Interims as Change Agents: Delivering Today, Building for Tomorrow

The plans for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) continue to create significant demands on local authority leadership teams. While attention has often focused on future structures and governance, the immediate impact on people, services and leadership capacity is equally important.

For people services, particularly children's social care, adult social care and education, these pressures come at an already challenging time. Children's social care continues to face rising demand, significant financial and workforce pressures, alongside the ongoing challenges of SEND and the reforms. Throughout, statutory responsibilities remain unchanged. Services must remain safe, regulatory confidence must be maintained, and improvement and transformation must continue.

Alongside these pressures, senior teams must also plan for new organisational structures, manage competing priorities and maintain service delivery throughout the transition.

Our LGR research highlights the changing role of interim leadership as councils prepare for reorganisation. A third of respondents reported increased use of interims, rising to 41% among county and district councils, while more than half said their reliance had increased over the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, 35% of senior local government leaders surveyed are considering becoming consultants or moving into interim roles themselves, up from 23% in 2025. These findings form part of Tile Hill's research into the wider impact of LGR on local government leadership.

These findings point to a changing landscape in terms of the leadership market at a time when experienced leaders are needed more than ever. For councils, the challenge is not simply filling vacancies; it is maintaining leadership capacity while continuing to deliver services and prepare for significant organisational change.

This raises an important question: are we appointing interims simply to fill gaps, or to leave organisations better equipped for the future? My hope is the latter.

Beyond filling the gap

Interim appointments are often driven by immediate pressures: a leadership vacancy, a service requiring stabilisation, an inspection, or a transformation programme needing additional expertise. In these circumstances, continuity and rapid delivery are essential.

However, the strongest interim leaders offer much more than additional capacity. They bring an external perspective, fresh thinking and constructive challenge, helping organisations navigate uncertainty with confidence.

In children's social care, for example, an interim director of children's services may be appointed to address performance concerns or provide stability during a period of change. Delivering those immediate priorities is critical, but the assignment can also strengthen the leadership team, improve accountability and provide coaching and mentoring opportunities for emerging talent. By building confidence and capability within the existing team, an interim can also help with succession planning by ensuring knowledge and skills remain in the organisation long after the assignment ends.

The distinction is between providing temporary cover and using an appointment to create lasting value.

What makes an interim a change agent?

Technical expertise and a proven track record remain essential, particularly in statutory leadership roles. But during periods of significant change, organisations should also consider the behaviours and capabilities that a leader brings.

Effective interims establish credibility quickly, build relationships across political, professional and organisational boundaries, and balance operational demands with longer-term improvement. They provide constructive challenge, create clarity when uncertainty is high, and help teams maintain confidence and focus.

Crucially, they develop others. Rather than allowing knowledge and decision-making to remain dependent on their presence, they strengthen teams, share expertise and create the conditions for sustainable improvement and collaboration. They can also help organisations identify and develop future leaders, strengthen succession planning and build the internal capability needed to navigate the next stage of change.

Some of my proudest career achievements have involved placing leadership teams into struggling authorities, helping to transform cultures and rebuild confidence in often depleted services, while delivering better and more sustainable outcomes. These experiences have reinforced my belief that successful interim leadership is about more than resolving immediate challenges; it is about leaving services better equipped to succeed long after the assignment ends.

These qualities should be considered from the outset, not treated as an added benefit once the immediate challenge has been addressed.

Rethinking the brief and the legacy

Organisations can make better interim appointments by looking beyond the vacancy itself and asking three questions:

• What needs to be delivered now? Maintaining safe services, addressing performance concerns or providing leadership continuity.

• What needs to change? Strengthening governance, improving performance or preparing services for integration into a new organisation.

• What should be left behind? A stronger leadership team, clearer accountability, developed talent and improvements that can be sustained after the assignment ends.

This approach provides a more meaningful way to measure success. Alongside immediate delivery, organisations should consider whether the interim has strengthened internal capability and reduced the risk of future leadership gaps.

That legacy is particularly important in the context of LGR. Establishing new structures is only the beginning; integrating services, aligning different ways of working and building a shared organisational culture will require sustained leadership long after formal reorganisation.

Financial scrutiny is an important part of any interim appointment. But value should be measured against more than the daily rate. The consequences of an unfilled leadership gap, the risks of instability and the potential for lasting improvement all matter.

Stronger for the future

LGR will continue to test local government leadership, particularly in services where stability and effective decision-making directly affect children, families and communities.

Interim leaders will have an important role in maintaining continuity and delivering change. The opportunity is to be more deliberate about what organisations need from them.

The right interim should not simply keep things moving. They should help build the capability, confidence and leadership strength needed to sustain progress after they leave.

Ultimately, the measure of a successful interim appointment is not just what is achieved during the assignment, but whether the organisation is in a stronger position when it ends.