Kathleen Bartho

Interim Management · Leadership Consulting & Coaching · Human Change Management · Organizational stabilization

Stabilize the operation. Lead the change. Enable the people.

I take interim leadership responsibility when organizations are under pressure: stabilizing teams and operations, clarifying priorities and accountability, and making change workable for the people who have to deliver it.

Interim Management Human Change Management Leadership enablement Organizational stabilization

About

I step into demanding change and stabilization situations when leadership capacity is needed immediately. As an interim manager, I take operational responsibility: setting priorities, clarifying decisions and escalations, restoring reliable collaboration, and keeping delivery moving alongside the day-to-day business.

Human Change Management and leadership enablement shape how I lead that work. I involve the people who understand the operation, surface uncertainty, overload, resistance, and conflict early, and translate change goals into practical steps. Participation and accountability belong together: people need a voice, clear expectations, and decisions that are followed through.

My foundation is the Diplom-Kauffrau für Europäische Wirtschaft (FH), a German business degree comparable to an MBA, together with more than 20 years of leadership and transformation experience. I combine operational knowledge of energy billing and SAP environments with governance, financial steering, program leadership, and organization design. Training as an art & creative therapist and movement coach strengthens how I facilitate difficult topics and keep leadership grounded under complexity.

How I can help

Interim Management & operational leadership

When operations are under pressure or leadership capacity is temporarily missing, I provide orientation, structure, and hands-on leadership.

  • Stabilizing teams and operational delivery
  • Clarifying priorities, roles, decisions, and escalation paths
  • Connecting management, business functions, IT, and external partners
  • Leading through simultaneous operational and transformation pressure
  • Preparing a reliable handover to the permanent organization

Human Change Management & leadership enablement

Change succeeds when people understand the direction, can contribute their experience, and know what is expected of them.

  • Involving employees and activating existing knowledge
  • Identifying uncertainty, resistance, overload, and hidden conflict early
  • Translating change goals into practical everyday steps
  • Facilitating difficult conversations and conflicting interests
  • Combining participation with accountability and measurable implementation

Transformation, governance & financial steering

Stable delivery needs transparent decisions, workable processes, and a steering model that connects operational reality with management expectations.

  • End-to-end processes and operating models grounded in real handoffs
  • Governance, PMO, risk forums, and decision-ready reporting
  • Financial steering, forecasts, KPIs, and transparent trade-offs
  • Business-IT translation in SAP-centric and regulated environments
  • Documentation and structures teams can own after the assignment

Selected experience

When clients call me

My work starts where operational pressure and organizational change meet—and where someone needs to take responsibility for both delivery and the people involved.

Interim leadership is needed

A key role is temporarily vacant, a team needs direction, or the organization requires experienced leadership without a long lead time.

Operations are unstable

Backlogs, unclear priorities, recurring problems, or fragmented ownership are putting reliable day-to-day delivery at risk.

Change is meeting resistance

Uncertainty, overload, or conflict is slowing implementation and needs to be addressed as part of the leadership work.

Accountability is unclear

Roles, interfaces, decisions, and escalation paths need to become explicit so teams can act with confidence.

Business and IT are disconnected

Different priorities and language are blocking progress, and both sides need one shared picture of the work and its consequences.

A new model must land

A transformation, process, or operating model exists on paper but still needs to become workable behavior in everyday operations.

The aim is not change activity for its own sake. It is a stable operation, clear leadership, and a team that can carry the work forward.

Let’s talk

If you need experienced interim leadership, leadership enablement, or Human Change Management that brings people through change while stabilizing delivery, I would be glad to explore the situation with you.

Impressum

Kathleen Bartho
Interim Management, Leadership Consulting & Coaching
Werkstraße 2
76477 Elchesheim-Illingen

Kathleen@Kathleen-Bartho.de
+49 07245 9471861
+49 176 42 57 34 93
VAT ID DE280103988