Procurement Pivots®
Honest conversations and fresh perspectives to help procurement professionals, wherever you are in your career. Navigate change, grow with confidence and shape a career on your terms.
Co-hosted by Donna Bowden (Procurement Career Coach, Founder of Narrate Your Career) and Laura Sellers (Executive & Leadership Coach, Founder of Coaching for Procurement) who bring a combined 20+ years of supporting procurement growth
Episodes
64 episodes
EP63: 100 Days to Go: There's Still Time to Change Your Results in 2026 and How You Feel about the Year Ahead
There are 100 days to go until the end of 2026.How do you want to feel when you get there?And how do you want to step into 2027?September can bring a renewed sense of energy. But it doesn't always last long. Workloads incre...
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EP62: Why a Good Procurement CV Might Not Be Enough in 2026
The procurement job market has changed.Competition for senior procurement roles has increased, hiring processes have evolved and technology is playing a greater role in how applications are screened.Which means the CV that success...
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EP 61: Using Boundaries to Elevate Your Impact as a Procurement Leader
Procurement leadership, workplace boundaries, strategic leadership, career progression, prioritisation and high performance are more closely connected than you might think.When we talk about boundaries at work, they're often associated w...
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EP60: The Procurement Career Crossroads No One Prepares You For
Procurement careers, career crossroads, career clarity, procurement leadership, career change and senior procurement job search can all collide at a point that many successful procurement leaders simply aren't expecting.On paper, everyth...
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EP59: What Procurement Transformation Really Requires from Leaders
Successful Traits of Procurement Leaders: CoachingProcurement transformation, procurement leadership, coaching skills, stakeholder management, influencing skills and leadership development are increasingly interconnected.Su...
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EP 58: What Successful Procurement Leaders Do Differently with Stakeholders
Procurement stakeholder management, stakeholder relationships, procurement leadership, influence, business partnering and procurement careers are all critical to becoming a successful procurement leader.Strong stakeholder relationships d...
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EP 57: You’ve Got the Role - Now What? How Your First Few Months Define Your Success as a Procurement Leader
Procurement leadership, first 90 days, stepping into a new role, procurement career progression, stakeholder management and leadership success are all critical factors when moving into a new procurement leadership role.You’ve secured the...
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EP 56: Are You Asking the Right Questions as a Procurement Leader? Successful Traits of Procurement Leaders: Curiosity
Successful Traits of Procurement Leaders: CuriosityCuriosity is a critical skill in procurement leadership, yet many procurement professionals don’t fully understand how to apply it in their day-to-day role.In this episod...
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EP 55: How Are You Really Coming Across at Work? Successful Traits of Procurement Leaders: Self-Awareness
Successful Traits of Procurement Leaders: Self-AwarenessHow you see yourself isn’t always how others experience you.And that gap can have a significant impact on your procurement career, career progression and leadership ...
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EP 54: Why Your Relationship with Your Boss Matters More Than You Think
Your relationship with your boss is one of the most important factors in your procurement career, career progression and leadership development.And yet, it’s often not given the attention it deserves.In this episode of Procurement...
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EP 53: Introverted in Procurement? How to Still Be Seen and Heard
If you’re introverted in your procurement career, you might feel the pressure to be more visible, speak up more or show more confidence in meetings or whilst networking.And that doesn’t always feel natural.In this episode of Procu...
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EP 52: Why so many Procurement Professionals are Burning Out
Burnout in procurement is becoming more common.And it’s not always for the reasons we think.In this episode of Procurement Pivots, we explore why burnout is showing up more across procurement careers and what is really dri...
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EP 51: Internal Positioning – The Key to Progression in Senior Procurement Careers
Internal progression in procurement doesn’t happen by default.You can be delivering, experienced and performing well in your role, and still find that the next opportunity doesn’t come.In this episode of Procurement Pivots, we foc...
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EP 50: The Gap We’re Seeing Between Performance and Progression in Procurement Careers
We’ve reached our 50th episode of Procurement Pivots, and rather than looking back, we wanted to focus on what we’re consistently seeing across the procurement profession right now.There is a gap.A gap between performance and prog...
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EP 49: Giving Feedback as a Procurement Leader to Drive Impact
In procurement careers, your ability to give feedback to teams and stakeholders directly impacts performance, influence and progression.Yet it’s one of the most avoided leadership skills.Whether it’s not wanting to upset someone, ...
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EP 48: The Feedback Gap: The Dangerous Truth About Where You Stand
Do you actually know where you stand in your procurement career?Or are you making assumptions?At senior level, feedback often becomes limited, filtered or disappears altogether. And yet, this is exactly the point in yo...
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EP 47: The Truth About “Underperforming” Procurement Teams
“Underperforming team.”It’s a label that gets used quickly in procurement.But what if it’s not the full picture?In today’s market, procurement teams are under more pressure than ever. Expectations are rising. Re...
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EP 46: The Most Important Question in Your Procurement Career
“Tell me about yourself.”It sounds simple. But in reality, it’s one of the most important and most underutilised questions in your procurement career.It shows up everywhere: Interviews. Stakeholder meetings. Networking...
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EP 45: The Uncomfortable Truth About Procurement Career Growth
Procurement career growth often feels uncomfortable.As procurement careers evolve, many professionals are being asked to step into greater visibility, leadership and influence.You may want more impact, more progression or a more a...
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EP 44: The Procurement Development Gap and How to Close It
Procurement careers are evolving at pace.The remit is expanding. Expectations are rising. Pressure is increasing.Yet in many organisations, learning and development support has reduced, shifted or become less personalised....
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EP 43: Speak to Be Seen: How Procurement Professionals Gain Influence
Communication sits at the heart of every procurement career.You can be technically strong, commercially capable and consistently deliver results. But if your communication does not land, your influence, credibility and progression can st...
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EP 42: When Did Networking Become So Uncomfortable in Procurement Careers?
For many procurement professionals, the word networking triggers discomfort.Awkward. Inauthentic. Contrived. Embarrassing.And yet, relationship-driven opportunities remain one of the most powerful drivers of procurement career pro...
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EP 41: The Procurement Visibility Gap: What Your LinkedIn Might Be Costing You
In today’s procurement career market, visibility is no longer optional. Yet many procurement professionals remain hesitant, quiet or completely invisible on LinkedIn.This episode tackles the uncomfortable but important question. What is ...
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EP 40: Internal Leverage: The Procurement Career Advantage Many Miss
In this episode of Procurement Pivots, we explore a topic that often feels uncomfortable but quietly shapes careers more than performance alone: internal networking.Many procurement professionals associate networking with politics, self-...
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EP 39: From Operational to Strategic Procurement - The Reality Behind the Shift
In this episode of Procurement Pivots, we unpack one of the most talked-about transitions in the profession: the move from operational to strategic procurement.We hear it everywhere. Procurement must become more strategic. Roles are evol...
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