Organizational Midwifery | Part 1
by Rehana Tejpar
I come from a line of midwives and from this lineage, I know that the art of this ancient practice contains wisdom beyond the birth of babies that can serve in the transformation of organizational leaders and cultures. I’m beginning to understand our work at Bloom in facilitating organizational change within this framework of organizational midwifery, feeling increasingly that underneath our work is a broader purpose to support the birthing of new ways of being, and simultaneously, to support the death of old ways. We, as a human family, face the need to compost so much of the ways of the past, and give birth to ancient new ways of being, to build a world for us all to thrive and belong. Traditionally, midwives have played this role, as the stewards of life and death, accompanying those in the liminal space of transformation with deep care.
In this article series we will tune into some of the practices of midwifery and explore their application in the work of midwifing change.
Creating a supportive environment for a birth
One of the guides who supported me in birthing my daughter was Ina May Gaskin, midwife, author and advocate for natural childbirth, founder of the The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee, US. She speaks in her numerous books about the importance of creating a supportive environment for a healthy, safe and natural labour. Foundational to this approach is developing a relationship rooted in trust and respect, between the birthing person and the care providers, offering emotional support, encouragement, reassurance, and a positive attitude to help the person feel safe and supported.
Just as the womb creates a supportive container for the gestation of the baby, so must we create a womb for the gestation of what is to be born in our change processes. In our work of organizational change, we always begin by building the container for relationship and trust, centering our humanity, the inclusion of each of our perspectives, and the multiple truths and multiplicities amongst us. We slow down to build an appreciative space, connect through play, movement and storytelling. We build a container that supports the vulnerability of the work to come.
So often in our culture of urgency, we see the urge to rush to the finish line, to jump over this container building process to ‘get to work.’ We see the pull throughout the process to conclude on actions too early before listening to everyone, or having clarity and consent. It’s natural and human, and is often the discomfort of the unknown, of slowing down.
This is where the midwife comes in and reminds us to breathe, that we will be ok.
That this is part of the process of change, that it’s uncomfortable because we are in labour and labour is laborious - it takes work! The midwife reminds us that we are capable of this hard work, and that the outcome is worth the effort.
Creating the womb-like container is the beginning of the accompaniment with the organizational midwife, a space where we can be safe enough to be seen and heard in our realness, where we can be vulnerable, and at times, messy. Where we can look at our destructive patterns, forgive ourselves and let go. Within the protective shell of the cocoon, the gestation of new life takes shape.
In a birth, two beings are birthed: the baby and the parent
The baby gives birth to the parent just as the parent gives birth to the baby and nothing will be the same after. Midwives accompany the unit of baby and parent as one inter-being, in the process leading up to the birth, the birth itself and the postpartum period. As my friend and midwife Lisa Thacker reminds me, midwives know that good food, love and foot rubs for mama are good for babies too. They are interconnected.
Applying this wisdom to accompanying organizational change - we care for the baby (eg. the new strategic plan, retreat outcomes, the new governance model, new ways of being, leading and collaborating, etc.) along with the people and their personal transformation that is born through the process. Organizational change is deeply personal. Living into a new path is a courageous act to take, and requires the willingness to be cracked open and transformed; to embody the changes proclaimed in our vision statements, our justice, equity, diversity and inclusion plans and conflict resolutions. It requires a death in the old ways of being that keep us stifled and stuck, in the patterns that block our collective thriving. It requires a metamorphosis in our seeing and relating with one another so as to embody change in practice. The policy is not enough. The consciousness and behaviours, the very beings of those engaged must also change in alignment.
Just as becoming a parent is a humbling learning, unlearning and healing journey, so is the personal work in culture change, full of practice and mistakes. We are invited, like parents, as learners on the journey, and the more we can allow ourselves to step into this while undergoing a change the more the group can be a learning community of support.
Supporting the birthing person to trust themselves
The reason that the midwife exists is because it’s no longer part of our culture to be familiar with birth and death. In a conversation with midwife Lisa Thacker, I learned that the midwife supports the birthing person to trust themselves and the process of birth and death as natural phenomena, something their bodies are designed for. The midwife reminds us to trust the body, to listen to what it’s saying and to respect it, boundaries and all.
Humans tend to forget, especially in times of pain and in the unknown, that we are capable of transforming and that in fact, everything is changing all the time. The organizational midwife reminds us that change is not only possible, it’s happening all around us. That we, like the seasons, have the capacity to rebirth many times in a lifetime.
The midwife gives the birthing person the information and confidence to make informed decisions about their birthing experience because empowered people are more likely to have a positive and satisfying birth. Similarly, as facilitators of participatory process, we know that people really only trust the solutions they’re a part of creating, and so offer processes, mental models and thought partnership to support their collaborative and co-creative decision-making.
The midwife of change helps us root into trust of the self and the process, a muscular hope - the faith that another way is possible, together, with the strength of commitment and clarity of action to see it through. We live in a world where hopelessness is much easier to come by than hope, and I get it. The fatigue of watching destruction to humanity and the planet is far too much. And yet, if we believe that change is impossible, we fulfill that destiny in our inaction. The belief in change is fundamental to the success of any endeavour for change, for when there is no hope how do we move through the contractions of labour? How do we pace ourselves on the road of generational change? How do we keep going?
The midwife says: “Breathe.” And then “Push”. And then “Breathe.” She holds our trembling hands, looks in our eyes with conviction and says “You can do this.”
A customized accompaniment
Midwives accompany a birthing person in a deeply personalized way, adapting to shifting realities as they emerge. They are attuned to the present changing reality of the birth, their clinical obligations, along with the emerging reality as it unfolds. They advise you to make a birthing plan, and be willing to throw it away. Every parent/baby unit will need a different set of supports to facilitate the birth.
Similarly, every organization is unique and the midwife attunes to organizations as a living system, and in partnership, designs processes that are in tune with the unique organizational ecosystem & adaptive to changes as they emerge. Every accompaniment is different, and whilst we may have a good sense of what is needed in advance, we work with emergence, the natural spirit of creation that is moving through the process of learning along the way, together.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series on Organizational Midwifery in early 2024