Leadership Skills in Supply Management

1. What They Are and How to Obtain Them

4. Leadership Skills
The business sections of bookstores and
libraries are overflowing with titles that
describe leadership skills and how to apply
them in the workplace. But what kind of
leadership is needed to develop specifically
for the supply management profession?

5. Leadership Skills
Simply put, what is needed is well-rounded
leadership - people who have a broad
understanding of the business, and strong
capabilities in change management.
Furthermore, leaders are needed who are
capable of taking people in their
organizations step-by-step to a position of
high performance.

6. Leadership Skills
It’s the kind of leadership that is based in
knowledge, character, and the ability to craft
a vision that translates into value for the
organization.

7. Leadership Skills
Regardless of a supply manager’s level in
an organization, he or she is tasked to do a
certain job and to achieve certain results.
Whether it’s administering a purchasing
function, negotiating a small deal, or
establishing an alliance relationship, there
are particular responsibilities to carry out.

8. Leadership Skills
If a supply manager defines a new result
that leads to a cost reduction or quality
improvement, then he or she has already
gone through the process of establishing a
vision, however small, and achieving it. And
getting to that vision requires leadership at
some level.

9. Leadership Skills
To achieve higher levels of leadership,
however, requires a more conscious,
proactive effort. Establish an agenda for
leadership that builds upon current
strengths. Use management skills to outline
a plan to further develop leadership skills,
and establish the mind-set now that you are
going to be a leader.

10. Leadership Skills
Once a supply manager has made this
conscious decision to pursue an education
in leadership, much of what follows will
come naturally.

11. Leadership Skills
The key elements of leadership may be
categorized in a variety of ways. These
elements include:
Influencing and persuading others
Taking a goal-oriented approach
Applying analytical and technical skills
to accomplish goals

12. Leadership Skills
Business acumen is key, for the highest
levels of success in the supply management
field require an understanding of every
aspect of business and an appreciation for
everyone’s role in its success.

13. Leadership Skills
After all, supply management doesn’t have
goals for itself so much as for the
organization, so the supply management
professional must know the organization
intimately to be a leader in serving its needs.

14. The Road to World-Class
The world-class supply manager is an
individual who visualizes and approaches
their job from a strategic perspective in
dealing with the supplier-company-customer
linkage.

15. The Road to World-Class
This individual continually validates and
leverages their skills and knowledge of
critical supply chain activities in a team
environment to provide value in meeting
organizational and customer objectives.

16. The Road to World-Class
There are eight broad skills that are
common to supply management
professionals deemed to be world-class.
All of these attributes or skills will allow
supply managers to improve their
capabilities in key areas of leadership and
position them for greater and greater
leadership opportunities.

17. The Road to World-Class
These skills are included here as a starting
place for identifying the leadership skills that
will lead to personal and professional
success. They are the key elements of the
world-class supply manager.

18. The Road to World-Class
1. Interpersonal communication skills.
Supply management professionals must
communicate well both internally and externally.
There are many subsets and facets to
interpersonal communication, such as interacting
with people and having personal respect for others’
opinions. The function can be described as a
communication bridge to the outside world: traffic
on that bridge must flow smoothly into and out of
the organization.

19. The Road to World-Class
2. Team and facilitation skills.
Cross- functional teams are a way of life, and
decisions are no longer unilateral. Teaming
skills build on many of the interpersonal skill
requirements. Effective supply management
professionals must learn to play different roles
on different teams, from leader to member to
advisor.

20. The Road to World-Class
3. Analytical problem-solving skills.
With the movement to closer relationships,
supplier selection criteria must be much more
precise. The focus has shifted from buying to
contracting. Supply management professionals
must know their suppliers and the suppliers’
industries and have the ability to translate that
knowledge into total cost evaluation.

21. The Road to World-Class
4. Technical knowledge.
A technical understanding of the organization’s
business is required. Since many supplier
relationships are extended for longer periods of
time, continuous improvements are often driven
by process improvements. To meet this goal,
supply management leaders must have the
technical background to understand supplier
processes and scheduling systems to make
improvements.

22. The Road to World-Class
5. Computer literacy.
Eliminating redundancies and non-value activities,
such as purchase orders, is accomplished
through the use of systems. Capturing data to
prove savings is where the computer can help by
allowing managers to organize and analyze data
they have never examined before. E-mail, the
Internet, and electronic commerce are but a few
of the applications.

23. The Road to World-Class
6. Negotiation skills.
While this skill was mentioned less frequently in
study interviews, it’s very prevalent in the literature
and surveys, and also found repeatedly in
organizations’ internal documents that describe
purchasing skills. Most organizations are trying to
get their employees to develop negotiation
strategies that satisfy both parties and produce
lasting agreements. It’s one area in which most
supply managers receive some training.

24. The Road to World-Class
7. Education and professionalism.
A formal education is a necessity for a supply
management position, with arguments being
made for both business and engineering
degrees. Self-improvement - attaining the
Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM)
designation or the Certified Professional in
Supply Management (CPSM) - was important
at most organizations.

25. The Road to World-Class
8. Continual learning.
Learning is a lifelong process, which never stops.
Although it’s more of a skill builder than a skill
itself, it belongs in the world-class supply
management professional’s tool kit. It’s also
imperative to keep learning on the agenda
because requirements will always change; the
standards for world-class status are not a
milestone to be achieved, but a journey that will
constantly be taking you in new directions.

26. The Road to World-Class
The best way to learn these skills is to
actually practice them. Once a supply
manager starts looking for opportunities to
practice leadership, he or she will discover
that they are all around you. For example,
as previously stated, multi-function teams
are the essence of supply management
activities in many organizations today.

27. The Road to World-Class
One of the best ways to learn about effective
leadership of this kind of team is to get
involved in one. Volunteer for a project, and
be proactive in seeking out ways to align
yourself with potential mentors who can
expose you to new areas of learning.

28. The Road to World-Class
On the training front, ISM, www.ism.ws, is
an outstanding resource that offers learning
materials, seminars, and courses that
ultimately lead to the CPM or CPSM
designation. This is a goal that can be key
for all supply management professionals.
Become an ISM member today!

29. The Road to World-Class
Make sure that you read Purchasing.com
magazine, www.purchasing.com, CPO
Agenda, www.cpoagenda.com, and other
relevant publications. Find something in
each issue that you can grab onto. Go to the
organization’s Web site, which is another
excellent resource for leadership training.

30. The Road to World-Class
All of these activities not only provide tools
that can hone leadership skills, but by taking
the initiative to seek out these tools and
resources, a supply management
professional is demonstrating leadership
qualities.

31. The Road to World-Class
And don’t stop there; again, be proactive.
Reach out to those who have ideas and
information to share, including authors who
are writing on subjects that matter to you or
that you want to learn in greater detail. Many
professionals have found that colleagues
who write for professional publications are
usually very receptive to phone calls.

32. The Road to World-Class
There are so many opportunities for supply
management professionals to be leaders
and demonstrate leadership qualities. Each
and every person can continue to seek new
ways to improve and grow as a leader.

33. The Road to World-Class
Now, go create a vision and a
plan -- then get out front and
quot;lead from a forward position”!