Finding Common Ground with Your Stakeholders: A Guide for Procurement Professionals

As a Procurement professional, you've likely experienced that moment when a stakeholder conversation feels stuck. They want speed, you're focused on compliance. They're pushing for a specific supplier, you're thinking about risk. The tension is real, and the path forward feels unclear.

The goal isn't a win-lose situation, nor is it a compromise that leaves everyone feeling deflated. You're looking for the shared territory that already exists beneath the surface noise, so that you can build out from there.

Start with Their Success, Not Your Process

The fastest way to lose a stakeholder is to lead with Procurement's needs. Instead, begin by genuinely understanding what success looks like for them. Not just what they're asking for, but why it matters.

Ask questions like:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• What does success look like for you in three months?
• What's at stake if this doesn't work?

When you understand their pressures - their quarterly targets, their customer commitments, the CEO's expectations…you move from being the blocker who slows things down to the partner who helps them succeed within the guardrails that protect the business.

Name the Tension Out Loud

When it comes to conflict, most people avoid it completely - research shows 76% of employees do. It's the elephant in the room

Or if we do engage in it, handled badly it can burn bridges.

But acknowledging it professionally creates clarity.

Try something like: "I can see you need this moving quickly, and I need to make sure we're protected on the contract terms. Let's figure out how to do both."

This simple acknowledgment does two things. It validates their priorities, and it frames your requirements as shared constraints rather than obstacles you're placing in their path. You're no longer opposing forces, you're positioning you both as partners navigating the same challenge (and showing great leadership in doing so).

Find the Overlap in Your "Musts"

Every stakeholder has non-negotiables. So do you. The key is identifying where those overlap.

Perhaps they must launch by a certain date, and you must have proper vendor vetting completed. The common ground might be: "We both need this to succeed without creating risk for the business."

From that shared foundation, you can work backward together. What can be done in parallel? What can be streamlined? Where can you use existing frameworks to accelerate without cutting corners?

Make the Trade-Offs Visible

Sometimes, the path forward requires choices. When that's the case, make the trade-offs explicit.

"We can move faster on this if we use a pre-approved supplier, which limits our options to these three. Or we can open it up to new suppliers, which gives us more choice but adds two weeks to the timeline."

When stakeholders see the real options - grounded in what you've already agreed on - and realise those options aren't filtered through your lens of what you think they should choose, they become co-creators of the solution. And people support what they help create.

Build the Relationship Before You Need It

The hardest time to find common ground is in the middle of a crisis or under a tight deadline. The leaders who consistently navigate stakeholder relationships well do one thing differently: they invest in the relationship before they need it.

Regular check-ins. Understanding their business cycles. Sharing insights about supplier markets that affect their category. These small investments create the trust that makes difficult conversations possible.

Remember: You're on the Same Team

It's easy to fall into an "us versus them" mentality when stakeholders seem demanding or unreasonable. The reality is that you're all trying to help the organisation succeed, you’re just looking at it through different lenses.

Your stakeholders aren't trying to make your job harder. They're trying to do their job well. And when you approach conversations from that assumption, it changes everything.

Finding common ground is a mindset to embrace, not just a technique to master. When you genuinely believe you and your stakeholders share the same ultimate goal, the path forward reveals itself more often than you'd expect.

What has helped you to find common ground with challenging stakeholders? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments.

How Coaching For Procurement Ltd Can Help

Coaching For Procurement Ltd offers a full suite of coaching solutions designed to empower and support Procurement leaders and their teams; from Procurement team coaching through to ILM qualifications using the unique P.R.O.C.U.R.E® coaching methodology and frameworks, as well as 1:1 coaching. We work together on your inner game at these pivotal moments of your Procurement journey.

If you would like to explore how my coaching programmes can help you to have a greater impact as a Procurement team, please reach out to find out more: www.coachingforprocurement.co.uk/contact-me