The Legacy Question That's Keeping CPOs Up at Night

Legacy isn't something most Procurement leaders think about when they're in the thick of transformation programmes, supplier negotiations, or boardroom battles for strategic recognition. 

When my clients arrive at a coaching session, we're working together on the here and now, but always with the end in mind. Where are they heading? What impact do they want to create? What does success look like, not just for this quarter, but for their leadership journey?

I'm a coach who loves to spot patterns - it's one of the ways I help reinforce my clients' confidence and resilience. So I'm always on the lookout for patterns in my coaching conversations. And over the last year, this theme came through strongly with quite a few clients at all levels.

I've drawn 3 different examples from coaching conversations in recent times in which leaders have wrestled with the same fundamental question: What is my legacy?

And it's not the question itself that's keeping them up at night. It's more to do with the painful realisation that their legacy isn't always within their control.

When Your Legacy Gets Rewritten

One scenario is when leaders have spent years building Procurement's strategic position in their organisation. Board presence. Stakeholder partnerships. A team structure designed for value creation, not just cost reduction.

Then the Executive team restructured the function. I've seen this happen a few times in recent months.

Not because the strategy was wrong. Not because the results weren't there. But because organisational priorities shifted, and with them, Procurement's positioning.

Watching your hard work get dismantled is frustrating, and it can be damaging to self-esteem. It can bring in self-doubt about your future career positioning - can it form part of your career story and legacy if what you've built has been pulled away like a rug from under your feet?

When Someone Else's Legacy Becomes Your Burden

The second scenario is when a leader has inherited a mess. A predecessor has burned bridges, damaged relationships, and left Procurement's reputation in tatters.

Years later and following significant effort to rebuild trust, delivering results, proving value - a senior stakeholder will still bring up the past. Still hold on to old perceptions. And sometimes, they judge the current leader through the lens of someone else's failures.

The unfairness is obvious. And the perception is wholly inaccurate in the face of the current leader's achievements. The challenge with Procurement's legacy is that it isn't just about what is being created now. It encompasses what you inherit, and the systems you operate within don't always distinguish between the two.

When You Can't See Your Own Legacy

The third scenario is when a leader has chosen to move on to a new organisation. They've delivered genuine transformation. Changed ways of working. Built capability. Shifted mindsets.

But not everyone received the change well. Some resisted. Some complained. Some still prefer the old ways.

And then, as they prepare to leave, they struggle to own their achievements. They see the resistance more clearly than the results. They remember the difficult conversations more vividly than the breakthroughs.

What These 3 Examples Can Teach Us About Procurement Legacy

These three stories might seem quite different on the surface - one about organisational change, one about inherited reputation, one about transformation resistance. But they all point to legacy in Procurement.

Through a lens of systemic coaching and with consideration given to Procurement's evolution as a profession, we need to be open to considering that legacy doesn't exist in isolation.

Procurement's legacy - and those who play a part in it - lives in a complex system. A complex system that is shaped by those who came before you, interpreted by those around you, and redefined by those who come after you. It's less of a monument you build, it's more of a thread in an ongoing story.

This concept can be uncomfortable for high-achieving leaders who are used to controlling outcomes. We want legacy to be merit-based, permanent, and clearly attributable to our efforts.

But the systems that Procurement operates in don't always work that way. Organisational memory is selective. Stakeholder perceptions lag behind current reality. And the profession itself is still writing its story about what strategic Procurement truly means.

So What Can These 3 Leadership Scenarios Take From This?

When a structure gets dismantled: The work has created capacity in people, knowledge in the organisation, and proof that strategic Procurement is possible. Those things persist even when structures change. One thing is for sure - it doesn't take away from a leader's individual achievements, and it very much belongs in their own Procurement leadership story, even if the changes they delivered are not permanent.

The skills they developed in their team don't disappear. The stakeholders who experienced Procurement differently won't forget that it's possible. The business cases they built become templates others can use. Their legacy is in the expanded sense of what Procurement can be, not just an org chart.

Fighting a predecessor's shadow: They're not just building their own legacy as a leader, they're healing the system. That repair work is legacy too, even if it's less visible than launching new initiatives. It's important to recognise that the legacy of predecessors is not a personal reflection of the current leader - it's a reflection of the system.

Every conversation that rebuilds trust is shifting the narrative. Every result that contradicts the old perception creates new evidence. Every stakeholder who updates their mental model of Procurement is part of the healing. This client is doing two jobs - creating their own impact whilst also repairing the foundation. That's twice the legacy work, even if it doesn't always feel like it.

Owning your impact when you leave: They've moved the needle on a transformation journey that will continue long after they leave. Their discomfort with partial reception doesn't diminish the shift they've created. Transformation often has its twists and turns, many of them unexpected. There needs to be a focus on recognising their own part they've played in a wider story.

Change is rarely universally welcomed, especially change that challenges comfortable ways of working. The resistance they encountered isn't evidence that the transformation wasn't needed - it's often evidence that it was. They've made space for the next leader to build on. They've raised the bar for what's expected. They've proven that change is possible, even when it's hard. That's powerful legacy work.

What If Legacy Isn't About Control?

Perhaps the question isn't "What legacy will I leave?" but "What role have I played in the system's evolution?"

Because when you're part of a transformation journey (and that's what strategic Procurement fundamentally is) you're never the whole story.

You're a chapter.

Sometimes you're the chapter that stabilises things.

Sometimes you're the chapter that disrupts them.

Sometimes you're the chapter that heals what was broken.

None of these roles are less valuable because they're not permanent or universally celebrated.

When the structure is changed, it still shifted what people believed was possible.

When you're battling old perceptions, you're still creating new ones, even if some stakeholders are slow to update their mental models.

When you deliver difficult change, it has still helped the organisation grow, even if growing pains don't feel like success in the moment.

The Legacy You Actually Own

So what does belong to you in all of this?

Your integrity. How you showed up, the decisions you made, the values you held when it would have been easier not to. That's yours.

Your development of others. The people you mentored, coached, and grew will carry aspects of your thinking long after you've moved on. They become your legacy in motion.

Your contribution to the profession. Every time you elevated Procurement's thinking, challenged outdated assumptions, or modelled what strategic leadership looks like, you moved the dial for everyone.

Your own growth. The wisdom you gained, the resilience you built, the leadership you developed - that goes with you to whatever comes next.

The narrative you choose. How you make sense of your journey, what you take from the challenges, and how you talk about your impact shapes not just how others see it, but how you see yourself.

A Different Question

If you're a Procurement leader thinking about legacy, try shifting the question.

Instead of asking "What will people remember about my time here?" ask "What did I make possible that wasn't possible before?"

The answer might surprise you. It's almost certainly bigger than the structures, strategies, or scorecards. It's in the shifted conversations, the built confidence, the challenged assumptions, and the expanded sense of what Procurement can be.

That's legacy too. Even if it's not the kind that gets carved in stone.

And perhaps more importantly, it's the kind of legacy that doesn't require anyone's permission, can't be restructured away, and doesn't depend on universal acclaim.

It's the kind that's actually yours to own.

What's your relationship with Procurement legacy? Are you trying to build one, repair one, or move beyond one? I'd be interested to hear your reflections.

How Coaching For Procurement Ltd Can Help

The common thread running through all of my approaches to Procurement teams is understanding where you are now, and what you actually need to move forward.

If you're thinking about how to support your Procurement team or your own leadership development in 2026, I'd love to hear what's on your mind.

Get in touch for an informal, confidential chat here.