For those who get stuck, the new must be discarded, discredited, or destroyed. If we dismiss the past, then we are no longer caring for that which came before us. The past is of no value. It is “irrelevant” – that which “time has passed by.” For those who are stuck, personal history, past contributions and legacy are blocked off or discounted. Alternatively, stagnation sets in with a leaning into the future being replaced by a stifling nostalgic regarding our past life. The patterns of life are stuck. Nothing is done beyond the past. If we or our client is stagnant then heritage is not honored. The contributions of people who have impacted our lives are not acknowledged.
In this state, we live in our own personal silo and either stay in place or move forward without bringing the past with us. As a professional coach, we can be of great value to our client in helping them move out of this silo by engaging in an appreciative reflection on their heritage, on those who have assisted them, and on the way their past can help inform (but not determine or block) their future. As a coach we can also help our siloed client identify the rich display of alternative pathways to Generativity Three. We identify some of these generativity pathways n the next section of this essay.
Diverse Generativity Three Pathways
There are many Generativity Three pathways. This section of the Generativity Three essay is a bit lengthy precisely because own coaching and consulting experiences revealed s diverse set of generativity three initiatives. Furthermore, we have found through our coaching and consulting that acts of Generativity Three are least likely to be identified, classified, or fully appreciated by our clients—especially if they are leaning toward a state of stagnation. We therefore find it important to identify and briefly describe some of these acts. As a professional coach, you might want to take note.
We identify eight modes of Generativity Three, but expect there are many more:
(1) Offering ceremony (celebrations, parades and other ritual enactments).
(2) Preserving (keeping something in its original state).
(3) Displaying (allowing people to observe the preserved object).
(4) Honoring (setting aside a specific day or product in recognition of the contribution made by a specific person, group or event).
(5) Consecrating (setting aside a specific place where an important event occurred or setting aside a specific place that is related tangibly to a specific person or group).
(6) Gathering (bringing together people on regular basis who have shared a profound experience).
(7) Preserving values (providing clarity, representation, demonstration, monitoring or reinforcement of specific, cherished values).
(8) Storytelling (sharing the history of specific people, events, traditions).
In what follows we explore each of these acts of Generativity Three, deploying our Four Featured Players and the interviews we conducted with our Sage leaders. We also look at other examples of the eight forms of guardianship we have witnessed in our own lives, among our friends, and in various written accounts. We begin with ceremony as a Generativity Three act.
