Procurement mindset: coaching fluff, the latest buzzword, or the missing piece behind strategic delivery?

When we talk about capability in Procurement, we often default to the usual suspects such as technical skills, systems, digitalisation, processes and strategy.

To add further weight, we might chuck in a few buzzwords here and there, such as impact, personal brand, visibility and mindset (no judgement here...I’m guilty of using them all in my content!)

But there’s a difference between buzzwords we throw around and the ones that stick because we take action on them.

As a coach who specialises in working with Procurement, I see it time and time again: mindset is the differentiator. It’s the thread that runs through every challenge, every change, and every leap a Procurement function wants to take.

I’d love to tell you that it only takes one book, one course, or one single coaching conversation to overcome a mindset block.

But the reality is that it’s a practice rather than a switch.

So where do we begin when it comes to shaping a healthy Procurement mindset?

Let’s break it down across three core levels: the Procurement professional, the Procurement team and the organisation.

1. The baseline of Procurement mindset: you, the individual

It always starts with understanding your own story. Your overall experience in Procurement has a lasting influence on how you show up.

Did you actively choose it? Fall into it? Were you thrown into a reactive, admin-heavy environment with minimal development? Or did you enter a mature function with access to resources, a visible CPO, and a voice at the top table?

These early experiences shape your internal narrative and not every Procurement professional has had experience of both ends of the spectrum:

What Procurement is, what it isn’t, what your role is, and what’s even possible.

This forms your baseline and it becomes the filter through which you interpret your role, your stakeholders, and your sense of agency within the business.

We can’t talk about mindset without acknowledging the impact of that baseline. Self-awareness of your own Procurement journey and your experience of it is the first step to understanding and influencing your own mindset.

What story are you still carrying from your early Procurement days?

2. The mindset of your Procurement team: the collective lens

There’s a saying that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Well, if that is true, how does this show up in Procurement teams?

Every team is a mix of individuals; each with their own journey into Procurement and their own beliefs about its capabilities. Taking into account my point from above, each team member brings their own Procurement lens into the team. This can be a force for good, or it can hold the team back. When it works well, the team can support each other through challenging times. At its worst, you hear things like: “don’t bother with that stakeholder, they’ll never change.”

Sound familiar? That’s collective mindset in action.

When we take into account the other dynamics that might exist within the team: direct vs. indirect, tactical vs. strategic, categories with bigger spend vs. those left fighting for relevance.

These internal silos go beyond team dynamics. In fact, your stakeholders will pick up on them as they echo outwards. Your influence as a team will be diluted and you'll lose momentum in your mission. (I’ve written more about this in a past article, which I’ll link below).

Your team’s mindset is the engine behind your function’s presence. It deserves as much attention as your systems and spend analytics.

What mindset is your team unconsciously operating from?

3. The organisational mindset around Procurement: a large mountain to climb?

In many ways, building a modern Procurement function is like building a business within a business.

You might have a bold vision, a smart strategy, and a strong team. But if the organisation still sees Procurement through an outdated lens; transactional, risk-averse, red-tape...it creates a mismatch in mindset.

This is where Procurement leaders have to build the road ahead, often before others are even ready to walk it.

Consistency in your message becomes key. Your visibility, your language, and your internal “brand” all shape how Procurement is perceived. You’re influencing through story and not just through spend.

Like any business owner, you’re selling more than a service. You’re selling belief. Trust. Vision.

And that takes mindset stamina. If you don’t hold that belief, trust and vision on an individual basis, the mountain that is the organisational buy-in becomes a harder climb without an oxygen tank.

What would it take for the business to see Procurement the way you do?

So, where can you start?

Here are 3 places to begin if you want to strengthen Procurement mindset at every level:

Start with self-awareness: get curious about your own story. What beliefs did you pick up early in your Procurement career? Which ones still serve you…and which ones need updating?

Strengthen your team lens: start conversations about mindset inside the team. What unspoken narratives are shaping how you show up as a team across the organisation? What strengths are you not fully using?

Influence the outer perception: begin reframing how you talk about Procurement across the business. Not just what you do, but what you enable. Make mindset part of your influence strategy and not just an internal development topic.

If you're still in doubt...mindset isn’t fluff. It’s definitely not just another buzzword.

It’s the undercurrent of everything we want Procurement to be.

And when we take it seriously, from the inside out, that’s when we start leading the change we’ve been talking about for years.

Want to know how coaching can help?

Coaching For Procurement 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.

If you would like to explore a coaching approach to building Procurement's impact through coaching, please reach out to find out more.

*Link to previous article about Procurement team silos: https://www.coachingforprocurement.co.uk/blog/different-categories-same-mission-rethinking-how-to-work-as-one-procurement-team