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A trend we have seen from daily interaction within the procurement and supply management profession (P&SM) is professionals taking up the first available job rather than carefully considering their career opportunities. The result for the employer is lower levels of engagement, loss of productivity and poor staff retention. The effect for the individual is a lack of depth in skills, knowledge and competencies, affecting career longevity and “work-life-balance”.

Career vitality

Career vitality is the continuous discipline of health and wellness; the relevance and significance of your career. Career vitality is defined by mental vigour and physical strength; capacity for continuation of meaningful and purposeful existence; the power to grow, measured by energy; a vital force. Synchronization of the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional bodies results in energy and excellence in abundance.

Career Vitals P&SM = E ²

The four body vitals, temperature, respiratory rate, blood pressure and heart rate assessed for medical health can be symbolically applied to career, the mind, lungs, blood vessels and the heart. The first vital is the physical body, our mechanism to interact with the outer world, using our skills and actioning our goals. It is important not just to have motion but progress in your career. Fundamental to physical health is regular exercise of your skills to enhance them, creatively managing stress and, maintaining optimum energy levels.

Deepak Chopra has an adapted process for Smart goals:

• Stretch for more than you can reach
• Make everything measurable
• Agreements from your team and supporters
• Record your progress
• Time limits

The second vital is the spiritual body; it is life purpose, vision and values. Vitalism, states that the phenomena of life is not purely mechanical but, in part self-determining, containing the élan vital or vital spark/force or chi. This internal guiding system which calibrates our internal alignment, leads you back to your higher purpose and what you value. Deepak Chopra also said,

“a job is how you earn a living, a career is how you make your mark, a calling is how you acknowledge a higher vision”.

When you do what you are purposed to do, you will love what you do, you will be energised. Spiritual maturity is non-perfection, kindness and patience, questioning to seek your own truth, flexibility and embracing opposites.  Life purpose is to live not to just exist.

The third vital is the mind, the mental body. It is the home of our knowledge, education, thoughts, beliefs, and motivations. A challenge to the norm posed by John Kehoe in his  book Mind Power is that knowledge is not power, applied knowledge is power. It is through application of learnings that we create a new reality and shape our destiny.

The fourth vital is the emotional body, or energy in motion: your individual personality, competencies, interests and character.

“good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Talents are a gift. Good character, by contrast, we have to build piece by piece—by thought, choice, courage and determination”     John Luther

Vitality for a P&SM career

Five common vitals traits of P&SM professionals identified as “talent”:

• Self- leadership
• Leading through one’s communication
• Motivation
• Integrity
• Smart goals and decision making.

Continuous knowledge development, multidisciplinary degrees and post-graduate qualifications have become the norm in procurement and supply management. A differentiator is individuals who supplement that foundation with regular and relevant courses from established institutions like Commerce Edge and membership and involvement with professional bodies like CIPS.

Depth, a proven track record with tangible business results of cost saving and efficiency improvement and deep-seated competencies are the key to career growth. The first 12-18 months in a role builds one’s knowledge and skills. Months 18-36 develop one’s competencies and character.

Be a change agent, the only constant in business is change. During challenges, talent adapts, solves problems, takes risk, innovates and initiates, manages stress, facilitates and influences change.

Think about the triple P’s, Purpose, Perseverance and Passion.

“Success is no longer about promotion; it’s about mastery” – M. Hammer.

Career and personal mastery happens when all the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional aspects that makes up one’s wheel of life is synchronized. The result: excellence.

“We are what we do repeatedly. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit” – Aristotle

Its becoming more and more apparent that we are dealing with a “skills gap” in today’s job market. Organisations are desperately trying to fill positions, spending months on recruitment processes, but cannot find the right caliber of candidates with the skill set to meet their requirements. We are finding that organisations are increasingly looking for people who can come straight into a role, with limited need for investment in terms of training and development and can produce results from day one; these candidate are what we refer to as the “A candidate. This makes sense from an organisations perspective as they are looking for a return on their investment, and don’t want to suffer a loss at hiring the wrong person. Organisations also do not always have the time for people to learn, as business has demands that need to be met. The “B candidate” is someone they could invest in and someone who could be developed. Although they may take longer to deliver an impact, with the right guidance, they become consistent. The challenge we are facing is that “A” candidate are in demand, and are being courted by several companies and have many options at their disposal.

The “A” candidate

These candidates are in high demand for their talent, their ability to pass assessments well above their peers, as well as command a room with very little effort. The “A” candidate therefore seems like the “perfect” candidate. However, because they know they are in demand, they are more likely to entertain counter offers and request salary expectations that are well above what the organisations are able to afford, or what their skill set is comparable to . For example, in our interaction with “A” candidates we are seeing demands of salary request or increases of over 20-30% on their Nett Take home , which in the current market is well over what most companies are offering. The response from our clients are that the individual has not yet proven their worth, nor added any value in order to justify such a steep request. This creates a misalignment, as the organisation places emphasis on the candidates potential to fulfill the requirements of the role , whereas the ‘A” candidate places emphasis on his/her demand in the market, as well as his/her current performance. “A candidates” generally have a very low level of commitment during the recruitment and interview process; they often times very inflexible , and has a lack of effort in making themselves available for interviews . Furthermore, they do not always make the first interview time, and are increasingly difficult to reach; they also are less likely to compromise or accept the first offer given. At onset their motivation is career growth, however towards the end of the process their focus shifts predominantly to financial gain. This leads to clients questioning us of candidates true motives and commitment to making a change. “A” candidates are also more likely to have one eye on the door and on a look out for a role that is going to get them the manager title quicker , leaving you to start your hiring process all over again.

The “B” candidate

The “B” candidate is the less than perfect candidate , who is commitment, but gets over-looked solely because they are not the “A” candidate. They have the right level of skills, the right experience to be able to do the job, but may require a month or two of guidance. However, according to Forbes, “hiring a a candidate who may not be a 100% perfectly qualified for a position can actually make better sense long term”. Its been our experience that “B” candidates are a a lot more grateful for the challenge and opportunity that a job affords them to grow, and in return are more inclined to remain loyal to the job and the organisation, (Guy Nadivi). “B” candidates have also shown a lot more willingness to learn and ability to be adaptable. Its not that the “B” candidate is not a good candidate, they just don’t tick all the boxes perfectly. With that being said, their ability to tick most of the other boxes, proves their potential to develop the one or two they may lack. The other benefit of choosing the “B” candidate is that the will not entertain counter offers, nor are their salary expectation unrealistic; they have a career approach and not a financial and title approach. This brings us to the cliche about hiring for attitudes, not for skills. If a candidate has the right attitude and strengths , any gaps in their experience can be learnt from a great leader.

Like the famous quote says “Experts built the Titanic, amateurs built the Ark.