How Active Listening can supercharge Procurement Professionals Skillset

Lessons Learned from HERESIES

I was out enjoying the sun, walking my beautiful pug, Luna, and listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast episode, HERESIES, when I heard about the importance of active listening.

The podcast highlighted that many people confuse this idea with regurgitation of what the speaker has stated.

Not to mention when people are able to reply instantly because they haven’t listened to a word and have instead been thinking about what they should say next.

This got me thinking about how active listening could benefit procurement professionals.

Defining Active Listening

Active listening is a communicative approach that requires full attention, understanding, and response to the speaker.

It involves more than just waiting for your turn to speak; it requires a deeper level of engagement and comprehension of what the other person is saying.

Active listening is not just hearing what the speaker is saying but also understanding their emotions, tone, and body language.

Sounds a lot like Emotional Intelligence, Right?

You can use active listening to develop stronger relationships with their suppliers, stakeholders, and colleagues by demonstrating empathy and understanding their needs and concerns.

Who doesn’t want that…

Because I sure as hell wish more in the profession prioritised this.

Benefits of Active Listening for Procurement Professionals

Active listening can supercharge the skillset of procurement professionals, like you, in several ways.

Firstly, it can help you understand the needs and concerns of suppliers, stakeholders, and colleagues better.

By actively listening and empathising with others, you can build stronger relationships, negotiate more effectively, and make better-informed decisions.

Secondly, active listening can help identify potential issues early on and prevent misunderstandings or conflicts from arising.

This can save time and resources and prevent costly mistakes.

Thirdly, active listening can help you to be more responsive to the needs of your organisation and stakeholders, leading to better outcomes and increased success.

Challenges to Active Listening

While active listening can be a valuable skill for you in your procurement career, it is not without its challenges.

One of the main challenges is teaching listening skills.

While some aspects of listening can be improved with practice, teaching deep, genuine openness to another's experience is a significant challenge.

Additionally, differentiating between listening and understanding can be difficult, as understanding is a more complex process that requires more than just listening.

Learning Active Listening

Despite the challenges of learning active listening, there are teachable skills around listening that can make a difference in how you can understand others and demonstrate empathy.

Active listening techniques such as asking open-ended questions, summarising what the speaker has said, and reflecting on their emotions can help you develop their skills in this area.

It is also essential to practice active listening in real-world situations rather than relying on programmed training.

Conclusion

As I walked Luna, I realised that active listening is a valuable skill for procurement professionals to develop.

By better understanding the needs and concerns of suppliers, stakeholders, and colleagues, procurement professionals can build stronger relationships, negotiate more effectively, and make better-informed decisions.

While learning active listening can be challenging, there are teachable skills that can make a difference in developing this skill. You should definitely practice active listening in real-world situations and use techniques such as asking open-ended questions and reflecting on emotions to develop their skills further.

Just take it for a test run at home and see the improvements materialise.