The role of procurement is changing, and so are the skills required to be an effective procurement leader or CPO (chief procurement officer). Read on for seven leadership traits to master if you’re a procurement leader.
New demands and pressures come from all angles, and procurement leaders are having to adapt quickly to stay relevant. And develop new skills as well as build on existing ones.
According to the latest CIPS Procurement & Supply Salary Guide 2024, in partnership with Hays, procurement leaders need to dial up specific new skills – while also being strong all-rounders. Tomorrow’s procurement leaders must be strategic, decisive, purposeful and communicative. They must also be technology-first and sustainability-literate.
As Scott Dance, senior procurement engagement director for Hays, highlights: “Operations are being transformed by the increasing digital literacy of leadership teams, with more and more mobile apps and web platforms being used to streamline processes in the supply chain. A hybrid skillset, which combines technical understanding with effective supplier relationship management and influencing skills, will become increasingly critical to success for ambitious procurement leaders.”
Here are seven leadership traits to master if you’re a procurement leader:
1. Work on your soft skills to connect better with your people
Soft skills are a must for procurement leaders. According to the latest salary guide, the top soft skills to hone as a procurement leader are communication, collaboration, integrity and trust. In the UK, communication is ranked as most important for procurement and supply leaders by 85% of respondents, followed by integrity and trust (81%) and collaboration (75%). Deploy all three skills effectively as a procurement leader and you’ll be well on your way to connecting better with your people.
2. Develop green skills to stay relevant and effective
Green skills, according to the United Nations, describe the “knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society.” With firms being pushed to implement sustainability practices, procurement leaders have an important role to play in establishing them and driving them forward. As a procurement leader, you need to be not only sustainability-literate but able to instigate change to help future-proof your organisation.
The need for procurement leaders to develop green skills is backed up by the latest salary guide, which highlights that in many of the regions surveyed procurement professionals are actively looking to move to and work for organisations known for sustainable practices or ethical practices (and therefore organisations where sustainability is a focus at leadership level). In South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa , MENA, and Asia, this is a top ranked factor among 69% and 83% of respondents surveyed.
3. Master digital technology and ensure it’s a job-enabler
Procurement and supply leaders will need a mastery of digital technology to stay relevant in times to come. This means keeping on top of AI, data analytics, blockchain and other such technologies impacting the profession. You also need to understand how they affect your people – and the work they do. With most respondents to our salary guide globally expecting AI to have a negative impact on headcount, procurement leaders will need to work with technology to ensure it’s an enabler and not a job-destroyer. This includes making sure your people have the right skills for any new jobs created by increased automation.
4. Be a role model of good professional practice
Those with MCIPS and FCIPS who we’ve trained and developed, and done follow up interviews with, say procurement leaders must be role models of good professional practice. As Tayeb Tayeb Alassma Sunhouri FCIPS highlights, this means continuous learning and updating your skills as a leader to set the right example. The latest salary guide points to the benefits for procurement leaders of holding an MCIPS designation and building a culture of learning. In the UK alone, over 50% of employers look for MCIPS in procurement hires at influencing and leading level and, by extension, the sort of role behaviour that Tayeb and others embody.
5. Hone your influencing skills to drive lasting change
As a procurement leader, you’re in the business of influencing others and must work on this skill to drive lasting change in procurement. A top skill for those leading the profession, according to the latest salary guide, procurement leaders need world-class influencing capabilities to influence stakeholders and suppliers, as well as win over their people and gain their commitment. In the UK alone, influencing is ranked as a top 10 skill for those at both influencing level (47%) and leading level (34%).
6. Know how to maintain advantage in supplier relationships
Supplier relationship management is a top skill highlighted in the latest guide – of the five skills ranked as most important globally for procurement and supply, it’s number two (44%). For those at influencing or leading level, this means knowing the ins and outs of how to manage and maintain relationships between buyers and suppliers, but also ensuring your procurement and supply managers have a mastery in the fundamentals of supplier relationship management. Rob Douglas, CPO at Direct Line Group, has some great tips for maintaining advantage in supplier relationships. These include concentrating buying power (to prevent vendors from being able to ‘divide and rule’) and understanding your value to suppliers (to best highlight how your business or procurement function can help them).
7. Navigate internal relationships better to drive high performance
As well as relationships with suppliers, procurement leaders have a vital role to play in managing internal stakeholders. These include shareholders, owners, employees, board members, directors and managers. These people shape how the organisation is run. For procurement leaders who navigate these relationships effectively, there’s an opportunity to create a positive culture that drives high performance.
Are you a senior procurement and supply professional considering your next move? If so, contact Scott Dance, senior procurement engagement director at Hays at scott.dance@hays.com