Recently, while writing about a project I am involved in, a term emerged from somewhere within the psyche: Project Midwifery. It seemed to suit the approach taken and it’s got me thinking about what Project Midwifery might constitute. Here’s what I have so far:
Firstly Project Midwifery requires time. If a project is collectively carried and nurtured, each member of a project group must have the time to incubate, ponder, dwell on ideas that then become separate components, adding value. The development of concepts occurs simultaneously to projects being delivered.
Project Midwifery requires a letting go. All of the elements can not and will not be constrained by our will. Rather it’s a trust in the alchemy of process, the alchemy of people and the alchemy of ideas. The midwife creates a container of trust, openness, space and time to allow things to evolve. They might evolve into unexpected areas. The expert project midwife is not phased by this, but instead brings attention to these areas so that they have the best chance of success.
Project Midwifery requires relationship. Much of what Project Midwifery requires can not be born outside of relationship. A nurturing of relationships at all levels is required to even begin a midwifery approach.
Project Midwifery requires advocacy for the process. The project’s midwife does need to have a strong enough voice to speak to what s/he knows is the right tactic for the people in the project at any given time. If it’s not time to race ahead to the finish line, then it’s not time and that needs to be identified and communicated.
Project Midwifery requires comfort, and therefore experience, with uncertainty. Collaboration can be messy. It can be hard. Clarity may not arise for some time as processes can be hidden, but time brings all to light. Being able to sit in that space of uncertainty is necessary. Giving reassurance to others in the midst of that uncertainty is also important. A couple of years ago, I sat on the leadership table of a Collective Impact project. Collective Impact deals very much with uncertainty, relationships, collaboration and slow, sometimes backward looking, progress. But in the end everyone gets there together. That is the goal.
Project Midwifery requires preparation for what comes after a project is born. This is often where a pure project management approach can fail people. “The bridge is built so use it!” is not a Project Midwifery approach. And here’s where drawing on the metaphor can help, we do not tell a pregnant woman or her baby, or the co parent, that a baby is born so get on with it. There is the culturally defined and projected post-partum period, there is the deep knowledge of attachment (read Hold on to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate to understand the vital importance of parent-child attachment), there is the entire learning journey that faces a child, understanding that the child (the project) will be shaped by their experiences. The project will be shaped by use of, ownership of and custodianship or the wider community.
I think there could be some situations that do not allow the true midwifery of projects to occur. These are:
- When those with the power have their own vision of how something needs to happen, and will not budge.
- When there is not enough time to explore ideas, alternatives, to have discussions and to get people on the boat with you, i.e. when you are rushing a project to deliver it. Many’s the time I’ve seen people put a two month deadline on a major event. (My preference for any event is a preparation window of at least 6 months, depending on the scale.)
- When people are disengaged. Sometimes some top-down delivered projects need to happen to show what’s possible before people are ready to jump into the creative process with you. When this happens it’s important to stop the BAU Project Management approach and start those conversations, switching to a Project Midwifery approach.
- Competitive environments can extinguish the collaborative environment required for Project Midwifery. Creating a culture and expectation of collaboration comes first.
I’d be keen to know what you think? It’s a process that aligns with a community development approach, which often deals with uncertainty and the changing nature of people. This is a very different world to the world of infrastructure development and delivery, but we can forget that a different medium requires a different approach.
While the community development field talks widely about concepts such Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), as far as I know we don’t talk about how the community development approach might impact on the project management approach. Could project midwifery fill a gap here, I wonder?
Tulitha King 