11 Core Skills to Develop Effective Supply Chain Planning Leaders
These core skills, such as awareness and compelling communication, are vital for effective decision-making and leadership in the future of supply chain planning
A version of this post was shared in April 2024 on the Global Supply Chain Institute (GSCI) blog, where supply chain professionals can find essential reading from leading researchers and scholars on the latest trends and topics relevant to global supply chain management.
Mindful of the five critical challenges facing the planning profession, supply chain decision-makers must ensure that when they hire, they develop their talent to be successful in their roles.
In previous research, teams with GSCI’s Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative identified seven critical capabilities for effective planning past 2030. In our latest paper, we identified 11 core competencies; they represent a cluster of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the individual and the organization must possess so they aren’t left behind in an ever-evolving business landscape.
The 11 core competencies for planning professionals and their representative behaviors are as follows:
Ambiguity tolerance
Supply chain planners must be able to effectively make and implement decisions when causal relationships are unclear, when there are multiple possible interpretations or vagueness in precise meaning, or when a situation cannot be adequately structured or categorized because of insufficient cues. Ambiguity tolerance is reflected in taking logical next steps without direction, making decisions with incomplete information, integrating a range of perspectives and data points, and envisioning a future state based on values and trends.
Awareness
Good planners must see themselves from the perspective of others and their work within a larger professional and personal context. The ability to recognize one’s skills or strengths and act based on those abilities when appropriate, as well as identify limitations and seek learning and support based on those limitations, is reflected when taking confident action when capable. It is also demonstrated in knowing when to escalate a decision and engage internal/external partners, being willing to learn, having the humility to ask for help, prioritizing self-care, and addressing one’s personal and professional life with others.
Change leadership
This refers to helping individuals and groups achieve results by using tactics to prepare them for the changes associated with intervention. These leaders help with adoption and reduce resistance to change, taking care of people’s concerns regarding a specific change and communicating with everyone affected. Change leadership is eagerly becoming involved in change, willingly investing resources in change, and being aware of the impact of one’s behaviors on change initiatives. These types of leaders empower others, accept ownership and responsibility for the success of change initiatives, articulate a strategy for change and shared vision that gets people excited, and connect change with shared values.
Compelling communication
A modern supply chain planner must communicate in a clear, concise, data-driven manner oriented toward concrete action by the target audience. They must also connect content to the aims and values of the broader organization and stakeholders. Great communicators articulate a concrete action plan for the target audience, create excitement, rally stakeholders with communications, and present a compelling vision for the future.
