First few Article Sentences
Bringing an interim CEO into a healthcare organization usually occurs for one of two reasons. One reason is that the incumbent CEO has either retired or moved on to another opportunity. In this situation, the interim CEO is brought in to provide leadership while a permanent replacement is recruited to “mind the store.”
A second scenario involves a leadership change instituted by the governing board because of financial, operational or other issues. An interim CEO entering this situation may be entering an organization that’s in turmoil and under extreme stress. The situation is analogous to the emergency room doctor and patient relationship. The interim CEO is the ER doctor whose job is to stabilize the patient, (the organization) so that the patient can be moved to another level of care.
When an interim CEO enters an organization under these circumstances, there are several important areas that he or she needs to focus on in order to achieve success. At the end of the interim’s tenure, if these areas have been addressed, it’s likely the organization will be stabilized and can be turned over to a permanent CEO. There are several key things for an executive to understand in these circumstances.