Key takeaways
- A management consultant analyses and recommends, while an interim manager takes on a line management role and is accountable for the outcome.
- Consulting is strong for independent analysis, benchmarks and strategic options, provided you can handle the implementation yourself.
- An interim manager is the right choice when a leadership position suddenly falls vacant, implementation stalls or a crisis calls for decisions.
- The two can be combined, as long as the roles are clear and one person is accountable for the result.
Contents
Both come from outside, both bring experience – and yet they solve different problems. A management consultant analyses and recommends. An interim manager takes on a line management role, makes decisions and is accountable for the outcome. Confuse the two and you end up with polished slides when what you really need is implementation – or vice versa.
01The differences at a glance
The consultant works alongside the organisation as an external project partner. The interim manager takes on a position within the organisation – as managing director, COO or team lead.
The consultant is responsible for the quality of their recommendation. The interim manager is accountable for the result within the company – at C-level often as a formally appointed statutory officer.
Consultants generally have no management responsibility for staff. Interim managers lead teams, with both functional and line authority.
From the consultant: analysis, concept, recommendation. From the interim manager: measures implemented, structures that work and an orderly handover.
Consulting projects are often intermittent. Interim managers are a fixed part of day-to-day business – on site, hybrid or remote.
02When a management consultant is the better choice
Consulting comes into its own when you need an independent analysis, benchmarks or an assessment of strategic options – and can handle the implementation yourself. For legal, tax or highly specialised technical questions, specialist advisers are also the right people to turn to.
03When an interim manager is the better choice
- A leadership position suddenly becomes vacant and needs to be filled immediately.
- The strategy is in place, but implementation has stalled.
- The company is in crisis and needs someone who will make decisions.
- After an acquisition or a carve-out, a business unit has to become operational quickly.
- A team needs leadership, structure and clear processes – not yet another concept.
In the AIMP market study 2025, interim managers cite project vacancies (41%), change management (39%) and restructuring (36%) as the most common types of assignment.
Practical tip
If the strategy is in place but implementation has stalled, you do not need another concept – you need someone who decides and is accountable for the outcome.
04Resulting, not consulting
Our principle: take responsibility rather than give advice. As Interim COSO at 7StepsSolution, Jens Schneiders did not just draw up a restructuring plan – he rebuilt liquidity planning, the business model and the go-to-market himself, working alongside the CEO through to the handover of an economically viable organisation.
05How to recognise a good interim manager
- Proven responsibility in comparable situations – not just project experience.
- References from clients who confirm the results and the handover.
- A clear understanding of when the assignment ends and what the handover will look like.
- The willingness to take uncomfortable decisions and stand by them.
06Can you combine the two?
This works well as long as the roles are clear: the consultant provides a specialist analysis, and the interim manager translates it into decisions and leads the implementation. The only thing that matters is that one person is accountable for the result.
Jens Schneiders
Interim CEO for mid-sized companies, scale-ups and corporate ventures. Transformation. Restructuring. Stabilization. Handover.