As we transition from childhood, we’re expected (whether we like it or not!) to take responsibility for our lives. If we’re healthy, intelligent adults, blaming others for our situation becomes less tenable because now we’re able to change our own lives, improve our prospects, and shape our happiness.
After all, if we don’t take responsibility, who else is expected to do it for us?
Taking responsibility can be a challenging, daunting prospect. It can take courage to address difficult issues. We don’t always succeed first time. But that’s part of taking responsibility – not giving up. Not accepting the status quo as inevitable.
So how does this relate to the bidding profession, and our journey into adulthood? Well, as I read research on bidding, see posts on LinkedIn, listen to conversations at conferences, and work with bidders and bid teams, I see many opportunities. But we’re also facing some challenges.
One example is stress and mental health issues amongst bidders. Back in 2020 Mairi Morrison’s research showed 88% of bidders suffered from work-related mental health issues. I’ve seen little indication that number has improved.
I also see LinkedIn posts featuring memes highlighting the difficulties bidders face – such as bid-no bid decisions pushing through bids we’re unlikely to win, last minute bids, poor support from SMEs, governance issues, lack of resources, or difficult procurements.
And while these memes often raise a knowing smile, perhaps they illustrate an underlying issue: we often see our problems being the result of others’ decisions – senior management, sales, SMEs, procurements teams. Outside influences we can do nothing about other than put our heads down and work harder.
But as bidding moves into adulthood, we need to take responsibility to change these things ourselves.
We have the tools. We’re experts at influencing and advocating for change – it’s what we do in every bid. We use our understanding of stakeholders, their underlying needs, views and opinions to persuade them towards our view of what will help them succeed.
As an industry, and as individuals in roles such as Bid Managers, Heads of Bidding or Bid Directors, surely our role is to take these skills, and apply them to our own circumstances. We must have the courage to fight for and deliver the changes which will make our teams’ lives less stressful and more rewarding.
We already know the issues. Now, we need to lift our heads up from focusing on the current bid and start to address the underlying issues we and our teams face.
It might seem challenging, daunting even. We might not succeed first time. But we should keep trying. And not accept the status quo, where it isn’t working.
Because that’s the responsible thing to do.
Nigel Thacker
Nigel has been a leader in our profession for over two decades and now runs Rebidding Solutions. He has published two books on rebidding and has presented at APMP events and conferences in the UK and USA. He has trained managers in bidding and wider management skills across the globe, created the online course ‘Management and Leadership Skills for Bidders’ under the mybidcareer branding and is a mentor on the APMP UK Rapport mentoring programme.
