Generativity seems to reside, finally, in a commitment to vision and the movement beyond one’s personal interests (setting aside ego). This commitment and this movement are not easily engaged. A professional coach might lend a hand by asking questions that help to clarify commitment and offering support for actions being taken that display this commitment. A skillful and knowledgeable coach can also offer a broadening perspective regarding the important intertwining of personal and collective interests and welfare. It is from this systemic perspective that a coach can best help their client find the courage and persistence needed to foster collaboration and take the blindfold off a push toward competition and self-protection.
Mentoring Individuals and Organizations
The rest of this essay is devoted to insights offered by our Sage leaders about Generativity Two, as represented in the processes of mentoring both individuals and organizations. We begin with our leaders’ reflections on their role as mentors. We then expand this perspective by talking about four related roles played by generative leaders: mediator, monitor, motivator, and mobilizer. Along with mentoring, these become the “Five M’s” of Generative Two leadership. (Quehl and Bergquist, 2012).
We start this review by emphasizing the complex nature of Generative Two mentoring. Our Sage leaders describe a variety of ways in which they provide mentoring as organizational leaders. At this starting point, one of our Sage leaders said:
“I have a management role that I play. I supervise a number of programs, and my style is a mentoring role. I support staff in their leadership and help to move our department into new areas, like chronic disease prevention. I also create partnerships for the department by providing community service in ways that further the mission of public health.”
In her brief description, this leader defines mentoring as not only support for other members of her organization, but also mentoring ideas and partnerships with other organizations. We will see additional ways that mentoring takes place as we tune into other Sage leaders in the following paragraphs-and as we then turn to the related roles of mediator, monitor, motivator, and mobilizer.
Learning about Mentorship
Why and how do Sage leaders become mentors? One ingredient of the role that mentoring plays in Generativity Two concerns the nature of rewards one receives from seeing other people be successful and acknowledged for their work. It is about expanding our perspective beyond self-based achievement. As one of our generative leaders noted, she is “motivated by the fun of seeing things happen as the result of the efforts of others and myself.”
It is also, for her, about finding new sources of gratification:
“I see myself primarily as a mentor and enjoy promoting the professional growth of others. I encouraged someone to apply for a countywide coordinator position, and she brought me a bottle of champagne when she got the job. When I asked why, she told me she never thought to apply before I mentioned it. I got a huge charge out of that. That’s why teaching, in all of its forms, has been so satisfying for me. I enjoy seeing people succeed and grow.”
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