EP 19: PLANNING for Success in Procurement: Create the Career You Actually Want

What does it really take to create a procurement career that feels right for you, not one that just happens to you?

In this episode, we explore what “planning for success” means, not as a rigid checklist but as an intentional practice that helps you shape your career on your terms. Too often, procurement professionals focus on delivering for everyone else, their teams, stakeholders, and organisations, without pausing to plan what they actually want next.

We cover:

• Why being intentional in your career decisions matters more than having a perfect plan
• How to focus on what you can control rather than what you can’t
• The role of values and emotions in shaping a career that feels fulfilling
• Why small, consistent actions create more momentum than big plans that never start
• How to prioritise yourself without guilt and build a career that genuinely fits
  
  

We also share honest reflections on the challenges procurement professionals face when trying to find the balance between ambition, fulfilment and control, and how you can take practical steps to regain clarity and direction in your career.

Thanks for joining. We’re so glad you’re here.

👥 Hosted by:
 Donna Bowden | Procurement Career Coach, Narrate Your Career
 Laura Sellers | Executive and Leadership Coach, Coaching for Procurement

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Transcript

Welcome & Purpose of the Show

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Procurement Pivots, the podcast for procurement professionals wanting to navigate change successfully and create career success on your own terms. I'm Donna Bowden, Procurement Career Coach and founder of Narrate Your Career.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

And I'm Laura Sellers, Executive Coach for Procurement and founder of Coaching for Procurement. And between us, we bring almost 25 years of supporting and working with procurement professionals. And it's fair to say we've navigated many of our own career pivots along the way. And now we're here to help you do the same.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Each episode will share practical strategies, honest conversations, and expert insights to help you confidently tackle the changes and challenges in your procurement career. Let's get started.

Why Plan Your Career Now

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Hi everyone, welcome to this week's episode of the Procurement Pivots podcast. Thanks so much for joining us. And this week we are going to be focusing on planning for success in your procurement career on your own terms. So why have we chosen this one, Donna?

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Well, we felt that this is a really important topic, I think, actually. And certainly, you know, a lot of the conversations that I have with senior procurement professionals, you know, often they reference the fact that they haven't they haven't always been that intentional about their future kind of you know career direction or path or or plan. And so, you know, we know that yes, some people are currently sat there right now, kind of thinking about what's next, you know, for next year, you know, where do I want to be at the end of the year, etc. So it felt quite timely to to share this one. But yeah, I just think it's one of those things I I find people are often slightly kind of regretful, actually, that they've not been more intentional with their, you know, with their their kind of career decisions historically. And so yeah, so we've got a big topic to to share with everyone today.

Emotions, Values, and Sustainable Success

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Yeah, I love what you say there about how when we have that feeling about regret, I think this time of year, because this episode is coming out towards the end of 2025, and sometimes, like you say, that feeling of regret can come up when you get to the end of another year and you think, oh, I remember feeling this time last year that I wanted 2025 to be different. Yeah, you know, and then lo and behold, the workload has been really busy, things have happened that might have been out of your control, and it's like the carpet getting pulled from under your feet, right? Or the rug being pulled from under your feet. So, yeah, that really resonates. And I think, you know, when it comes to planning for success on your own terms, I think what I'd like to bring to this episode, I think when we were talking about it, is how we can bring some of that control back on your terms, you know, what can you do that can help you achieve what it is you're looking to achieve, either if it's for a new year or for a new role or a new stage of of leadership that you've got that you've achieved. So yeah, I think valid and very relevant subject, isn't it, for the people who we work with. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

And I think it just it comes back to that intentionality, doesn't it? It's kind of you know, just becoming becoming clear on those things that are most important to you and then thinking about, okay, well, they're the things that are most important. How can I make them happen for myself? And you know, and take control of those things. And you know, yes, we don't know the external circumstance, we don't know always what's coming our way, but you know, what we can influence is the the decisions and the actions that we choose to take. So I think it's um yeah, just kind of taking back some control and you know, and really thinking about, yeah, kind of where is it you'd love to be and how is it you'd love to feel in the future, and what are those things that can kind of help you to get there.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yeah, and you mentioned as well, it's not just about the what, because sometimes when we think about planning, we think about planning tasks, the things that we're doing, but there's also that element around the being, right? What do I want to be? How do I want to feel? And emotions can be a tricky subject for for many people, especially in the world of business. You know, I was having a conversation with a client uh very recently about how they're they're really people-oriented, but they don't want that to take away from the fact they're also very commercial, they don't want it to be a trade-off. Um, so I think you know, we we can often think that if we're looking at the emotional side of things, the the how we're feeling, that we that we can't do that if we're in a work mode, in a in a results-oriented role. So I think it's definitely important because we all do have emotions, we all deal with them differently, but they all form part of how we do feel about our careers.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

So they're incredibly relevant. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I think you know, for me, that the emotional side, like yeah, it is so important. Yeah, we've referred to it kind of previously on here, haven't we? Like, so many decisions are made on what we think we should be doing, you know, not necessarily on, you know, what do we most want to do? What's gonna actually, you know, what's gonna light us up, what's gonna give us the energy rather than drain us. And we've been talking in the background, haven't we, about our own businesses and our plans for going into next year and kind of working out, like, you know, what are those things that we most love doing and how can we do more of that? And you know, so I think like the emotion for me is so so important. Like if you want to have a sustainable career where you're feeling fulfilled and you're enjoying, enjoying it more than you're not, like that is the emotional side of it, and sometimes that just doesn't happen by itself. You know, you can be lucky that it does happen by itself, but often you have to be quite considered about the choices you make and the situations that you put yourself in to to kind of yeah, to feel that that way that you actually want to feel most of the time. Yeah, yeah.

From Overwhelm to Clarity: Tools That Help

SPEAKER_01 6:14

And you mentioned earlier about clients feeling regret. The word I often hear from people who I start to work with, certainly at the beginning, is that they feel like it's really selfish. It's selfish to focus on what their needs are, especially if they're in a role where they're taking care of others, they're in a leadership role, maybe it's family responsibilities at home, any personal responsibility that they feel. And they're if they're a helper, if they're a people person, it that that's the word that often comes up is it feels selfish to think about what I want. You know, I've I've got a team to look after, I've got a family to look after. How dare I look at how I can make myself more fulfilled? It's a very common emotion that I I find on the conversations that I have. I don't know if you've heard that too.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Yeah, I mean, not necessarily the word selfish, but I think a lot a lot of clients, like when they're starting to work with, you know, someone like like one of us for the first time, like a lot of people say, like it almost feels like a a luxury or an extravagance to be able to invest in, investing in yourself properly for the first time, like it, it kind of I think it, you know, it's probably similar to to to kind of the selfishness, but different in a way. I think you know, some people think like, you know, who am I? Like, why should I be spending this time focusing on myself, etc.? So, and that can feel big when you're doing it for the first time, when you're really kind of, you know, you're taking this time to spend, yeah, spend time kind of just focused on you and your career. So, yeah, I I hear that a lot, and I think, you know, again, for a lot of the clients that I've worked with, like taking that first step to have that first conversation with me, like I think I underestimated, you know, I'll just I'll say to people, yeah, cool, like, you know, drop me a message, we'll have a conversation. But that that that step is massive for a lot of people because they think, like, can you know, should I, can I? You know, yes, the right thing to do. So, yeah, so I think, and and you know, I just again we were talking about this earlier, weren't we? That you know, often we put ourselves last, we put our family, you know, often rightly so, you know, prioritize family, prioritize the needs of the company that you're in, prioritize the needs of your stakeholders, your team. Like, actually, though, you know, when are you going to prioritize yourself and what brings you that happiness and that fulfilment? Because you're probably not going to stay working for that company forever, you know. The the kind of you know, the the world we were in, the job for life, like that's not the world we're in right now. And your stakeholders are going to move on, your team members are going to move on, your boss may move on. You know, actually, you know, are you happy to always prioritize everyone else above your own needs? And what does that then mean for the career that you end up having? And yeah, like how can you like almost prevent some of those regrets that you might have for yourself in the future by just knowing that you are focusing on the things that matter most to you?

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah, and I think you've articulated really well there about all those different things where we're talking about the emotions that sit behind it, the putting other people first. So when it comes to planning, the what part of planning, like what are we looking for? What is it you want to do? Who is it you want to be? That that vision, that picture can feel very clouded when we first start to focus on that. So, how how do we look to to break through that barrier?

Action Planning You Can Control

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Oh, that's a good question. And and I think actually, you know, that that's the very reason often that you know that that people are coming to people like us often to to to kind of to work out the what. I mean, if I look at my own work, you know, a lot of the clients they don't yet have the clarity. They know they're you know, they're not feeling maybe as happy as they can, as fulfilled as they can. And often they know, they know the things that aren't quite right, but they don't they don't yet know which direction is going to make them feel much, much happier. And I think that you know the great thing about procurement careers is there's so much opportunity, and your skill set is so transferable into so many different environments within procurement, within the business, but that gives you lots of opportunity often, and lots of opportunity, whilst it can be good, it can be overwhelming. So, yeah, I mean that's um obviously people can kind of work that out for themselves, they can, you know, they can seek support, but I think for me it's about just getting often kind of reflecting on things like you know, what do you most enjoy? What are your strengths? What's your skill set? Values is a massive piece. Obviously, we've done an episode on values, we both really enjoy the work that we do with clients around really understanding, recognising your values, and what does that then mean for future decisions and future, you know, future environments? Like how can you how can you create a career that is truly aligned to those values that are most important to you? I think a lot, I mean, I would say, you know, a lot of the bigger breakthroughs with clients that come to me claiming they're stuck, they're overwhelmed, they're at a crossroads, and they just don't know. They don't know what they don't know what direction to go in. And the value side of things in combination with you know understanding those other those other factors, like that can really shape and make quite clear sometimes, actually, what that future path could look like for them.

Focus, Habits, and Realistic Timelines

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Yeah, all great points. And that there are different tools that we might use to gain that clarity, right? You know, values we've talked about before, that we like you say, we both enjoy doing it because they often provide quite a big light bulb. But I think as well, going back to the planning piece, because there's so much unknowns, there's so many things we don't know, and so that can feel like, well, what's the point? What's the point of making these plans when a lot of this is out of my control? You know, I want to get to the next level in my current company where I am now, but that's not is what somebody might say to me, but that's not necessarily within their control. But we plan for the action that they can take, that's in their control, and then all of a sudden, other doors open or other things become visible that might not have been visible before. So sometimes, while, and I I I think it might have been positioning, maybe that we spoke about this, which is one of our very first episodes. It was a while ago now, so if it's if it might not be the right one, but I remember talking about how starting with the end in mind, where we've got we've got a goal at the end in mind, but we might have to be flexible on how we get there, or other options might become available as we go. And I was reminding a past client of this the other day when they were texting me on some progress that they were making, and and I reminded them that when we were talking about the same thing three months earlier, they couldn't see any options, but they took an action and then all of a sudden a new option became available. So, back to that planning, we can plan for the action that we want to take, for the things that we want to achieve, the things we want to be, the who we want to be, what we want to see, the change we want to see. And those options might increase as time goes on because you are putting that intentional practice, that intentional action into place. So, yeah, I think it's definitely something that we can plan, we can't control everything, but you'd be surprised that once you take that action to be more proactive, yeah, surprised at what comes up afterwards.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

And I think feeling, you know, in a chaotic, busy, loud world that we're in right now, like actually feeling in control of your own actions and your own path, like that is so empowering. And it doesn't always go the way that you think, and sometimes it goes much better, like you know, this isn't always a like, oh, it's you know, it wasn't what's expected, like, and as you say, other doors that you never imagined could open sometimes can open, but I think you know, essentially, unless we're clear on what we want to focus on, the progress often doesn't happen, and you know, generally what we focus on is what builds momentum in our lives, working lives. You know, I I don't think you know, this is not just you know, planning isn't just limited to work, is it? It's out of work as well. Like, you know, what's that life you want for yourself in the future, you know, in in the short term, in the medium term, etc., and how what are the things you can do to help yourself to get there? But you know, it kind of you know, we can't focus on lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of things at once, generally, you know. So it's kind of often better to, you know, rather than try and commit to all these things that you're gonna do, it's like actually try and work out like what is that thing that feels most important to you right now, and you know, actually consistent focus, like you often say, you know, that can turn actions into habits, and you know, small actions can make big, big, big differences and build massive momentum. This is not about like you know, spending hours and hours and hours every week on this, it's kind of thinking, you know, what is it that's most important and what small things can I do that is gonna dull the needle, I guess, kind of most.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Yeah, and I think you know, we we talk a lot about breaking things down, you know, and I I read this great quote from somewhere. It was a it was in a business book, I think I read, where we we tend to underestimate overestimate what we can achieve in a year, but underestimate what we can achieve in 10 or something like that. And we could even shorten those timescales because sometimes in the impatient worlds that we work in, we want to see results immediately. But like you say, breaking all of that down into small, consistent steps, so planning that end goal, but saying, right, this week I'm gonna take this action and the following week I'm gonna commit to taking this action. Because, like you say, we we sometimes focus on too many things. And oh my word, do I relate to that as a business owner? Oh my word, I relate to that. And and you know, spinning so many plates, wearing all these different hats. And I think procurement find themselves in such a similar position. There's all these expectations on the role now. It's not just about process, there's about the business partnering and the strategic insight, sustainability, any other hat that that procurement needs to put on. So when you've got so many plates to spin, so many different hats to wear, your focus is diluted and therefore you don't feel like you're making progress. So I think, you know, whether we're talking about career moves, whether we're talking about leadership moves within your procurement career, I definitely agree with what you're saying around that focus. So, you know, what really helps me is that I focus on like quarterly goals that I have, monthly goals, what I'm gonna get through one week, what I'm gonna get through in one day, you know, and I think you know, that's that's what working actually with someone like you or I as well, where someone can hold you to accountable to those actions too, right? You said you were gonna do this. Yeah, do we get up to?

Accountability and Support Systems

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Yeah, I think actually that's a really valid point. Like you can develop this plan for yourself, but what's your system for holding yourself accountable? And what's your system for recognising the progress and also recognising the lack of progress or the challenges? So, you know, and that is something that you know, sometimes we can do that ourselves, we can hold ourselves accountable, but sometimes you know, sharing that accountability with with others can can make a big difference as well. And that doesn't necessarily mean a coach, you know, actually, you you know, sometimes you can kind of you know informally have an accountability partner for yourself. I know with my husband, I've said, you know, on a few things, I'm like, look, this, you know, this month or over the next few months, I really want to focus on this. And normally it's in relation to a personal aspect of often it's like the work-life balance of you know, yeah, juggling all those things, wearing all those hats. But you know, I've said to him, like, look, if you swap me doing this or not doing this, can you please help me to bring that to my attention? Or, you know, or it might also look like look, you know, it's not a big conversation, but I just want to share with you like my progress on what I've done on that particular thing, just to have a you know, almost it's kind of like I feel like I have to not not justify at all, but you know, kind of sharing it kind of holds you to account much more. Yeah, but we're you know, we're talking about all the hats and the busyness, and so I think like it's really easy to say, you know, add this whole extra thing into your life, you know, to do. But if you're not currently doing this, you probably currently you you probably currently don't have the time to do it, and it's kind of then thinking like how can you just create some allocated time, whatever that looks like for you, like you'll know what time you're able to create, but you know, so many clients that I I've spoken to and non-clients, this isn't just you know client conversations, but you know, often people say they they've not sat down and planned their career, you know, since the beginning of their career. And I've I've you know started with a new client this week, and that's one of the first things he said. You know, he'd done some kind of exercises that I'd shared before coming into that first session. He's like, Do you know what? Like he'd been working like me for 20 something years. I have not sat down and thought about any of this stuff since right at the beginning of my career, and kind of giving yourself the space to kind of think about those things that's most important can just make such a massive difference. But it's creating it, like you know, normally we don't have those type that time, that hour, that 30 minutes. So, you know, really it is a decision. Like, what are you probably willing to not do in order to create this space for yourself where you've got some time for you and for your career planning, you know, so that you're not just always focused on delivering for everyone else, but you're actually thinking about, you know, what is it that you most want as well?

Creating Time and Protecting Attention

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Yeah, because you don't you don't know what you don't know, dear. So that taking that space and and we all have habits, we all have default behaviours and thought processes, these patterns that have served us well in our careers, but also sometimes held us back. And so that thing about not having the time, not having the intentionality, we've talked about self-reflection, which was another episode that we've done about taking that time, because sometimes, you know, I I've mentioned it a few times, like for co coaching is about holding the mirror up. But even if you were doing it on your own, to take that time dedication to go, do you know I've not thought thought about this, or I just assumed it would happen because this is the way it's happened in the past. Or, you know, I think I think find in even that time as well, finding that time to to plan, it could just be 15 minutes. You sat in the car waiting for one of your kids to finish one of their sports clubs, which is what which is when I tend to do my doodling on my planning. But yeah, I think I think try and stack it onto something you're already doing where you've got a bit of space. That's where planning also really helps. That comes from James Clear's atomic habits, that like habit stacking. So, you know, try and do something alongside something you're already doing where it can be done. So, for example, I used to listen to my podcast when I was commuting to the office. If I'm sat in a in the car waiting for my daughter to finish football, then I'll be then I'll be sat there doing some little bits there. So that's something else that could really help with the planning is is finding it in those little golden moments.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Yeah. And I think then, you know, we touched on this earlier, but you know, for some people, like hearing even that word planning, it can feel quite structured and oh, you know, another thing on the to-do list, you know, it's kind of you know, it but I think actually, you know, and we've all done it, we've all had a plan that we've not then executed at some point, whether it's a new year's resolution or you know, kind of you know, best intentions, but then life gets in the way and work gets in the way. But I think just you know, coming back to maybe more of the emotional side, like actually think about like what is the actual purpose? Oh, we're plugging these previous episodes, we've done an episode on purpose as well, but for everything, it's like don't just have a plan because you think you need a plan. Like, think about like you know, why is this actually important to you? Like, what would what would executing that plan well, what difference would that make to your life, but to how you feel about say your career? Like, you know, there is an emotional side here to, you know, like the plan feels structured, it feels processy, but actually it's kind of that plan might be look, this time next year, I want to be here, or I want to feel like this, you know. I want to be able to look back and say, do you know what? Well done, well done me. You know, I feel like I've had a really good, a good year, it was successful on my terms, you know. So this isn't about putting other people's version of success on yourself, it's working out what does success look and feel like for you. So I think actually, like, you know, that word planning is structured, but it it's about you know helping you to get to a place where you feel how you actually want to feel.

Network, Mentors, and Collapsing Time

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Yeah, and and I mean the emotional side of things. Like I I I always like to tap into the emotional side of the work because I mean I'm an emotions coach, but it it it really does show up for a lot of people. We all process our emotions differently, and and I think I we we were talking about it at the start of the episode, just around when we are results-driven people as well. Like, is there room for emotion? The emotion's there, it's around understanding it, understanding what that means. And like you say, if you're not a planner, if you're not a natural process-driven planner, which is is the case for myself, you know. I I am a I am a planner in a lot of ways. In other ways, I struggle with it. So I try to also tap into my natural energy as well. Like, where where does that planning work well for me? You know, how does planning shut for me? Like my best ideas, my best processes that I decide I'm gonna go do this, this, and that, are when I step away from the laptop. I need to remind myself of that. Please step away from the laptop. But but I think, you know, even if you're not a planner, there are ways to fit different bits in to that career planning process. You you've got to lean into your natural style as well. So, and and you know, certainly I would say that if you are working with someone who A understands you, sorry, I say working, talking with someone, that accountability partner, so like you've mentioned your husband, and we obviously as coaches as well, you know, it's it's our job to to understand our the person we're working with, or that's keeping us accountable, understand the the strengths and the weaknesses, understand where it might work well in this sense and where it might not.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

Yeah. And again, you know, this clearly is an episode for plugging all of our previous episodes in case people have uh skipped straight to this one. But you know, I think this is where like that support from your network as well. Like, you know, we've spoken previously about you know developing that kind of support system for yourself, and you know, I think so, you know, we would encourage you to think about you know what are those things that are important and putting the plan in, but also then think about like what or who could help you with the execution. We've mentioned accountability, which is one aspect of it, but actually, you know, are there are there elements within that plan, whatever that plan is for, where you currently feel you've got a gap or you know, you don't have the knowledge yet or the skill, or actually, do you know what sometimes just talking to someone that's experienced that it can be really helpful and it can save a lot of time as well. Like, you know, maybe you know, if you've got this aspiration to whatever it may be, operate at this level, move into this industry. Sometimes talking to people that are kind of there already can be quite insightful in terms of understanding their journey and what are their recommendations, and you know, sometimes sometimes having that right conversation with the right person, it can collapse time for you in terms of you know, almost you know, reduce reduce the time it takes you to learn and understand, and you know, sometimes other people can help you to to kind of get your knowledge there quicker.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Yes, yeah, and and yeah, having someone like a mentor, I guess, in that's in a capacity, isn't it? You know, definitely collapse time. I love what you said there, because it could be that you've just not thought of that thing. We all have filters, we all have our own filters on on things that we do or don't see. And I think again, another episode we've mentioned maybe, but where we talked about how if we've got those filters that we just don't see opportunity, it was in opportunities, I reckon. Okay, but we're gonna have we're gonna have to have a little guide somewhere, aren't we? But but yeah, it I there's definitely something around if if we are we we have our own biases, we have our own filters, and if we don't understand something or we we haven't had our eyes open to something, we do miss opportunities, we do miss where people are willing to help. So, you know, definitely having that curious mindset really helps with this. You know, who could help me with this planning? Who could help me with this gap that I think I have?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Yeah, definitely, definitely. So I feel like I'm always putting you on the spot at this point. What are your what would your takeaways be? We need to start planning these takeaways, don't we?

Personal Style, Energy, and Planning Your Way

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Well, I thought we did that, yeah. No, uh no, it's not on the spot, but but I would definitely say what we were saying, what I mentioned earlier about how we can overestimate what we can achieve in a short amount of time and underestimate what we can achieve in a long period of time. So let's just take a year versus a month. You know, just because things you might not feel like you're making progress in that plan doesn't mean you won't get there. You've got to have the consistent momentum. So yeah, don't let let's remind ourselves the beauty of patience. And with this plan, this plan might not always go in the timeline that you want, but the intentional action behind it will get you there.

Key Takeaways and Permission to Prioritise You

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Some great, great points in there. What about you? So I think I think just giving yourself permission to focus on what what you actually, what's going to make you happy. Like, yes, we all have, you know, commitments to all these other people, family, friends, boss, team, stakeholders, etc. But you know, you're really important as well. And your future happiness will actually affect all of those people and can affect all of those people really positively as well. So it's giving yourself the space, the time and yeah, I guess that permission to focus on yourself and what you most want because going back to that point, you know, typically you know what you focus on is where you build your momentum. And yeah, so again, you know, to to kind of talk about your point as well, it's like, you know, you can control often a lot more than you think you can control. We can't control the external factors, but we can control our own progress and our own momentum. And so it's just kind of yeah giving yourself the space the time and the permission to sit down and work out what is that thing or those things that are most important and then what is the step by step breakdown of what that could look like. And you know as I've said many times like recognise the positive steps the baby steps the progress if you don't if you don't have a practice in your career and in your life where you're celebrating the positives you're missing you're missing a lot of like insight about what you're doing really well. And then sometimes we have a tendency to be really hard on ourselves and beat ourselves up about what we've not achieved or didn't achieve that thing but actually look at all those things that you did achieve. So I you know I'm a massive believer on making sure you recognise your own your own progress and small steps along the way because that's what gives you the resilience and the confidence to keep going with it. If you don't recognise it if you don't recognise it then it does feel difficult and you're not even you're not spotting the progress that you're making and progress isn't it doesn't happen overnight. It's incremental it happens over time.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Yeah we're naturally wired aren't we to think about that one bad thing as opposed to the 10 good things that have happened and it that is an intentional practice you know that we've talked about and you know we've got to have those small wins. Like you say resilience is built from the tough moments as well as the good ones but you've got to remind yourself of the good ones as you go along and it wouldn't be a procurement pivots episode without Laura bringing up a metaphor but just turning back to what you said about the about the giving yourself permission and and you know you're supporting all these other people that oxygen mask anecdote about you know fit your own mask before helping others because how happy you are in your career impacts those around you whether that's in your career and your home life whether that's in your leadership and the team that are around you. And so you need to give yourself that permission because actually it's got ripple effects that span across other other people. So you know give yourself that permission and and go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 33:16

So yes we'd love to know your takeaways from these episodes like we'd love you to share you know feel free to share on you know on on the the pivots the procurement pivots group that we've got on LinkedIn or feel free to message us individually together however but we'd love to hear about kind of what it is you're taking away from these episodes because you're taking the time to listen to these episodes and we hope that it's encouraging you to take some small action that you can then kind of take benefit from you know later down the line. So yeah so we hope that you're continuing to uh to enjoy the episodes and see the value of kind of you know those small actions as a result.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Yeah and even just one takeaway right if if someone can take one one thing and implement it you know they could see massive results from that. So yeah please let us know we we want to be able to bring more episodes based on what you're responding to best. So yeah please get in touch with us.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Yeah and and of course if you want any help or support with any of this like feel free to reach out to again either of us or both of us dependent on you know what what the situation is and you know we're we're here to you know we can have a confidential conversation with you and see whether it is a fit to to work together.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

Yeah exactly brilliant well thanks so much for tuning in we will see you next week. Yeah thanks everyone take care bye bye thank you for tuning in to procurement pivots we hope today's episode gave you actionable tips to help you to continue to move forward in your procurement career.

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SPEAKER_00 34:53

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