Procurement is in the ‘client’ role, so sales people try to match your schedule.There were several other women with children on the team trying to manage work and home time. One of the greatest aspects of being measured on results is that it makes space for flexibility between work and home time.Īfter some years in consulting, I was back in industry with a full-time role, and two small children, leading a big team for the first time. And the team delivered some great innovation to the business and tripled the savings delivery. I also gave her a leadership challenge to think bigger on the numbers. Mary, the leader of the US professional services category was exactly this kind of woman, delivering business innovation and significant numbers every year.Īs part of our strategy for breaking through on more difficult categories, she led a new approach by working across regions. Women who advance into leadership roles in corporations are results-oriented and tend to be super exact because the winnowing out process is earlier and harsher. But after we delivered the first year, my nervousness was gone. Long-term savings commitment – The first time we committed as a team, I was nervous presenting it to the executive committee.Clear financials – Focus on savings that bring the cost base down and have P&L impact via a tight link to the budget process.

Everyone wants to hear more of those, especially senior executives.īut not just any numbers will do.

Being clear about your opinion in a meeting easily becomes being ‘too direct’.īut the great equaliser is delivering financial results. One of the realities of being a businesswoman is that the range of acceptable behaviour can be narrow. I got my first taste of the three things that make women in indirect procurement such a great combination.ġ. The team had been formed specifically to implement ‘strategic sourcing’. In the late 90s, when indirect procurement was emerging as a strategic sourcing function, I joined the corporate sourcing team at a large Swiss bank. My path to leadership in procurement happened by accident. At a recent event on ‘Women in Procurement,’ I got thinking about why indirect procurement is a great function for women.

Coupa indirect procurement