Where did this idea come from? Well, it’s a long story involving experience as a clinical midwife, doctoral research, thoughts about leadership generally and midwifery specifically, and my ongoing desire to do something positive as a result of all that thinking and experience.
Back in 2008, I was a clinical midwife and I was also undertaking a Masters in Research Methods. I was discovering ideas of structure and agency – something along the lines of wondering how much of what we do is down to our own thoughts and decisions, and how much is prescribed by the context in which we find ourselves – and that made me have some ideas about my profession. How could it be that on one hand midwives described themselves as autonomous practitioners, advocates for women and their families, empowered professionals (all suggesting a high degree of agency), and yet in the next breath they would talk about being a tiny cog in the great, unwieldy wheel that is the NHS, disempowered and unable to make a difference (there’s the impact of structure).
I went on to explore this in greater depth during my doctoral research, which looked at the career narratives of midwifery leaders. I discovered that the same idea could be seen: midwifery leaders could self-identify as midwives, still members of the profession and ‘doing midwifery’ on a broader scale or in new areas (their sense of agency); but they also understood the view of their clinical colleagues, who often suggested midwifery leaders could not really call themselves midwives if they didn’t work clinically. Being seen as a member of the gang, it turned out, was based on this idea of clinical credibility (the broader structure putting its boot in). My research, which you can explore here, paused at this point: developing the next generation of leaders in midwifery is all very well, but we really need to think about what we share as a profession, rather than what divides us, if we’re ever going to achieve a positive group identity.
Over the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to get my teeth into some practical ways in which we might begin that project, and I’ve been lucky enough to qualify as both a coach and an Insights Discovery practitioner. I’ve been using Insights to help midwives and other maternity care workers explore their strengths and challenges as individuals and as team members, and I’ve loved seeing how at the end of a workshop people are so committed to using their personal profiles to develop further – and to improve the way their team works.
So there we are: at the end of a long story, the beginning of an exciting adventure. My husband has lived his whole career as a self-employed musician and music teacher. For me, this is something of a departure. But I’m excited to continue the work I’ve started, and I’m looking forward to bringing my enthusiasm for all things midwifery leadership and career development to wherever it may take me.
As I always say, Why not? What’s the worst that can happen?