EP59: What Procurement Transformation Really Requires from Leaders - Procurement Pivots® | Lyssna här

Successful Traits of Procurement Leaders: Coaching

Procurement transformation, procurement leadership, coaching skills, stakeholder management, influencing skills and leadership development are increasingly interconnected.

Successful procurement transformation isn't just about having the right strategy, processes, technology or technical procurement expertise. You also need to bring people with you.

In this episode of Procurement Pivots, Donna Bowden and Laura Sellers explore why developing coaching skills can give procurement leaders a competitive edge and help them create greater impact across their teams, stakeholders and organisations.

We challenge the perception that coaching is simply a "soft" leadership skill and look at how the capabilities behind great coaching can translate into very real procurement and commercial outcomes.

We discuss:

Why coaching skills are increasingly relevant for today's procurement leaders
Why you don't need to have all the answers to demonstrate credibility as a leader
How asking better questions can strengthen your influence and impact
Why procurement transformation requires you to bring people with you
How coaching skills can help overcome resistance and create greater stakeholder buy-in
The connection between coaching, stakeholder relationships and commercial outcomes
How active listening, self-awareness and adaptability can strengthen your negotiation skills
Why many procurement leaders may already be coaching without recognising it
How developing your coaching skills can change not only how you lead others, but how you lead yourself
The difference between using coaching skills informally and developing them more intentionally through training and reflective practice

Because successful procurement transformation isn't only about what you change.

It's also about how effectively you can engage, influence and enable the people who will ultimately make that transformation happen.

Get in Touch

If this episode resonated, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you'd like to explore working with Procurement Pivots, or with either of us individually, you can contact us at:

hello@procurementpivots.com

Interested in developing your own coaching skills?

Laura's next ILM coaching qualification cohort starts in September, for procurement professionals who want to add coaching skills to their leadership toolkit.

Find out more about Laura's ILM coaching qualifications here:

https://www.coachingforprocurement.co.uk/training

About Procurement Pivots

We are passionate about supporting the people behind procurement success.

Between us, we bring over 25 years of experience supporting procurement leaders in a variety of different ways, combining our diverse coaching expertise to bring to life the conversations from the coaching room that deserve a spotlight in today's challenging and ever-changing procurement landscape.

We're proud to have built strong reputations as trusted coaches in the procurement space, supporting individuals and teams to navigate complexity, strengthen their leadership and progress with greater clarity and confidence.

From positioning, visibility and career progression, through to leadership development, influence and navigating change, we've supported procurement professionals across every stage of their journey.

Because success in procurement isn't just about what you deliver. It's about how you show up, how you're perceived and how you create opportunities.

About Donna Bowden

Donna Bowden is a Procurement Career Coach and Founder of Narrate Your Career, supporting senior procurement professionals to build clarity, confidence and visibility in their careers.

With over 20 years' experience in procurement leadership hiring, she brings deep insight into what hiring managers are really looking for and how to position yourself effectively to identify, create and secure the right opportunities in your procurement career.

If this resonates and you're a procurement leader in the UK who is serious about making a considered and intentional next move, you're very welcome to explore working with Donna here:

https://www.narrateyourcareer.com/book-a-call

About Laura Sellers

Laura Sellers is an Executive and Leadership Coach, specialising in coaching for procurement professionals and teams. Drawing on her background in procurement and procurement development, she supports individuals and organisations to develop leadership capability, strengthen self-awareness and build coaching skills that elevate their impact, influence and performance.

Laura also leads an ILM-accredited coaching centre, helping procurement professionals and organisations develop practical coaching capability and gain recognised ILM coaching qualifications that strengthen leadership and create lasting impact across their teams.

If this episode has got you thinking about adding coaching skills to your own leadership toolkit, Laura's next ILM coaching qualification cohort starts in September.