From Ick to Impact: Rethinking Influence in Procurement Teams

“Be more influential.”

It’s an expectation that modern Procurement carries, often minus the authority, the airtime, or the fancy job title.

But impactful influence is grounded in great relationships. And like any meaningful connection, it’s deeply personal and wildly nuanced. But attempting to build influence can sometimes feel a bit… icky.

Let’s talk about the "ick"

For some team members, "influencing" feels dangerously close to manipulating. It can trigger discomfort around power dynamics, especially if their lived experience with "power" hasn't always been safe, fair, or inclusive.

And while some might see influencing as building trust, shaping ideas, or showing commercial value, someone else might hear it as:

“Be louder. Be more persuasive. Push harder.”

That’s a problem.

Because when influence becomes a mask instead of a muscle, when we haven’t unpacked our own relationship with power, we lose authenticity, we lose voices, and we definitely lose engagement.

Becoming masters of influence as a Procurement function is quite the journey, most likely with a few bumps, twists and turns along the way.

Your team won't all get there at the same time

Some of your team members are natural connectors; they can build rapport immediately. Others are quieter observers, the ones who drop that one insightful comment in a meeting and shift the whole room's thinking.

They’re all influencing. Just in different ways.

The challenge (and the opportunity) is in helping people develop their own version of influence. Not a one-size-fits-all approach, but something that aligns with how they naturally build relationships and navigate power struggles, all while keeping their integrity intact.

What can you do to support your Procurement team?

Here are some initial considerations:

Redefine influence on your terms as a Procurement team: 

Make it broader and make it relevant to the context of your organisation. Influence goes deeper than persuasion. It involves deep listening, empathising, sense-making, and sometimes, choosing not to speak.

Coach the individual:

One-size-fits-all training rarely sticks. Instead, support your team in discovering their strengths. Maybe someone influences best through storytelling, another through data, another through quietly mentoring or coaching their peers.

Create the space to practise (and fail):

Influence grows with practise, tweaking and building upon success. But only if people feel safe to experiment and fail a little. The more you create a feeling of psychological safety, the more your team will have an appetite to try new things.

Challenge your own perceptions and bias:

Who do you naturally see as influential? Is it the extrovert? The confident one? The “strategic thinker”? Start looking for influence in unexpected places – you’ll be surprised where it’s hiding.

In summary

Procurement is no longer the back-office cost controller. It’s shaping value, strategy, and relationships in every corner of the business. But if we want to truly step into that power, we need to help our teams redefine their own version of influence.

Real influence comes from a place of integrity; giving power to co-created relationships, rather than keeping it in the hands of a few while others are left with none.

Influence doesn't have to be loud. But it should be real.

And that kind of influence?

It doesn’t just drive results.

It drives respect.