In Kotre’s identification of the generative story and narrator, we find an interesting and important blending of the second and third roles of generativity. As noted by McAdams and Logan (2004, pp.19-20), in most traditional societies “generativity may take the form of passing on the eternal truths and wisdom of the ages that are embedded in religious and civic traditions.” Even in a secular society that often shows little respect for civic traditions, there is storytelling and the honoring of “living legends” and mythic images through film, novels and other art forms. There is, in other words, the opportunity of a generative society to emerge and support Generativity Three actions awaits an organizational or community leader—especially if supported and guided by a Generativity-Focused coach.
Generativity Four
In describing the conditions that create and sustain Generativity Four in a society, the various authors of The Generative Society understandably focused primarily on the volunteer services being offered by men and women. We have similarly focused on the volunteer services offered by civically engaged Sage leaders–especially our Emerging Sage leaders who engage the role of Generativity Three through their work as paid employees in human service agencies.
The most extended description of Generativity Four in The Generative Society comes from the chapter written by Snyder and Clary (2004, in which they report on their study of volunteerism as related to generativity. Snyder and Clary (2004, p. 237) identify six psychological functions that are served by involvement in volunteer work: (1) expressing altruistic and humanitarian values, (2) promoting understanding about oneself and other people, (3) fostering social functions, (4) promoting career development for the volunteer and other people, (5) reducing feelings of guilt on the part of the volunteer about being more fortunate than other people and (6) increasing a sense of self-esteem and growth on the part of the volunteer.
The first, second, fifth and sixth of these functions seem to be closely related to our previous discussion regarding the motivations associated with Generativity Four as well as the benefits derived from Generativity Four-based civic engagement. A society can be generative if it provides its citizens the opportunity to offer meaningful service to other people that is soulfully gratifying. This is where the distal Pull of generativity exists. The distal source of generativity for some people might join with their proximal Push. McAdams refers to a “redemption” motivation. Snyder and Clary refer to this as a guilt-reducing function. We pay forward our good fortune by being of service to those who are less fortunate. Snyder and Clary suggest that civic engagement (volunteerism) can also be of more practical benefit by providing an opportunity for the volunteer to learn new skills and gain greater knowledge through engaging in novel activities and providing different forms of leadership. Professional coaches might take note of these practical benefits.
The function that might be most easily overlooked is “social function.” As many of our Sage leaders noted, their civic engagement provides an opportunity to work with men and women who share their interests and hold similar values and priorities: “[I]n both activities [volunteerism and generativity] we find human beings attempting to connect with others, both others who exist and others who will one day exist, and in doing so, contribute to their communities and to their society.” (Snyder and Clary, 2004, p. 235) This is another theme that professional coaches might reinforce with their clients. One can leap oveer a silo by signing up for volunteer work. This theme is particularly noteworthy for clients who are retired and have retreated into their home and engaged only in isolating activities.
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