What is the difference between a good procurement professional and a great one? Based on an industry-wide poll, this brief identifies the four common and most valued traits of top procurement professionals and why they are valued as high as they are.

1. Procurement’s four
character traits
Poll Report #1
Research Author: Jon Hansen
for Sourcing Solved &
Procurement Foundry Press

2. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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According to Deloitte‘s 2021
CPO Survey, procurement
“isn’t just about cost savings and
operational efficiency anymore.”
Procurement leaders have had to “change
strategies in an instant to adapt to the next normal.”
In the recent Sourcing Solved/Procurement Foundry
Press LinkedIn Polls, we asked, “Which one of the
following character traits is the most important for
a procurement professional to possess in this brave
new world and why?”
Before we delve into the reasons behind the
responses, here are the results. Note that the first
poll with 1,015 votes was from the general, overall
procurement industry populace. In comparison, the
276 votes second poll reflects the opinions of CPOs
who follow the CPO ARENA podcast.
Procurement’s four
character traits
Poll Report #1

3. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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Procurement Industry General
Populace (August 2021)
CPO Arena
(August 2021)
Link to Poll and Comments
Link to Poll and Comments

4. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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Summary
Defining The Character Traits
Before we can analyze and understand the
results, a quick primer on the meaning of each
character trait is in order.
In order of poll response priority, here is a
breakdown of each trait meaning:
Proactivity
In its simplest form, proactivity or being
proactive is taking the initiative to recognize
and solve a problem before action is needed.
In short, it is solving a problem before it is a
problem.
Curiosity
Perhaps it is self-explanatory, but we will
define it anyway – a strong desire to learn
about something.
Resiliency
The ability to overcome adversity or “spring
back into shape.”
Creativity
The ability to imagine or reimagine an
original idea.

5. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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Out of the 1,291 votes cast in the poll, “Proactivity”
received the greatest number of votes yet was
talked about the least. There was a total of
160 comments. Of those, only three referred to
proactivity or the importance of being proactive.
One person suggested that “Proactivity is a
culmination of all the other traits,” while another
wondered, “How can you be proactive without
being resilient or creative?”
A third respondent suggests that while all four traits
are interconnected – one feeding off of the other,
“The one which may drive the most efficient result
remains for me to be proactive.”
Proactivity and the
Silent Majority?
Our take
To start, we don’t think that there is a right or wrong
answer to this poll. That said, it goes without saying
– especially in the post-pandemic world, that those
who take the initiative and take action to address
the new challenges we are facing both individually
and collectively will rise to the top and stand out
in a dramatically shifting talent marketplace.
The fact that it was listed as the number 1 desirable
trait would also suggest that professionals
demonstrating a higher propensity to take charge
are likely to command the greatest interest and
potentially a higher remuneration.
What does it all mean?

6. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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Curiosity’s Cat
Is Alive and Well
Out of the 1,291 votes cast in the poll, “Curiosity”
received the second-highest vote count from
both the general procurement populace and
CPOs – although the latter expressed a notable
favor over the former.
One of the more interesting comments was
that curiosity was closely aligned with “pushing
boundaries” and “thinking differently.” In other
words, as one respondent put it, “curiosity is
probably the best skill to have to navigate the
big transformations ahead!”
So, what does curiosity look like - what form
does it take? How is it reflected or manifested
in the real world?
According to another person who took the
poll, procurement professionals must not only
expand their vision in familiar areas such as
“new products, items, categories, sourcing,”
and “all the tech stuff.” It also has to expand
to include a new way of seeing “data science,
marketing, and accounting,” all of which “will
help us get the big picture and make the
best decisions.”
In short, “genuine curiosity is the
fuel that keeps the engine
running.”
Interestingly enough, expanding or extending
your curiosity to new areas aligns with the
recent findings of the Deloitte Global 2021
Chief Procurement Officer Survey.
The survey starts by reporting that procurement
“isn’t just about cost savings and operational
efficiency anymore.” It then states that CPOs
must focus on everything from “innovation,
digital transformation, introducing new
products and services.” In addition to these, it
also refers to “other factors” such as “climate
change, geopolitical stability, increasing societal
expectations, and world health” citing them as being
“a strategic priority for organizations.”
Our take
There is no doubt that procurement is undergoing
a tremendous period of transformation and that
curiosity is a big part of dealing with said changes.
The real question is whether or not the procurement
professional in general is up to the same level
of speed as their CPOs regarding the direction of
their focus.
Over the past few years, when polled, most CPOs
expressed the belief that their current teams lack
the required skill sets to achieve their strategic
objectives. The question we have is whether the
issue is due to the lack of skills or the absence
of curiosity in reaching beyond the familiar cost
savings model. The 6 percent gap between
how CPOs value curiosity versus the general
procurement populace may not seem like much.
However, given where the industry is heading, it
could become a significant factor if the gap widens
instead of closes.

7. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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Creative Balance
While the priority of their rankings differed – the
general procurement populace ranked creativity
as the least in-demand trait of the four. In
contrast, CPOs ranked it third. With both groups
creativity garnering an equal 18 percent vote.
Interestingly, creativity and curiosity seemed
to go hand in hand, at least with some of those
responding to the poll. As one professional put
it, while “proactivity and resiliency are a given
for today’s procurement professional,” to “take
things to the next level, they need a combination
of creativity and curiosity to deliver along the
entire value chain.”
As was the case with the other “soft skills,” there
seemed to be a consensus that companies
were not doing enough to foster or develop and
reward those who demonstrate creativity in their
day-to-day work.
Our take
If we were to look at this objectively, instead
of asking what companies can do to encourage
creativity, we would look inward at what we can
and should do as procurement professionals.
As one respondent so aptly put it, “changing
or pushing oneself out of comfort zones
fosters creativity.”
By suggesting that “creativity can be unleashed
by allowing people to truly think out of the
box,” it would appear that any lack of creativity
in procurement has more to do with self-
censorship than it does organizational support.
In other words, people have to learn to speak up
during brainstorming sessions and speak their
minds. In this context, creativity is as much an
act of will as it is a talent or skill.

8. Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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Mass Resiliency
There is no surprise that resiliency was valued
more by the general procurement populace than
it was by CPOs – 20 percent of the vote for the
former while 16 percent for the latter.
This difference suggests that many
procurement professionals value resiliency
more than management because of the
changes that are rippling down through to the
front lines. In addition to being asked to do more
of their traditional functions with less, there is a
greater demand for procurement professionals
to expand the scope of responsibilities into
new areas. Refer to the previously referenced
Deloitte survey.
As one writer put it, “resilience would be my
top pick” because it will “enable a proactive
approach to overcome the unexpected.” In this
regard, resilience is the “new innovative soft
skill that we have to develop to excel, in this
constantly evolving environment we work
in nowadays.”
Our Take
In today’s post-pandemic world, in which both
our working and personal lives have been turned
upside-down, resiliency would seem to be an
invaluable trait. At least this was the case when one
respondent expressed surprise that resilience was
not the top trait.
According to this, individual procurement “plays a
very nuanced, often difficult balancing role among
stakeholder groups and supply markets.” Referring
to what they called “small challenges and puzzles
to solve at each step of the process,” resilience is
critical to navigating the “nos, what-abouts, and
stops-and-gos which those we serve introduce to
each project.” In this context, perhaps resilience is
as much about patience as it is any of the other
traits listed in our poll.

9. In the end, polls such as this one, while subjective,
are invaluable in that they stimulate broader
discussion from which we can all learn from each
other and ultimately discover the all-important
common ground that strengthens our collective
profession.
We would be the first to agree that these four traits,
while important, are not the only traits to consider.
That said, they appear to be both individually and
collectively the most notable. How they can be
developed and leveraged to meet both the current
and emerging demands of a profession and
industry in transition will ultimately reflect their true
value in the weeks, months and even years ahead.
Conclusion
Thank you to all the people who read, voted and
commented on our recent poll. We invite you to
participate similarly with our next poll on the use
of blockchain in procurement.
Procurement’s Four Character Traits
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10. The World’s Leading Sourcing Community
Procurement Foundry is a private community
where indirect procurement and supply chain
management professionals come to gather, learn,
share and grow.
The Evolution of Procurement Talent Assessment,
Acquisition and Development Securing Top
Procurement Talent in the Digital Age
Poll sponsors:
Jon Hansen
Chief Editor of the Procurement
Insights blog
As the Founder and Chief Editor of the Procurement
Insights blog, Jon Hansen has gained an
international reputation for delivering unique and
meaningful insights into the procurement world and
business in general through a variety of mediums
including radio and television.
A sought after speaker, writer, and moderator; he
is a two-time Ottawa Finalist for the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Award for having built
and ultimately selling his software company for
$12 million.
With 40 years of high-tech industry experience and
almost as long in procurement, Jon’s recognition as
one of the Top 50 Procurement Influencers globally
reflects the value that he brings to our industry.