The Planning Phase (Phase 3)

The first phase of my interim work is the Engagement phase.  This is where we set the tone and established the relationship.  In the second phase, Assessment, the work was diagnostic.  We create a shared view of reality across leadership.  What is actually happening, not what we wish were happening.

The interim leadership approach I use is grounded in the professional methodology taught by the Interim Executives Academy and refined through my own field experience.

Planning Is Not Activity — It Is Deliberate Decision Making

The third phase is Planning, where that work turns into deliberate decision making.

When people hear “planning,” they often picture a long list of tasks or a rigid roadmap. It is easy to confuse activity with progress. Planning is not me walking in and declaring priorities. It is not a consultant delivering a slide deck and stepping away. It is a working process that translates what we learned during assessment and ongoing conversations with the CEO into a plan we refine together.

One of the most important distinctions in this phase is timing.  The plan developed in this phase distinguishes what is best completed immediately and what should be teed up and ready for the permanent CFO to execute or determine the direction. 

Some things feel urgent but are not foundational. Others are foundational but do not need to be addressed immediately. Some initiatives may not rise to the top strategically, but addressing them at the right moment can strengthen trust and engagement, which makes later execution possible.

Planning is where those tradeoffs get surfaced and made explicit.

Capacity Is Dynamic, Not Theoretical

Another misunderstanding I see often is around capacity. Many leaders treat capacity as static. It is not. Capacity is dynamic, based on what levers the organization is willing to pull.

Are you willing to add staff? Reassign roles? Invest in training? Change workflows? Make difficult personnel decisions?

Those choices matter. Planning without acknowledging them is wishful thinking.

My role in this phase is to evaluate the priorities that emerged during assessment against the organization’s true capacity to execute and absorb change. Not theoretical capacity. Real capacity. Then we design a plan that fits within those constraints, or we deliberately change the constraints.

This is also where interim leadership differs sharply from both consulting and permanent leadership.

I am not designing the department and processes around how I like to work.  I use my experience and knowledge of best practices to draft a plan we evaluate and modify based on leadership’s ability and commitment. 

That boundary matters.

Planning Serves Today’s Organization and Tomorrow’s Leader

A well-designed interim plan serves two masters at once. It serves the organization now, and it serves the permanent CFO who will inherit it later.  This plan also becomes a guide in a later phase as we define the profile of the right permanent leader.

That means making intentional decisions about what not to take on during my tenure. Leaving the right work for the permanent leader is just as important as completing the right work now. A good interim does not strip future leaders of meaningful ownership. They create momentum and clarity, not dependency.

When planning is done well, alignment becomes possible.

Leaders understand what matters, what can wait, and why. Teams understand what they are being asked to do and what they are not. Execution stops competing with itself.

When planning is rushed or skipped, every decision that follows becomes harder. Priorities blur. Teams burn energy reacting instead of building. Progress fragments.

Planning is the bridge between understanding reality and acting on it.

This is the phase where interim leadership becomes deliberate rather than reactive. Where the organization stops bracing for disruption and starts moving forward with intent.

Every organization will face leadership transitions. The ones that navigate them well treat interim leadership as a deliberate part of success planning, not a firefighting tool.

If you are facing a leadership transition, this is the kind of value professional interim leadership is designed to provide. If you want to explore whether an interim approach is right for your organization, that conversation is worth having early, before urgency starts making decisions for you.