Leadership gaps happen all the time - vacations, parental leave, sudden transitions. Most people wait to be asked. Strategic professionals step up proactively.
๐๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ when your manager needs coverage or when teams are in transition.
When you volunteer for interim leadership, you're solving a real business problem while positioning yourself for future opportunities. Andy Hsu did just that when his manager was out on a rotation. That interim role turned into a permanent one and a major step up in his career.
๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐: "I know you'll need coverage while you're out. I'd be happy to step in as interim lead to make sure the team stays on track and nothing falls through the cracks. This would also be valuable leadership experience for me. Would that work for you?"
๐๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ: "I want to make sure our team has the support it needs during this transition. I'm ready to step up as interim lead if that would be helpful. What would be most useful for covering the critical responsibilities?"
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐:
โ Solves a real business need
โ Signals leadership readiness
โ Shows initiative and ownership
โ Makes your impact visible
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐'๐น๐น ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป:
โข Strategic decision-making experience
โข Cross-team coordination skills
โข Priority and resource management
โข Mentoring and team guidance practice
๐๐ณ ๐ถ๐'๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐: Be specific about timeline and expectations. Ask for regular check-ins to get feedback on your performance.
๐๐ณ ๐ถ๐'๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐: Ask what you'd need to develop first, or suggest supporting in a more limited capacity.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ: Even a few weeks of interim leadership gives you concrete examples for promotion conversations and helps you understand what aspects of leadership you want to pursue.
With this kind of proactive career charting you're providing value while testing your leadership readiness.
๐ Liked this post? Follow me on LinkedIn or here on Substack for the remaining posts in this series and more!
โ Want to get even better at asking? I still have a limited number of seats left in the July 25 cohort of my course. Last cohort of this year! https://maven.com/chaitali-narla/outstanding-tech-career