Industry 4.0: Strong leadership alone is not enough!

The interim industry in Germany is growing due to businesses becoming more flexible and thinking in new ways. This is also the case for interim managers who find themselves in a market which is becoming increasingly competitive.

Project work and interim management have been on the rise for years. According to a current study from the personnel service provider Hays, 78% of the surveyed companies rely on freelancers with IT expertise. In comparison to last year’s study, the demand rose by 9%. For Dr. Ulrich Lehmann this does not come as a surprise. “For digital transformation to succeed, companies must think digitally, the implementation of which requires modern IT solutions. Interim managers can use this to their advantage because experts that demonstrate the fitting hard and soft skills, are in high demand.”

IT solutions and digitalization know-how in high demand

Dr. Ulrich Lehmann, an experienced interim manager, knows which challenges modern companies are facing. Companies that want to survive in an increasingly digital world, have a need for digital solutions. Today, every company has a webpage, but not every company has a web shop. “Especially in sales and marketing companies are increasingly relying on e-commerce, multichannel presence, steering of the customer journey, and also external experts.” According to Dr. Lehmann. In the production sector 3D printing and smart factoring are developing into important know-how and do-how topics. Those who do not have the right expertise in this area have a hard time competing for lucrative projects. This is especially the case as competition is increasing. “The interim manager pool in Germany has been growing at a rate of 5% per year for many years now.” Says Dr. Ulrich Lehmann.

Design Thinking and Big Data

Do the aforementioned recent developments mean that digitalization experts and IT professionals are now the new high-flyers in the interim management market? “Industry and specialist knowledge are naturally staying an important component of the skill-set of an interim manager” says Dr. Lehmann. Especially company leadership should be concerning themselves with the development of their knowledge with respect to new digitalization topics, design thinking and big data. Only by doing so can they remain effective in a changing working landscape. “Leadership skills alone do not suffice anymore. Those who do not offer solutions for digital transformations are becoming less interesting to companies”, according to Dr. Lehmann.

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