Sacrifice and Legacy: There is, of course, the other side of the story. It’s not all fun-and-games for many of the Emerging Sage leaders. As a professional coach, we are often helping our client address these challenging issues. The Emerging Sage leaders we interviewed talked about missing out on important family events because of their civic activities and obligations. Once again, we might ask if family-based coaching is out of the question. The young leader comes home exhausted from a full day of service to their community. They find little time and energy left for those about whom they most care – their spouse and children. One emerging leader talks about falling asleep on the couch rather than playing basketball with his daughter as promised.
Yet, the commitment to outside service is compelling to these Emerging Sages even when they have children living at home. They believe that a strong community makes for strong children. From their perspective, it truly does take a village to raise a child. A community that works to counter decline will be better suited to raise healthy and caring children. A professional coach can align themselves with this perspective by offering their services at low cost or pro bono “on behalf of the greater good.”
Even when sacrifices are being made by Emerging Sages, there are benefits for the entire family. One Emerging Sage leader shares the experience of taking his daughter with him when meeting with a young man for whom he is a “big brother.” Later the daughter says, “Daddy, we have to help him.” What a remarkable life lesson! Is there a better way in which to learn about giving back than by observing one’s parent in action? As many of the Emerging Sage leaders observe, these powerful examples of human service tend to linger in the minds and hearts of children. Perhaps this daughter will herself become actively involved in community service and will one day become an Emerging and then a Senior Sage leader. What a powerful legacy this would be! A family-based coach could build on this potential legacy.
Senior Sage Leaders
Unlike their Emerging Sage counterparts, most Senior Sage leaders are either fully or partly retired, so their favored civic organizations are largely outside the workplace. They tend to be in nonprofit organizations, fraternal and service clubs, and/or business and religious organizations. Professional coaches can still be of value to these leaders—though their coaching fees will usually be set at a much lower level.
Civic engagement in organizations that serve youth are particularly compelling and gratifying for many Senior Sage leaders. Often, they do this for their own children who are now parents, and that bridge across three generations is critical for the community’s vitality because it keeps Grass Valley and Nevada City from “becoming an old folk’s community” — or what Robert Bellah and his colleagues (1985) call “lifestyle enclaves” that can derail our American democratic experience.
Most communities have service and philanthropic organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis and United Way. More recently we find the emergence of service organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Nature Conservancy. Most communities also have distinctive nonprofit organizations—ranging from bicycle riding on behalf of cancer relief to carnivals to raise money for the relief of poverty. Grass Valley and Nevada City have multiple charitable outlets, such as Music in the Mountains and the Center for the Arts. Both communities have historical main streets and restored Gold Rush-era buildings, leading Grass Valley to host Thursday Night Market and Nevada City to support a Victorian Christmas every year.
These two communities are blessed to have a third type of organization: The Center for Nonprofit Leadership (CNL). CNL sponsors nonprofit leadership seminars and offers best practice workshops and forums that help to strengthen and advance 66 nonprofit member organizations that take advantage of its services. This third, meta-level type of organization is rarely found in most communities. We believe it is critical to fostering and promoting senior-level sage engagement—especially if complemented by professional coaching services.
