Unlocking Change in Procurement: Why Coaching Skills Are the Key to Success

If there is one thing that is constant in Procurement, it is change.

Particularly over the last 5 years, Procurement has found itself needing to bend and flex to handle disruptions, economic uncertainty, talent shortages, restructures, you name it…there’s never a dull day as they say.

But the amount of disruption is taking its toll on the profession and we need to put as much focus on supporting its people as we do on engaging with Procurement’s stakeholders.

So how can we achieve this?

When many Procurement professionals look to develop themselves beyond a technical skillset, the focus can often shift towards building soft skills like communication and stakeholder management, or a wider focus on change management.

While change management and soft skills are essential, they alone may not be enough. This is where coaching skills fill the gap as they provide a sustainable way to navigate uncertainty, engage stakeholders, and drive change. Together, they make for a powerful change skillset.

As Coaching For Procurement Ltd approaches the end of its third year in business, what started as a 1:1 coaching service has evolved into a full suite of coaching solutions empowering Procurement professionals. This journey has reinforced one key lesson: change in Procurement is constant, and coaching is the key to navigating it effectively

The Three Pillars of a Change Skillset

So let’s take a closer look at these 3 approaches and where they are most applicable.

1. Change Management

Change management often takes place on a large scale, providing a roadmap for implementing change. When it comes to Procurement and its approach to change management, it could feel quite aligned to Procurement’s ways of working through the adoption and implementation of processes. But a well-known statistic when it comes to change projects is that 70% of them fail (McKinsey & Company) as they can be rigid and ineffective if people resist the process. When change projects are undertaken, those who are at the receiving end of the change can often feel like the change is being done to them, increasing the likelihood of resistance and lack of buy-in. Not to mention how resource-intensive change initiatives can be. As important as change management is, it isn’t without its challenges and it could be argued that the mechanics of it can be too intensive for what Procurement needs in the moment.

2. Soft Skills

Quite often stated as a necessary part of a Procurement professional’s toolkit, the list of these attributes often includes emotional intelligence, curiosity, active listening, influencing, empathy, communication and adaptability. While essential for effective stakeholder engagement, they are often reactive and situational, but they certainly can’t be simply switched on and off. But they can be developed by all of us.

Common misconceptions about soft skills:

Misconception: “Soft skills are innate – you either have them or you don’t.”

Reality: They can be developed with practice and structure.

Misconception: “Introverts struggle with communication and influence.”

Reality: Many introverts excel with the right techniques and coaching.

3. Coaching Skills

And this leads us on to the value of a coaching skillset. Its main purpose is to guide individuals to discover solutions for themselves in pursuit of a goal that they want to achieve. In the case of my clients, we focus on building their confidence, visibility and strategic thinking within their Procurement role. Using a coaching skillset with individuals builds trust, nurtures ownership and accountability for the goal and empowers others to embrace change rather than resist it. Unlike soft skills, which are often used in the moment, coaching enables long-term development aligned with the needs of the individual. Unlike change management frameworks, coaching goes deeper into the mindset shifts required for the desired transformation.

Being able to coach is about meeting the individual where they are in their journey, rather than imposing an agenda on them.  This is where a coaching skillset offers huge potential for Procurement. Procurement teams are often navigating uncharted territory in an organisation, reaching for heights that haven’t yet been attained as the profession continues to evolve – a constant push out of the comfort zone.

Procurement is also not a one-size-fits-all, as the needs and priorities of a small Procurement team will vastly differ to those of an established global team. The needs and priorities of a Procurement team within an innovative organisation will be a huge contrast to those of a Procurement team that has been at the receiving end of multiple restructures. A coaching skillset embraces uniqueness – and this can be the underlying superpower of Procurement. Meet your team where they are and that is the first part of the battle won.

Why Coaching Skills Unlock the Power of Soft Skills and Change Management

As biased as I am about the value of coaching skills, I’m not saying that soft skills and change management are not required. The truth is that as a combined skillset for change, they offer a powerful ability to go deep and nurture adaptability within Procurement.

Learning to coach not only offers a solid foundation for developing others, but in your learning journey you are able to go deeper in the coaching skills of active listening, curiosity and self-awareness. A self-aware coach will be able to greatly cultivate empathy and curiosity, reaping rewards in day-to-day conversations with others, including your stakeholders. A stakeholder who feels understood will offer you their trust. 

Ultimately, if you focus on building your coaching skills, it will offer the depth of enhanced soft skills and change management ability:

• Enhancing soft skills: Coaching strengthens deep listening, empathy, and powerful questioning – leading to improved emotional intelligence and communication.
• Strengthening change management: Rather than enforcing change, coaching encourages buy-in by helping stakeholders to connect the dots between organisational goals and personal motivation.
• Creating a culture of continuous improvement within Procurement: Coaching builds motivated capability, helping Procurement professionals to build resilience from within and drive a greater impact within their organisation.

The Way Forward for Procurement Professionals

If we want to drive real change within Procurement, we must work on being able to comfortably work within the unknown, push beyond comfort zones and embrace the uniqueness of Procurement’s context within organisations. Coaching skills offer Procurement the ability for greater depth in the human element of change, unlocking the full potential of their soft skills and change management expertise, leading to more engaged teams, stronger supplier relationships, and sustainable Procurement transformations.

How Coaching For Procurement Ltd can help:

Coaching For Procurement Ltd offers a full suite of coaching solutions designed to empower and support Procurement leaders and their teams; from coaching qualifications using the unique P.R.O.C.U.R.E® coaching methodology and frameworks, through to Procurement team coaching and 1:1 coaching.

Want to unlock the full potential of your Procurement team? Let’s discuss how coaching can drive impact in your organisation—contact me today.