Start Where You Are in 2026, Procurement

First of all, Happy New Year to you! I hope the festive period gave you some proper downtime.

This time of year can bring up so many mixed feelings when it comes to careers.

A renewed sense of hope for the year that is to come. A desire to change something. A feeling of "this year needs to be different".

Goals and intentions are fresh in our minds at the start of a new year. They serve as a compass and north star once the day-to-day tasks and challenges resume their firm grip on us after the festive season and lots of cheese…(or was that just me?!)

But goals are only one component of setting out to achieve something.

If we focus too much on the goal, we lose sight of the ground where our feet are, as well as the path we have already travelled so far.

It's early January, and somewhere right now, one or both of these things will be happening: a Procurement leader is writing a list of everything they need to fix about themselves or about Procurement's perception. Or they've settled back into work this week and those new intentions have been superseded by new challenges or the obstacles that were pushed back to January from December.

Both scenarios can bring about a feeling of being between a rock and a hard place.

But the feeling might remain. They need to be more strategic. More visible. Better at influencing. Stronger at stakeholder management. The list goes on.

The "new year, new me" narrative suggests we need to become someone else entirely. But transformation in leadership rarely works that way.

And to be honest, I think it would be a disservice to the Procurement profession as a whole if that's how we looked at things.

Procurement as a profession continues to evolve. The transformation that comes with it can feel tough, relentless and like we're in a constant state of fixing.

One of the first things I say to a Procurement leader or a team when we start working together is that they don't need fixing. They are not broken.

When things feel tough, it's easy to zoom in on one perceived weakness and make that the whole problem. But we're not one-dimensional. The challenge you're facing rarely exists in isolation – it's connected to your context, your systems, your stakeholders, and often to strengths you haven't yet recognised. Progress will come from looking at the full picture, rather than just the part that feels broken.

Constantly looking to be, do or have more comes from the "lack mindset" that we are inundated by wherever we look in the news or on social media.

It's important to reach for goals but equally as crucial not to lose sight of the shore – as there are plenty of existing strengths and gifts that can serve us along the way.

The key to achieving something is knowing our direction, which strengths we need to leverage, what resources we already have that we can lean on, and doing it at a pace that is sustainable.

The Domino Effect

We're never starting from scratch.

Even if you've joined a new organisation, you're bringing the Procurement expertise, experience and insights that have got you to where you are right now.

Even if you look further back over the years, you can find reminders of where you've managed to overcome a challenge or build your capability. I even take myself back to my morning paper round when I was 13 years old and how it helped me to get up no matter the weather! (In my opinion, it is one of the best jobs you could do as a kid to build your work ethic – a shame that the world has moved on from this now)

You might feel like you're at the base of Everest, and whilst it's important to have the summit in mind, what matters is that you have laser focus on the next step.

Real change in how others see you (and how you see yourself) often comes from one small shift that creates a ripple and momentum that you're looking for.

It might be:

• Speaking up in that first stakeholder meeting without over-preparing
• Saying no to one request that's outside your remit
• Reframing one conversation from cost to value
• Being intentionally curious in meetings using techniques such as active listening

These are not huge, revolutionary goals. But done consistently, they compound and over time will create a shift.

When you have the courage to try something new, the first step is often the hardest. The next time becomes easier. Your confidence grows from the courage to commit to a small action, not from one big action with no follow up.

What Already Works

Before you decide on all the things that you feel need fixing in your career, a great place to start is to ask yourself: what's already working?

Where are you already influencing, even if it doesn't feel polished? Where do people already trust your judgement? What are you doing when you feel most like yourself as a leader?

These are solid foundations to build upon as you push yourself to new heights. We all have skills and strengths that already exist within us but we often overlook them because they come so naturally to us – we might even forget that it is a skill or a strength.

The Breakthroughs Are Hiding Behind What We're Avoiding

Those solid foundations I've mentioned above are what will steady the ship whilst you aim for your next step. It's where you'll find your courage and confidence to aim for something new, realising by now that this was never about fixing anything, but more about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

As the saying goes, great things happen outside of the comfort zone.

The very thing you're hesitant to do is often the thing that will make a shift that you didn't realise you were capable of.

That conversation you've been putting off is where your next level of influence takes shape.

We tell ourselves we're not ready. That we need more data, more experience, more proof. But often what we're really avoiding is the discomfort of being visible in a new way.

If you've followed my content for a while you'll know how keen I am on progress over perfection. If we wait for the perfect time then we will be waiting forever. Courage always comes before confidence, and you'll find that courage from understanding yourself and recognising moments when you've done it before in other contexts.

What are you avoiding right now that, if you faced it, might be the domino that starts everything else moving?

A Different Kind of Resolution

My invitation to you as we start this year:

Don't become someone new.

Become more of who you already are when you're at your best.

Pick one thing - not ten - that would make a tangible difference to how you lead or how others experience your leadership.

Choose something that feels uncomfortable but not impossible.

Something that uses the strengths you already have but asks you to use them to make the change you're looking for.

Here's how to make it real:

1. Write it down. Research shows you're 42% more likely to achieve a goal simply by writing it down. Not typing – handwriting. There's something about putting pen to paper that shifts it from intention to commitment and it engages with our brain differently.
2. Make it specific. "Be more strategic" isn't actionable. "Speak up in the monthly leadership meeting with one strategic insight" is.
3. Anchor it to what already works. Use a strength you already have - just deploy it somewhere new or more visibly.
4. Tell someone. Accountability doesn't have to be formal, but sharing your intention with one trusted person makes it more likely to happen.

Then watch for the domino effect.

Start where you are. It's enough.

How Coaching For Procurement Ltd Can Help

2 new free resources and an invitation to start 2026 well. 

Influence Calendar: Build your momentum in your influence using small consistent steps. Download January's calendar here. 

This January on the Procurement Pivots® podcast with my co-host Donna Bowden we are giving you a 4-part series of how to set up your 2026 for success in a sustainable way. We released part 1 on Monday and you can watch on YouTube here or find us on Apple or Spotify. Part 2 coming up next Monday!

And finally, if you'd like strategic coaching support for you or your Procurement team this year, get in touch now here for a confidential chat to see how I can help.