STRATEGIC SOURCING
aspect of the business. You can’ t make good decisions in procurement and supply chain if you don’ t understand the business context and how other functions work. This also applies to the external economic dynamics that influence procurement and supply chain. For people who want to learn end to end, procurement and supply chain are great roles to be in. You need to be able to absorb information that has nothing to do with procurement and supply chain, both internally and externally, and make sense of how they can benefit or impact your decisions in procurement and supply chain. I find it fascinating how linking everything from what you read in the newspaper to what a marketing colleague talks about your brand can impact the work you do in procurement and supply chain. Hence, leaders in procurement and supply chain need to stay curious, need to act as business leaders to understand the environment you operate in and need to be able to join the dots together.
Q. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO LEADERS WHO WANT TO EVOLVE INTO SHAPING BUSINESS STRATEGY AND DELIVERING IMPACT AT A SENIOR LEVEL?
» The world is more real now than when I started my career almost 25 years ago. Disruptions are happening everywhere and every day. Leaders need to be able to adapt and be on the ground to solve issues every day. Gone are the days of leadership that remains at a high level; in today’ s environment, leaders who do not get close to the work risk being absent
“ Having a vision is a must in leadership; you can’ t lead if you don’ t know where you want to take your teams”
Michelle Shi-Verdaasdonk Chief Product Officer Electrolux Group
when it matters most. Having a vision and empowering the teams is not enough to steer through the turbulence we all face. To stay status quo is to go backwards. Leaders who deliver impact and leave a legacy in these turbulent times are the ones who have vision and can also execute. I often use the phrase“ zoom in and zoom out”; the principle of leadership where you can be 20,000ft one minute and the next, be 10ft underground trying to understand how a team can solve a problem. And then, back to 20,000ft to ensure the solution would align with the strategy. It’ s not easy to be a good leader right now – the courage needed to make tough decisions, whilst staying curious to learn and absorb, is a fine balance for leaders to strike. Hence, to be a good leader is also to have the physical and mental fitness to take on the challenges with a smile every day.
116 September 2026