Interim-ing Update

It’s been just over two months since I started as the interim Executive Director at the Center for Social Sector (CSSL) at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.  The title is a mouthful, which I’ve noticed occasionally makes me hesitant to actually talk about what I’m doing.  But I wanted to take a moment to talk about it here.  Out of respect for the people involved, I won’t be going deeply into the specifics, but I have had some more general observations about “interim-ing” that I'd like to share.

The first thing I’ve noticed – and this is not at all revelatory – is that the humans really are the thing.  They are the very best part, and simultaneously, the part that makes things tricky.  I initially structured my role as interim ED with a proposed scope based on two interviews with the Center’s Faculty Director and Advisory Board Co-Chairs.  Over the initial thirty-day assessment phase I was able to check my assumptions and revise the scope to create a 90 day workplan.  Most of this assessment time was spent meeting with people: the Center’s staff, faculty and Advisory Board members, with a few alumni calls thrown in for good measure. While I expected to enjoy this exploratory phase, I didn’t fully anticipate how much I would enjoy it.  The people have been really wonderful – interested and interesting, genuinely willing to lean in and help, curious, caring and generous. Also, they are hopeful - about the potential for the Center and the value of this transition period. It may reflect a blinding mastery of the obvious, but so far the best part of being an interim has been the chance to meet new people who are committed to something bigger than themselves.

My second reflection, and again, not entirely surprising, is that working in a University system is really different.  As in, “I have landed on an entirely new planet” different. While being an interim makes this part of the experience manageable, it also makes me feel a keen sense of responsibility to whoever succeeds me.  To that end, I’ve found it useful to imagine a specific human as my successor – someone whom I actually know.  When I’m making a decision, or having a hard conversation, or thinking about what to do next, it has been extremely useful to think to myself, “Would I feel OK turning this situation over to (let’s call them) Jordan?”  Whoever my successor is, they’re going to have to navigate this particular situation. And while I believe this would apply to any situation and in any work culture, being in the University context has made me acutely aware that my job is to do what I can while I’m here to set the next leader up for success.

The third and final thing about interim-ing that really stands out is that it feels absolutely essential that I not lose my focus on driving things forward.  As an Executive Director, one always feels pressure to keep one’s eye on key objectives, but being an effective interim feels like it requires an even greater degree of diligence. This is not like a design cycle in which one alternates between periods of focus and flare.  This is all focus.  And it is requiring a level of discipline that feels extra.  I've been surprised that while  standing meetings with other staff help, the biggest accountability structure has been my bi-monthly meetings with the Board co-chairs.  Every two weeks I send them a write up on what’s been accomplished in the previous fourteen days and then we meet for an hour to discuss.  These memos and meetings have come to serve as a real forcing function for me - compelling me to check in with myself around where I am against my 90 day workplan and where I need to pay more attention. The CSSL Board operates in an advisory capacity – it isn’t a fiduciary board – so this is a bigger ask than I think has been historically made of the chairs.  I’m pretty sure they are experiencing it as a lot, but I’m also confident they recognize how helpful our conversations are to the process. I have definitely come to see my success in this role in terms of the momentum I am able to build - and then hand over – to my successor. Working in this way with the board co-chairs feels essential to building and maintaining this momentum.

Finally, one of my current 90 day plan goals is to have a revised job description for the Center’s Executive Director position by the end of the May, kicking off the next phase of work which will focus more on coordinating the search.  I'm looking forward to sharing this job description with all of you. I still have a lot to learn, and I’m genuinely excited - and curious – to see where this adventure takes me next.  Thanks for joining me  - and please don't hesitate to reach out if you're exploring interim-ing yourself, or have any other questions or suggestions.

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