From The Sourcing Paradox series · Week 2: The talent pipeline · First shared on LinkedIn, October 16, 2026
The Business-Higher Education Forum names seven competencies for an AI-enabled professional: AI literacy, data literacy, critical thinking and creativity, ethics and responsible AI use, digital and computational skills, collaboration and communication, and adaptability.
In my view, sourcing teams should start with two of them.
Data literacy, because AI is only as good as the spend data underneath it.
Critical thinking, because someone has to challenge what the model recommends before it reaches a supplier.
The other five matter too. But without clean data and someone willing to say a recommendation is wrong, the rest doesn't get a chance. Next week I'm looking at the human barriers that stop teams using any of them.
Of the seven, which is weakest on your team today: data literacy, critical thinking, or one of the other five?
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Sources
- Business-Higher Education Forum (2026), How to Build an AI-Resilient Workforce: The AI-Enabled Professional Framework. Source
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