Robin Scheu, MS '08

Robin Scheu, MS Leadership and Management Program
Department of Organization & Management

With sixteen years as an executive in the banking industry, another eight years as a successful consultant, and a newly attained master's degree in organizational leadership and management, it might seem a little odd that Robin Scheu is exuberant about embarking on a future of temp work. After all, temping seems more common for the college grad crowd. But Robin isn't harkening back to earlier, carefree days of young adulthood. Instead, she's decided to commit permanently to temporary work, in the form of something called interim management, a growing sector in which organizations seek to fill temporary leadership positions prior to hiring someone for the long haul.

Scheu happened onto this career path while pursuing her degree at Antioch University New England. “I'd stepped off the corporate ladder around the time my children began school and went from being a vice president for the Bank of Vermont to a full-time mom and I began doing volunteer work as well, ” says Scheu. “It became clear that my management and financial experience were great skills to bring to the non-profits I was volunteering with. I served on a number of boards including chairing the board of the Vermont Land Trust for four years.” Robin began to consult with boards of directors to help them be more effective, loved the work, but wanted to learn more. When her kids, Jamie and Kirsten went off to college, Robin began looking at a number of graduate schools. She heard about Antioch University New England's Organization and Management program and finally found exactly what she was looking for. “They articulated values that were my values — social justice, ecological stewardship, diversity of thought, democratic leadership and creating organizational integrity through shared governance,” says Robin. “And their learning environment included not just theoretical inquiry but the challenge to see things from a systems perspective and an expectation to bring one's whole self, through self-reflective thinking, to the table. It was just terrific to constantly learn theoretical ideas, try them out, and reflect on the experience.”

But when she approached the requirement to take these ideas into a practicum-a real-life working situation that would incorporate her academic experience and move her career forward in a new way, she says she had trouble figuring out what that would be. In a career development class taught by Ed Tomey, professor emeritus in the Department of Organizational Leadership & Management, Robin came to realize that the one thing she could not live without in a work situation was “pure challenge.” But clarifying what that meant came after a long conversation with her advisor, Robbie Hertneky, a core faculty member, after which she realized she wanted to do high-intensity work within a structured time frame that included a clear end goal. She describes her insight by saying “day-to-day management is critically important in any leadership position but that kind of ongoing role isn't for me. Solving pressing problems is what energizes me.”

Hertneky suggested she do some research to find out what kinds of careers might fit her revised career vision. Scheu outlined her process: “I searched everything I could think of. Emergency management? Well it turns out those are the folks who write a lot of plans and then wait for the emergency to happen. Crisis intervention? That's really about social services and child welfare, important work, but not for me. Then I googled interim management' and hit pay dirt. It turns out there's an entire field of just 'interim management.”

Interim managers play a significantly different role than the permanent managers because their specific function is to bridge an organization's transition between old and new. Since the norm is to seek permanent employment, someone who makes interim management a career choice is unique. Interims are drawn to short-term, highly focused and challenging work. As Scheu discovered about herself, they thrive on the “pure challenge” of being at the front line of organizational change where past and present circumstances need to be uncovered and an unknown future must be charted.

Just as Scheu was investigating the field of interim management she received a call from the Middlebury Area Land Trust (MALT), an organization she was familiar with from her work at the Vermont Land Trust. MALT was looking for a new director and advertised the position as an interim spot with the opportunity to apply for the permanent position as well. They wanted to know if Scheu was interested. Her first thought was to turn them down because she knew she didn't want to apply for the permanent position. But then she realized they were offering her a chance to explore what might just be the ideal role for her. “It all came together like a 'perfect storm,'” she says.

As the interim director Scheu is able to fully and honestly to assess the organization without being concerned about her professional future there, because a key part of being interim manager is being there for the organization, not themselves. This kind of role makes it easier for everyone involved because an interim manager can do things like talk openly to the board about what's really going on without worrying about the impact on their own career. Scheu clarifies by saying, “for example, you may have to tell the board about a financial difficulty that they were not aware of before. They're not happy about it, but they're so grateful just to know. The staff may also have grudges from past management, but if you're successful with them, then a new director can come in, start fresh and do the job they were hired for, instead of first having to deal with any fallout from the past. So you have to completely put your ego aside, be very proactive, and remember that your job, for a short, specific span of time, is to guide an organization through an important transition. It's also a perfect time for organizations to enact changes that have been on their agenda for a while.”

Robin added that one of the best things about interim management is that her age and past experience are key attributes. “It isn't the kind of job that a very bright twenty-something can do. I did have a moment during my time at Antioch when I thought I might be too old to do something new, that maybe I should have stayed with the bank, where I'd probably be a president by now. But at this point I feel like I'm in the perfect place. I'm optimistic and excited about the future even though I don't have a nice clean linear path laid out. In fact, it's because I don't have that.”

In addition to pursuing her newfound profession Robin has other goals as well. She expects to do PhD work in the field of organizational management and also plans to share her experience with others by speaking at conferences and writing a book about interim management for non-profits.

When asked what “Because the world needs you now” means to her, Robin shared her philosophical thoughts about the future: “Transitions are such a natural part of life. No matter how much we wish the future would be clear, we just can't control or think our way into it. Instead, we need to be open to what comes and be able to work with that. I've come to realize I have the skills and experience to do that and I want to be someone who can help others navigate unknown territory and create successful outcomes.”