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Eleanor Red Louw

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Chartered MCIPS | MBA

I sort out complicated procurement messes quickly while keeping teams engaged

Training, coaching and workshops for procurement professionals and leaders, built on over 20 years of hands-on experience.

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Procurement, Culture, People

Practical workshops, coaching and training for teams and leaders working across cultures in MEA.

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Workshops

Team workshops like Leaders Without Borders and Read the Room, helping teams name the cultural dynamics shaping how they communicate, build trust and make decisions together.

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Coaching and Training

CIPS accredited training and the Negotiation Gym for procurement professionals building their skills and No Fixed Address, a coaching programme for leaders relocating to a new market.

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Speaking Engagements

Keynotes on culture, communication and procurement, drawing on twenty years working across South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East.

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20+

About Eleanor Red Louw

Procurement has taken me places. From picturesque Cape Town to chilly Christchurch, then north to moody Auckland. Further north to vibrant Sydney. Then on to sunny Gold Coast and now sizzling Dubai. Along the way I have worked in some of the most complex, high-pressure transformation environments I could have imagined. 

Building functions from scratch, leading teams through high-stakes transformation, and learning that the hardest part is never the contract, it’s the people, the dynamics and the culture. Today I help procurement professionals across MEA spotlight where they’re misreading culture and give them the tools to sort it out.

Read My Full Story

Your Fluency Profile

Before you can navigate cultural differences in a team, it helps to understand your own default style. This 3-minute self-assessment gives you a starting point for working across cultures with more clarity.

Profile Assessment

Please enter your email address below to receive your results. Your results will be displayed on-screen and sent directly to your inbox. Your email address will not be shared.

Communicating

Q.1 I prefer to communicate explicitly and avoid leaving room for people to read between the lines.
Q.2 When I write instructions, I spell out every step rather than trusting the reader to fill the gaps.
Q.3 After a meeting, I act only on what was actually said, not on what might have been implied.

Evaluating

Q.4 When someone's work falls short, I prefer to tell them plainly rather than soften it.
Q.5 I prefer to separate praise from criticism rather than blend the two together.
Q.6 I pay closer attention to how feedback is received than to how directly I deliver it.

Persuading

Q.7 I need to understand the underlying reasoning before I trust a recommendation.
Q.8 In a pitch or proposal, I prefer to lead with the conclusion rather than build up to it.
Q.9 I'm more persuaded by a clear next step than by the theory behind it.

Leading

Q.10 I would challenge my manager's idea openly, even in front of others.
Q.11 In meetings, I don't pay much attention to the seniority of who's speaking.
Q.12 If I have something useful to share with someone several levels above me, I'll go to them directly.

Deciding

Q.13 Even if it takes longer, I'd rather involve the whole team in a decision than have one person decide.
Q.14 Trying to build consensus usually slows things down without improving the outcome.
Q.15 Once my manager has made a call, I follow it even if I disagreed with it beforehand.

Trusting

Q.16 It's best to keep some emotional distance from colleagues and clients.
Q.17 I invest time getting to know colleagues personally, separate from the work itself.
Q.18 I find it hard to fully trust someone I haven't spent time with outside of work tasks.

Disagreeing

Q.19 Open disagreement in a meeting tends to make a team sharper, not weaker.
Q.20 If I disagree strongly with a point during a presentation, I'll say so on the spot.
Q.21 Visible conflict between team members tends to damage the relationship afterwards.

Scheduling

Q.22 If a meeting is set for 9:00, I expect to start at 9:00, not a few minutes after.
Q.23 Being organised and structured matters more to me than staying flexible and reactive.
Q.24 A meeting agenda should be followed closely rather than treated as a rough guide.

Thinking style

Q.25 I prefer to test each part of an idea on its own before deciding whether the whole thing works.
Q.26 It's hard for me to judge one piece of a plan without first seeing how it fits with everything around it.
Q.27 When I explain something, I break it into separate steps rather than describing how it all connects at once.

Resources

Practical templates, tools and guides from twenty years in procurement and leadership, covering negotiation, team management, stakeholder communication and working across cultures.

Procurement Practice

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Leadership & Team

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Culture & Strategy

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What our clients consistently say

    Contact Me:

    Location

    Based in Dubai. Supporting cross-cultural teams from Auckland to LA

    Call or WhatsApp

    +971 585 086 110

    Email

    eleanor@eleanorredlouw.com

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is a Fluency Profile, and how does it work?

    It’s a short self-assessment that maps where you sit on the cultural dimensions that shape how you communicate and make decisions. It takes about 3 minutes and gives you a starting point for working across cultures with more clarity.

    Both. I’m based in Dubai and work with clients wherever they are, in person or virtually, drawing on 20 years’ experience across South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East. Let’s discuss how best to support your team.

    CIPS Corporate Award and Skills training is delivered in partnership with CIPS MENA. Contact me and I will connect you with the right person.

    Both. I coach individual leaders one-on-one and run workshops and training for teams. Both options include the Fluency Profile, which provides a starting point for working across cultures with more clarity. Tell me what challenge you’re facing, and we’ll figure out the right format.

    The best next step is a short conversation. Get in touch and we’ll figure out what fits.