Whether you are a consultant or a practitioner, it seems like the grass is always greener on the other side. Consultants are constantly on the road, work late hours and are subject to high expectations from their management team and the point people on each customer account. Practitioners find themselves at the mercy of consulting teams they didn’t personally decide to hire, lack the influence naturally extended to external parties and are often left to deal with the details – and the devil in them – once the consultants have flown off to their next engagement.
I’m joined today by Mark Richardson, Head of Procurement, Fleet & Administrative Services at AAA Southern California. He is uniquely qualified to discuss the differences between procurement consultants and practitioners because he’s been both.
Having joined AAA initially as an individual contributor, he now manages the team who were initially his peers.
In this podcast, Mark addresses the challenges of making the transition from consultant to practitioner and making the transition from peer to leader.
His insights include:
- The biggest surprises he encountered after going from consultant to practitioner
- What can smooth the path from individual contributor to team leader
- How procurement can demonstrate and deliver value in managing categories where we are not subject matter experts
- The key factors required to ensure your team has an effective goal structure guiding their activities and priorities
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