNS|***Women ponder work-life equation More mothers are becoming interim managers. But just how easy do they find it to juggle working lives and family commitments, asks Natasha MannANDY MARTIN/HEARTSATISFACTION FOR A RISING STAR EVERY MORNING WHEN LAURA BARLOW GOES TO WORK SHE KNOWS SHE IS HELPING TO SAVE PEOPLE’S JOBS, PENSIONS AND LIVELIHOODS “Turnaround management can be an immensely rewarding job,” says Laura Barlow, 42, winner of the Turnaround Rising Star 2008 award from the Institute for Turnaround and a managing director at AlixPartners, a consultancy that specialises in turnaround and restructuring. “It is satisfying to go into difficult situations and be able to give people a sense of direction and purpose.” Currently, Barlow is working as an interim for Sea Containers, a Bermudaregistered company, which was in bankruptcy when Barlow was brought in two years ago as chief restructuring officer and chief financial officer. She has been instrumental in helping to rescue a number of companies, including Stolt Offshore, a sea-bed-to-surface engineering and construction firm now called Acergy. In 2003 and 2004 she worked to restructure the company and create a stable financial platform for successful business. “People can feel threatened if an outsider comes into a stressed business,” says Barlow, who began her careerFemale interims — and interim management itself — were virtually unknown when Carole Harden first started out in the early Nineties. “There weren’t many women at all,” recalls Harden, a human resources (HR) interim, whose placements have included HM Revenue and Customs, Transport for London, Laura Ashley and Thales Aerospace. “That said, there weren’t many women on HR boards or general boards, so there’s been a movement generally. Now I come across a lot of female interim finance directors and chief information officers.” According to a survey of 700 women by Russam GMS interim specialists, 66 per cent becameinterim managers to enjoy a better work-life balance. A poll for the Interim Management Association (IMA), conducted last year by Ipsos MORI, reports an increase of five per cent in the number of female interims. But is it really easier for women to work as interims because they can be flexible and combine it with a family? The nature of the work suggests otherwise. “This is one of the questions I am frequently asked by women who are considering IM,” says‘You have got to be comfortable knowing you might not have regular income’Rachel Youngman, chairman of Interimwomen.com, a support network for women. “I do know interims who say, ‘I’m going to take one position a year, I’ll work flat out for six months, or whatever the duration of the contract, and take the rest of the year off’,” says Youngman, whose portfolio includes interim chief executive at the British Youth Council, as well as consultancy work at the Home Office and for the Cabinet. “However, you are under a lot ofpressure to find the work and to fulfil the responsibilities of the position. Sometimes that can involve being away from home. So the flexibility issue depends on your approach and your personal circumstances.” Yet Lucy Hazell, an interim based in Wimbledon, says: “I have chosen interim work because it fits beautifully with my family. Typically I work about six to eight months of the year, and I suspect I see more of my three young children than I would if I were doing a full-time job.” “It’s important that there are female interims,” adds Hazell. “If you don’t consider women in corporate life, you are losing a whole section of society. Variety helps bring a fresh perspective.” One area that is traditionallymale dominated is turnaround interim management. Christine Elliott, chief executive and director of the Institute for Turnaround (IFT), says: “It is not a career choice for everyone, but there is no reason why women can’t be in turnaround. However, the work is very demanding. “It is an extreme form of management and when you are trying to turn a business around, you can be working every possible hour, seven days a week, which can be punishing on personal and family life. “Turnaround professionals also have additional legal liabilities and can be judged harshly. But there are some who are tremendously successful at it, and as the impact of the recession plays out over the next three to 10 years it is a greattime to develop a career in turnaround.” Nevertheless, recent redundancies also mean more competition for interim work. “Carving out a career as an interim can be tough,” says James Rust, a partner at Leathwaite International, an executive search company specialising in financial services positions, including interim roles. “You’ve got to have an independent mindset and be comfortable knowing you might not have a regular income. Having said that, if you’re successful, it can be very rewarding.”‘If people can see you are improving the situation, generating cash and delivering results, they feel more confident’@JOBS ONLINE: jobs.telegraph.co.uk/ careers-insiderin turnaround soon after university when she qualified as an accountant at Arthur Andersen, now Andersen. “Employees can feel very angry and unhappy about the predicament they are in. You have to bring fresh eyes, objectivity and creative solutions to complex problems. If they can see you are improving the situation, generating cash and delivering results, then people feel more confident.” To be a good turnaround executive, Barlow believes communication skills are essential. “You also need to be a good listener,” she says. “You need to have a thick skin and be good at sifting quickly through lots of often imperfect information, and getting to the critical points, knowing what could kill the company: such as a lack of cash and liquidity. “It is a demanding lifestyle,” says Barlow, who also has two sons. “But I don’t think there is any disadvantage to being a woman in this field. People tend to see a professional who’s been there before, knows what they’re doing, comes in and makes things happen.”NATASHA MANNIMA INSTITUTE A PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR PROFESSIONAL INTERIM MANAGERS A MUST for all career Interim Managers! Launched in January 2009 by the Interim Management Association (IMA), the Institute offers individual Interims outstanding benefits, including:Job search Sector Contract/Interim• Full and Associate membership • On-line Business Workshops • Legal Helpline and Litigation Cover • Quality mark of profession (M.I.M.A.) • Industry-specific news and information centre• Professional Indemnity Insurance • Offices Meeting Rooms • Lobbying support through the IMA • Interim Competency BenchmarkingSearch results 385 job vacanciesInduction Workshop: The IMA Institute also offers Executives considering a career in Interim Management an invaluable one-day workshop; saving up to 6 months wasted time and costly mistakes. You do not need to be a member of the Institute to attend.Phone: 0151 346 1488 E-mail: info@ima-institute.com www.ima-institute.comLocation jobs.telegraph.co.ukSearchFinding your perfect job could be easier than you think Search thousands of vacancies, from engineering to education, online now atjobs.telegraph.co.uk
*** ****** ***FOCUS ONThe Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 29, 2009 jobs.telegraph.co.uk/caInterim managementProduced byTelegraph Create Special ReportsTHE BUSINESS WORLD’S ANSWER TO THE SAS RIDING TO THE RESCUE PAGE 2HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL IM? THE CHALLENGES: PAGE 3NORTHERN R
*** II*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW ANDY MARTIN/HEART|***The Daily TelegraphThe trouble shooters Whether you call them company ‘doctors’, change consultants or turnaround specialists, interim managers are in the business of converting loss to profit
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphTHE CHALLENGES INTERIM MANAGEMENT| IIIHave you got what it takes? If you have years of business experience and thrive under pressure, interim work could be for you, says Gabrielle Collett-WhiteThe bank is on the brink, th
*** IV*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH|***
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphSUCCESS STORIES INTERIM MANAGEMENT GETTY| VSorting out a right royal mess King George VI unwittingly and reluctantly became an interim manager long before the term became fashionable — and he did an excellent job. Natasha
*** VI*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT WORK PATTERNS|***Women ponder work-life equation More mothers are becoming interim managers. But just how easy do they find it to juggle working lives and family commitments, asks Natasha MannANDY MARTIN/HEARTSATISFACTION
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***CUTTING EDGE INTERIM MANAGEMENT| VIIMore organisations are turning to business ‘doctors’ for a cure. Lisa Sewards reportsThere is seldom such a thing in business as a lost cause... that is the philosophy of seasoned turnaround expert Ian Gr
*** VIII*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE PROFILE|***The Daily TelegraphHOW THE NORTHERN ROCK SAGA UNFOLDED JULY/AUGUST 2007: Banks become reluctant to lend to each other owing to fears over potential losses on high-risk US “sub-prime” mortgages. SEPT
