With the evolution of the procurement function over the years, its overarching impact across business functions has spread manifold. Hence, it is no secret that the Chief Procurement Officer’s capacity of innovation, agility and problem-solving skills, now has an organisation wide impact.

Moglix is thus taking a look at the leadership traits that are essential for today’s CPOs, especially in an industry that is now so technology-driven:

1. Decisiveness: First and foremost, a CPO has to be decisive. The speed at which business moves today, is actually quite incredible and while there are decisions that need careful assessment and evaluation, the capability of taking quick decisions is a key trait that sets leaders and their businesses apart. Be it crisis management, or identifying the right candidate for a job, decisiveness is crucial for a CPO’s success.

2. Empowering Your Team: A great CPO will strive to create an environment enriched with innovation, where the teams are empowered enough to excel both independently and also within teams, while solving critical business problems. He/she seeks ways to remove hurdles that may be impending staff autonomy so that the pace of project implementations can be accelerated and the ROIs can be realised even quicker (all the while being focused on the deliverables at hand as well!)

3. Continual Growth and Learning: There are always going to be problems to circumvent and deadlines to meet and with lack of extra time, learning can be difficult. Having said that, professional development and continued learning are the only assured ways of ensuring that in the current times of rapid technological advancements, you don’t get left behind. Be it business skill or technical ones, a CPO must continue to evolve. Despite being focused on solving problems and managing risk, one has to be consistently at pace with new developments in the world.

4. Appreciating Team Efforts: A CPO is as good as his team, and his team as good as the people in it. Thus, recognising team efforts is so essential to enhance employee engagement and retention.  Highlighting the good work and extraordinary efforts that your team has put in, and listening to the innovative solutions that they might bring to the table, will ensure that your team’s performance consistently sets a benchmark.

Though there is quite a varied spectrum of traits that CPOs need today in a technology-oriented industry. However, the aforementioned ones have been coveted continually by organizations across the globe. As a CPO it is always helpful to assess your leadership style and strive to increase your effectiveness within your organisation as well as your team.

What do you think are the key leadership traits that CPOs today must possess? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.