By Lourdes Coss, MPA, NIGP-CPP, CPPO
In today’s fast-paced environment, it’s easy to conflate movement with progress. Calendars are packed, inboxes overflow, and meetings fill every available time slot. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: being busy does not mean we are working on the right things. In public procurement, where every decision has downstream impacts on taxpayer dollars, community outcomes, and organizational trust, setting clear priorities is not a luxury—it’s a leadership imperative.
The Illusion of Productivity
Procurement professionals often wear busyness like a badge of honor. We equate a full schedule with effectiveness, assuming that action—any action—is a sign of contribution. But too often, this frenetic activity is reactive rather than strategic.
We chase down signatures, resolve contract issues that could have been avoided, and respond to last-minute purchase requests because we haven’t set or communicated priorities well. The consequence? The most important, high-value activities—like planning procurement pipelines, analyzing risks, developing supplier relationships, and building capacity—get squeezed out.
As the late Stephen Covey wisely said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
Understanding What Truly Matters
Setting priorities begins with clarity. For procurement leaders and professionals alike, this means asking:
- What are the outcomes we’re trying to achieve for our agency or community?
- Which projects, procurements, or initiatives will move us closer to those goals?
- What must we protect time for—even when everything feels urgent?
This shift from reacting to everything to responding to what truly matters is a mark of mature procurement leadership. And it requires courage.
Courage to say no to distractions. Courage to challenge the status quo. Courage to pause and reflect when momentum is pulling us toward “just getting things done.”
Strategic Time Management Isn’t Just Personal—It’s Organizational
Time management isn’t just about better to-do lists. It’s about aligning team efforts to strategic priorities.
That begins with leadership modeling the behavior. If leadership prioritizes data analysis over haphazard purchases, the team learns to ask better questions. If leadership allocates time for post-award contract reviews instead of rushing to the next solicitation, the team learns that follow-through is as important as getting to award.
Organizations that operate with a clear procurement strategy and performance metrics make prioritization part of their culture. When everyone understands the “why” behind their work, they can better distinguish between what is urgent and what is important.
From Busy to Bold: How to Start Prioritizing
If you’re ready to move beyond the busy trap, here are practical steps you can take:
- Start with the end in mind. Align procurement tasks with the outcomes your agency values—cost savings, supplier diversity, risk mitigation, operational efficiency, or service quality.
- Audit your calendar. Look at where your time has gone in the past two weeks. How much of it was spent on urgent versus important tasks? What can be delegated, deferred, or deleted?
- Define what success looks like. Success isn’t completing 30 low-value procurements—it’s enabling 5 strategic acquisitions that support long-term goals.
- Engage your team. Create space for your team to participate in priority setting. When staff know the “why,” they’re more likely to self-regulate their time and bring forward solutions instead of problems.
- Use simple tools. The Eisenhower Matrix—dividing tasks into urgent/important quadrants—is still one of the most effective ways to make fast, smart decisions on what to tackle, schedule, delegate, or ignore.
A Closing Thought
In public procurement, impact isn’t measured by how busy we look—it’s measured by how much value we create. That value comes not from doing more, but from doing what matters most. Let’s stop celebrating busyness and start celebrating clarity, intention, and meaningful progress.
Because real leadership in procurement begins when we stop being busy—and start being strategic.
Procurement Transformation 