Generativity Two
Generativity Two is inherently enacted within an institutional setting. A distal Pull is critical. It is about extending the space of care beyond that of a specific child or project. The Pull is about ensuring that our actions are sustained by other people. Mentoring, motivating, and monitoring (along with the other M’s) are engaged within an organizational setting. This setting, in turn, is deeply influenced by the societal structure in which it exists. Two prominent organizational theorists, Maturana and Varela (1992), have even suggested that the boundaries drawn between an organization and its environment are artificial. Adopting an organizational perspective called autopoises, Maturana and Varela propose that all viable organizations are open systems and that an organization is primarily designed to meet the unique challenges of the environment in which it exists. Thus, from their perspective, a generative organization requires a generative society. The distal Pull must be expanded and a professional coach can help their client recognize the need for this expansion.
At one level, the generative society is one in which men and women are encouraged to mentor, motivate, and engage the other activities we have associated with Generativity Two. It is a society in which the individual dreams of those being mentored and motivated are tied to the dreams and vision of the organization, and these dreams and visions, are, in turn, tied to the vision of the society:
“The mentor is a host who welcomes an initiate into a new world; an exemplar who provides a model for emulation; a teacher who passes on skills; a counsellor who provides guidance and moral support; a sponsor who facilitates a protégé’s advancement; and, above all, someone who believes in a young person’s Dream. (Levinson, et al., 1978). To this description we must add what is in the interest of culture: that in their role as teachers, the very best mentors see that crafts are passed on with integrity, that the art in question is not compromised. They also seek out students in whom special talent, special virtue, or special ideas are struggling to emerge; for cultures need the fresh eyes and the blood that these students possess. “(Kotre, 2004, pp. 43-44)
In this quotation by Kotre, we find not only the role of mentor as acknowledger and sustainer of another person’s dream and vision, but also as acknowledger and sustainer of new ideas and appreciator of fresh talent and perspective. A professional coach might help their client acknowledge their own engagement in these generativity roles. The coach might even “turn the tables” by helping their client acknowledge how they have benefited themselves from these generative services. Given this broader role for the Generative Two mentor, a society is required in which new projects (Generativity One) can expand and in which innovation and risk-taking is given its due (as in a recent TV ad that describes how scary new ideas are and how we must not condemn or isolate them).
Building on the vision-based support for Generativity One, the generative society articulates a future that encourages a deep caring for the next generation of leaders and the continuing empowerment of new and old members of an organization. With this generativity in place, an organization or community can adopt to the changing condition of this environment and can remain agile in the midst of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, turbulence and contradiction (Bergquist, 2020; Bergquist, 2022).
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