I’m partnering with a health policy research firm on a multiyear contract to support a philanthropic foundation’s work in increasing its ability to thoughtfully invest in community-driven birth equity solutions.

A month ago, while administering a pre-assessment in preparation for a staff training, my project partners and I noticed how staff were responding to the assessment questions. There were a variety of concerns, mostly around how this initiative will impact their work, addressing power dynamics in moving the work forward, and having more of a voice in the planning and implementation of interventions.

Instead of moving forward, we asked for additional time to develop the training in a way that gives staff the opportunity to address this concerns.

From a project management perspective, you try avoiding delays, but in cases such as this, they’re necessary.

A project is never just a project. It operates under many dynamics, both internal and external, that can impact its success.

Because of this, organizations have to look at their programming within the totality of everyone and everything that’s involved.