The Belonging Question in Procurement

"What we do isn't really Procurement."

I've heard this phrase frequently over the years, in different organisations and from Procurement leaders of varying experience. It comes up as a belief when they're describing their role to someone outside the function, or when they're in a room full of other Procurement professionals sharing their experiences.

The paradox is that they could be right. And wrong. At the same time.

I know this feeling very well myself. I've questioned my own belonging in Procurement over the years more times than I can count. “Falling into Procurement” didn’t apply to me earlier in my career – it was an intentional move. I was doing a lot of Procurement activity in an operational role and when I pondered my next move, I invested in two CIPS modules before moving to a dedicated Procurement organisation. But the roles I continued to take on were not the traditional buying roles within the context that we were operating in. They were brand new roles with no precedent to follow as the business grew. And so the sense of "belonging" was a thought that often occurred to me. 

My own journey within Procurement is precisely what enables me to provide the value that effective and transformational coaching offers. It enables me to view Procurement’s challenges with a different perspective. As a confidential and impartial sounding board, I’m able to support my clients to step out of the weeds of the detail and take a strategic meta-view of their Procurement leadership and career.

But what I didn't expect, until I started my business, was that many others seem to have these thoughts of belonging.

On paper, they have held traditional Procurement titles.

But they sometimes ponder whether they belong or if they can add value in other areas of Procurement.

Over time, coaching clients and others in my Procurement network have told me that their role wasn’t “100% Procurement” or didn’t feel like “true” Procurement. Those in greenfield found themselves crossing traditional Procurement boundaries, dipping into other parts of the business as the organisation and Procurement function was evolving.

In this feeling sits a lot of challenge – but also a lot of opportunity – and I want to call it out.

The Challenge: The Identity Puzzle

Procurement can mean something different depending on where you sit. 

For one leader, it's strategic sourcing and category management. For another, it's supplier relationship management and innovation partnerships. Someone else spends their days on commercial contracting, risk management, or leading transformation programmes.

People may carry the same job title, but may often be doing fundamentally different work.

This can create a peculiar kind of professional loneliness. You're a Procurement leader, but when you attend a Procurement event, you find yourself thinking: "my challenges don't look like theirs. My organisation doesn't work like that. Maybe I'm the odd one out."

The Danger of Comparison

When we don't see our own reality reflected back to us, we start to question ourselves. We wonder if we're doing it "properly". We worry that we're not strategic enough, not technical enough, not influential enough.

This comparison trap has real consequences. I've watched talented Procurement leaders convince themselves they can only work in their current industry because "that's the only place where my experience counts". Or they stay locked into a single category because they believe switching would mean starting from scratch.

I also see missed opportunities for unity within Procurement teams because of perceived hierarchies (through categories and role responsibilities, not through title) within the function. 

And this can be so limiting for individuals, teams and the profession as a whole. 

The irony is that by believing that their specific context makes them uniquely different, they also believe it makes them uniquely limited.

They don’t necessarily see that the skills they've developed: navigating complexity, building influence without authority, translating between commercial and operational worlds - are precisely the skills that transfer to other contexts.

What I've observed working with Procurement leaders across different sectors and organisations is that the diversity of what Procurement looks like makes it an exciting profession to be a part of.

And we should be shouting about this more.

Because where there is diversity in Procurement, there is opportunity. There is creativity and there is innovation. 

There is a place for uniqueness AND belonging in Procurement.

What Remains Constant

While the work varies, something fundamental stays the same: creating value by connecting internal needs with external markets.

How that manifests will be unique to your context:

• In a highly regulated environment, you might focus on compliance and risk
• In a fast-growth tech company, you might be building supplier ecosystems from scratch
• In a mature organisation, you might be challenging decades of embedded practices

Each of these requires different skills, different conversations, and different measures of success.

None of them is "more Procurement" than the others – and when we look at it through this lens, it makes universal perceptions of Procurement redundant (particularly the perceptions that can feel overwhelming at times). 

And we should be embracing this. 

What I've witnessed in my experience as an Executive Coach to Procurement over these years is the following:

• The leaders who create genuine impact are the ones who can build trust, navigate difficult conversations, influence without authority, and bring people along with them, standing firm in their knowledge and belief that what they are doing is valuable to their organisation.
• Yes, they have deep technical expertise, but they don’t use that as a measure of their worth nor do they compare it to the experience of others.
• Human skills are the common thread – rather than processes and systems. The ability to listen, to understand what's really being said beneath the surface, to build relationships that unlock possibilities, to challenge thinking without damaging trust.

These are the skills that transfer across industries, categories, and contexts.

These are the skills that make Procurement leaders indispensable.

Building Your Sense of Belonging

If you've ever felt that your version of Procurement doesn't quite fit a traditional view, consider this:

Your context is your expertise. The fact that you're navigating a unique set of circumstances isn't a weakness. It's where your value lies. Your stakeholders don't need a textbook Procurement leader (and we all know how Procurement jargon can lose a stakeholder in seconds). They need someone who understands their world.

Unity can be found even in the biggest category silos. The most valuable professional relationships I've seen are not between people doing identical jobs. They're between people who recognise the common thread: the strategic thinking, the stakeholder influence, the commercial judgement - even when the specifics differ.

You get to define what good looks like. Rather than measuring yourself against an idealised version of Procurement that may not exist anywhere in reality, define what excellence means in your organisation. What would make Procurement genuinely indispensable where you are?

Learn from others, but hold their opinions lightly. The only person who gets to decide if you belong in Procurement is you. You get to define your Procurement-shaped box. The skills that you bring. The value that you offer. Others will have a different view of what defines great Procurement – and that’s ok.

The Confidence That Comes from Clarity

One of the most significant career breakthroughs I see in Procurement leaders is when they stop trying to fit their role into someone else's definition of Procurement, and start owning what Procurement means in their context.

It's reframing thoughts of "what we do isn't really Procurement" into "let me tell you about the value Procurement creates here."

That confidence comes from clarity about your unique contribution, not from conforming with others.

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 and workshops 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