Are Interim Managers still needed at all?

I've recently asked myself this provocative question again.

On the one hand, AI reduces the need for classic software engineers and thus, to some extent, for traditional IT roles.
On the other hand, Frédéric Laloux describes in his book «Reinventing Organisations»a future with fewer hierarchies and fewer traditional managers.

So «Quo vadis» Interim Management?

Perhaps the answer lies precisely in the change itself.

Because the faster companies change, the greater the need for people who can not only understand transformation theoretically but also implement it pragmatically.

What's interesting about this is:

AI replaces many operational activities.

What it does not replace:
• Guidance in uncertainty
• Experience in critical situations
• The ability to bring different interests together
• And taking responsibility when decisions become uncomfortable

Laloux describes organisations that place greater emphasis on self-organisation, purpose, and decentralised decision-making.

Classic management tasks do not disappear as a result.
They are changing.

Teams still need people who:
• Make tensions visible
• Facilitate conflicts
• Accompany change
• Provide orientation in complex situations

However, in the future, this will happen less through hierarchy and power, and more through experience, trust, and impact.

Perhaps the role of the interim manager is therefore shifting from the classic line manager to that of a transformer, coach, translator, and enabler.

Less Command & Control.
More context, empowerment, and transformation.

Or to put it another way:
Perhaps fewer managers will be needed in the future.
But more people who make change possible.