In this section, we explore the motivations that energize Generative Four acts, while also considering the trade-offs in terms of sacrifices being made by the Generative Four actors and the option to turn away from Generative Four and remain disengaged from civic action. We rely heavily on the interviews we conducted with Emerging and Senior Sage leaders, as well as the more extended interviews we had with our four Featured Actors. We now turn to the many ways in which Generativity Four plays out in civic life.
We found through our 100 Sage leader interviews that most of our leaders had one “pet” project, although many are involved in other activities as well. We also found there were significant differences in the challenges faced by our Emerging and Senior Sage leaders with regard to how they manage their civic engagements.
Emerging Sage Leaders
Unlike the Senior Sage leaders, most Emerging Sages are still working full-time and have major family responsibilities. Their generative civic engagements take place, at least in part, through their formal job in government or in nonprofit human service agencies. There is much more to the story, however, when it comes to the involvements of these Emerging Sages in the community life of Grass Valley and Nevada City. They often are engaged in volunteer activities above and beyond their job—ranging from equine rescue to Rotary to Nevada County Arts. In most cases, the Emerging Sage leaders are involved in at least three different community-based organizations—and only one of these is a formal paid position. What these relatively young men and women have in common is their exceptional level of energy and their sustained commitment to all of the civic activities in which they are engaged. They truly exemplify Generativity Four.
Passion and Commitment: What drives these busy men and women to do all this community service work? This question is often appropriate to ask when coaching a relatively young client with multiple commitments. One great passion shared by many of the Emerging Sages is the natural environment. Even more than Senior Sage leaders, the Emerging Sages believe that preservation and restoration of the beautiful physical environment is critical to community life. In this way, they bridge Generativity Three and Generativity Four. The Emerging Sage leaders also consistently exhibit a passion for formal civic leadership; they have run for public office and serve on community boards, and they express interest in the outcomes of government and also its structures and operations. Unlike many of the Senior Sage leaders, these young men and women believe that something of value can be achieved through public office and effective public policy. They devote themselves not just to nonprofit initiatives but also to public ventures.
A Supportive Environment: In most cases, the typical Emerging Sage leader has a supportive spouse who fully appreciates the community work the leader is doing—and may even be involved in comparable civic activities themselves. For many of the Emerging female Sages, there is a “significant other” in their lives who at least some of the time is the primary family caregiver. Children are additional sources of support and encouragement, especially when they enter adolescence. This finding suggests that it might be appropriate at times to engage in coaching with a couple rather than just one of the partners. Couples Coaching particularly makes sense if there are issues regarding work/life balance (or work-service-life balance) for one or both members of the couple. Is family-based coaching out of the question?
Support also comes from outside the immediate family. As one of the Emerging leaders notes, those with whom one works on civic projects also become a primary social network. And members of their families often join the Emerging Sages and become part of this expanded social system. Much like the barn-raisings of a previous era, contemporary community services become occasions for family-based friendships and celebrations. Emerging Sage leaders have many balls in the air, but they are joined by other jugglers and soon find that this becomes a splendid inter-family affair.
