Long-term success in procurement requires a person to analyze the situation in which he or she is placed, identify skills best suited to that situation and then implement (and, if necessary, refine) those skills so that the person is able to deal with the situation in a credible manner.
From time to time, it is suggested there is a need to strip away the veneer that exists over modern leadership and return to some past approach exemplified by a historic character. While the past has much to teach, there are risks in an overly eager embrace of that which has gone before.
Present day procurement leaders live in the modern era and their approaches to leadership must be consistent with the requirements of that era. While many great leaders of the past well illustrate important attributes of leadership in their style, strategic planning, ability to motivate and so forth, they cannot serve as unqualified role models in the present day.
Social values, tastes, needs and acceptable patterns of behaviour all evolve over time, due to:
- technological innovation;
- the enhanced wealth of society;
- increased literacy;
- improving transportation and communication;
- evolving religious and moral beliefs and philosophical understanding; and
- the growing perception of the existence of a worldwide community.
Any identification of the necessary skills and permissible practices of leadership must take this process of social evolution into account. The ideal manager is one who is suited to the conditions of his or her time and environment.
The changed (and still changing) requirements of the modern age do not lessen the accomplishments of the great leaders of the past, but they do qualify the extent to which past practices and behaviour can be applied to the present day.
Some of the most influential leaders in this world are barely known outside their immediate circle of acquaintance. They are little league baseball managers, honest police officers, small town doctors and many more that are recognized as great leaders.
These people may not accomplish great things, but those they influence very often go on to accomplish great things. Occasionally, those who achieve greatness have the courtesy to provide recognition for the influence of such quiet leaders.
For instance, Jimmy Carter attributed much of his own intellectual and character development to his high school teacher, Julia Coleman — a woman who spent most of her life as a teacher in a small Georgia village that is 10 miles off the nearest secondary road.
She lived at a time when Georgia was a backwater state. She probably never met more than a few thousand people in her entire life, but she must have been a leader of considerable ability to have had so great an influence on a man who went on to become president of the United States.
By reflecting upon people like Coleman, it is possible to gain insight into the attributes of true leadership. Procurement has a specialized area of knowledge that needs to be taught over time. It is a career that must be understood and explained by experienced purchasing professionals to gain a full understanding of the process.
When one thinks of leadership, there is an almost natural inclination to focus on leading statesmen and there can be little argument that such individuals do obtain a unique perspective on leadership by holding office.
However, that kind of perspective can be very limited. Most of things that leaders must do are not especially weighty. Questions such as whether to invade Iraq have little direct bearing on the kind of questions people must make in their day-to-day life, such as whether to start up a business. Everyone has some practical experience of leadership, since each person will be called upon to play a leadership role in some capacity from time to time.
Stephen Bauld is a government procurement expert and can be reached at swbauld@purchasingci.com. Some of his columns may contain excerpts from The Municipal Procurement Handbook published by Butterworths.
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