A couple of weeks ago, I went to a fascinating Seed Talks session by Dee Anand on the psychology of psychopaths. Before anyone starts wondering why I’ve suddenly developed an interest in serial killers, that wasn’t really what the evening was about. The talk explored psychopathy as a personality construct and, in particular, the difference between primary and secondary psychopaths.
One thing Dee discussed that really stuck with me was that primary psychopaths often display traits such as confidence, fearlessness, decisiveness, emotional detachment, resilience under pressure and the ability to influence others. As I sat there listening, I found myself thinking that if you took those characteristics and turned them into a job advert, you’d probably have the person specification for quite a few CEO, CPO and senior leadership roles. In fact, many of these are exactly the traits organisations actively look for and reward.
None of those things are inherently bad. But it did make me wonder whether we’ve become a little obsessed with certain leadership traits whilst overlooking others.
The Great Conversation
The timing was interesting because CIPS has recently launched The Great Conversation, encouraging the profession to think about the future of procurement and the type of leadership we’ll need in the years ahead.
If you’d asked me ten years ago what made a great procurement leader, my answer would probably have included commercial acumen, negotiation skills, confidence, influence, strategic thinking and the ability to make tough decisions. Today, I’m not so sure that’s enough.
The procurement profession feels very different to the one I joined. Supply chain disruption, AI, sustainability, geopolitical uncertainty and increasing stakeholder expectations mean that many of the challenges facing leaders today don’t come with obvious answers. Most of the time we’re operating somewhere in the grey.
What struck me during Dee’s talk was that many of the traits we traditionally admire in leaders are the traits that create certainty. The ability to make quick decisions, remain emotionally detached and project confidence even when nobody really knows what happens next.
What Does Procurement Need Next?
Yet when I think about the procurement leaders who have had the greatest impact on me, that’s not necessarily what stands out. What I remember are the people who listened, asked thoughtful questions and brought very different stakeholders together around a common goal. They weren’t always the loudest people in the room, but they were often the people others trusted most.
Perhaps that’s why the session stayed with me long after it ended. Not because I suddenly started seeing psychopaths everywhere, but because it challenged something I had always taken for granted: that the traits we reward in leadership are automatically the traits we should want more of.
Procurement has worked hard to earn a seat at the top table. The question now is what we do with that seat. What sort of leaders do we want representing our profession? What behaviours do we want future generations to emulate? And what qualities should we be rewarding when the next Chief Procurement Officers emerge?
I’m not convinced the answer is more confidence, more certainty and more bravado. In a profession built on relationships, influence and trust, I wonder whether the future belongs to leaders who are curious, empathetic and genuinely interested in understanding people.
I’m interested to hear what others think.