How To Communicate More Effectively As A Procurement Leader

Why Your Clarity Doesn't Guarantee Their Understanding

Communication skills are a core subject in my work with Procurement. I'm in the middle of delivering a 6-month leadership development programme for a Procurement team, and we will soon be covering how to adapt your communication style to your team and your stakeholder. I also held a 1:1 coaching session recently focused on adapting to a tricky, demanding member of the Exec, and the client saw an immediate result and a step forward with this tricky individual. Effective communication is at the heart of everything Procurement does. 

As Procurement leaders, you're trained to be precise; clear specifications, unambiguous terms, concrete metrics. You craft your messages with care, deliver them confidently, and then wonder why stakeholders still don't seem to get the message.

Here's what may sit uncomfortably: despite having huge technical expertise and a rock-solid Procurement strategy, your success in communicating it isn't determined by that alone, but by how your stakeholder, exec team, or team member interprets it. Effective communication occurs when your stakeholder comprehends the information Procurement intends – not when you've simply said your piece.

Your perfectly structured business case, your data-driven presentation, your logical argument for strategic sourcing…all of it lands in the ears, eyes and mind of someone who's filtering it through their own experiences, priorities, pressures and perceptions.

Your Effectiveness Is Determined By How They Receive You

If we took into consideration some wider research into communication: that we receive communication as only 20% factual information, while the remaining 80% is perceived based on the relationship level we have with individuals, what does that mean for Procurement's influence?

Even more intriguing, receivers engage distinct "ears" to decipher facts, perceive the sender's identity, assess the relationship tone, and work out what the speaker wants from them.

This explains so much, doesn't it? That CFO who hears your cost-saving proposal as a criticism of their budget planning. The Operations Director who interprets your risk assessment as political manoeuvring. The stakeholder who nods along but clearly hasn't absorbed a word.

There's a mismatch between how you're sending and how they're receiving.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

The expectations placed on Procurement have shifted dramatically. 

You're no longer order-takers or cost-cutters operating in isolation. You're expected to be strategic business partners, influencing decisions across the organisation, shaping supplier ecosystems, and driving value beyond savings.

Great for Procurement's profile…but that elevated role demands adaptability that many were not trained for. You're expected to speak the language of the C-Suite, Operations, Finance, Marketing – often within the same day. To translate complex supplier risk into terms the CEO cares about, then turn around and explain strategic sourcing to a sceptical department head who just wants their order processing with their favourite supplier.

This is no longer optional nice-to-have territory. If we want Procurement to have genuine strategic influence, if we want a seat at the table for critical decisions, if we want to move beyond being seen as a transactional function – then our ability to adapt our communication style becomes the gateway to that influence.

Making It Meaningful For Procurement

If communication success lives in the receiver's interpretation, not our intention, then influence requires something most of us weren't trained to do: adapting our approach to match how each stakeholder actually receives information.

It doesn't mean that we have to dumb things down or be inauthentic. It's more about recognising that communicators should design messages in terms of their receivers' perception rather than simply broadcasting what we think needs to be said.

Consider your key stakeholders:

• The analytical CFO who needs numbers first, context later
• The relationship-focused HR director who wants to understand people impact before process
• The visionary CEO who's listening for strategic implications, not operational detail
• The risk-averse Compliance Officer who's scanning for what could go wrong

Same message. Four completely different interpretations. Four distinct communication approaches required.

Practical Adaptation

Here's where this gets practical. Before your next stakeholder interaction, ask yourself:

What ear are they listening with? Are they tuned in for facts, relationship signals, personal relevance, or a call to action? Your opening should match.

What filters and values are they applying? The receiver's filters – their opinions, experiences, values, current mood – colour how they understand messages. A stakeholder under pressure hears differently than one who's thriving. When you understand someone's core values and their communication style, you can frame your message to align with – not contradict – what matters most to them. An increasing part of your role in enabling value for your organisation is to meet your stakeholders where they are.

What's their current state? The receiver's emotional state and stress level determine their ability to hear and receive messages. The timing of your message is also an important part of your communication strategy.

The Paradox Of Influence

The paradox is this: the more attached we are to our "right" way of communicating, the less influential we become. The Procurement leader who insists everyone should just "understand the data" will forever struggle with executives who think in vision and strategy.

True influence comes from flexibility. From being multilingual in communication styles. From remembering that our job isn't to be understood – it's to ensure understanding actually happens.

That requires us to step outside our own perspective and genuinely consider: through which lens is this person interpreting what I'm saying? What might they be filtering out? What unintended message might they be receiving?

Your Challenge

This week, pick one stakeholder relationship that feels difficult or strained. Before your next interaction, spend five minutes considering how they receive information. What matters to them? What's their current state? Which "ear" are they most likely to be listening with?

Then adapt your approach accordingly. Not by changing your core message, but by shaping how you deliver it to match their reception style.

It's uncomfortable to consider that it's not our stakeholders who need to change how they listen – but more that it's on us to change how we communicate. But it's empowering to know that we have the option to crack their communication code.

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 coaching qualifications using the unique P.R.O.C.U.R.E® coaching methodology and frameworks, through to Procurement team coaching and 1:1 coaching.

Want to unlock the full potential of your Procurement team? Let’s discuss how coaching can drive impact in your organisation: contact me today:

www.coachingforprocurement.co.uk/contact-me