So, what did draw Lisa into extensive civic engagement and organizational leadership? She was ready for a leisurely life of retirement, doing those things she had long looked forward to, and Nevada County is a perfect location for these pursuits. Yet, Lisa indicates that she hasn’t “done any of this.” Was she drawn to civic engagement only to save one organization that was in trouble or was there something more that drew her to this work? Is the “bigger picture” that we briefly identified at the end of Chapter Eleven somehow involved in the new priorities set by Lisa?
In seeking to make sense of Lia’s Generativity Four and the allure of civic engagement in the lives of other people, we first identify the primarily sources of satisfaction in civic engagement, then investigate the underlying motivations. Because the principal sources seem to be “frosting on the cake,” they may at times be surprising for generative leaders like Lisa. The motivations, on the other hand, are there from the start. They are what gets Generative Four leaders going in the first place.
It is not surprising that Sage leaders of all ages continue to work in their favored civic organizations, because they derive great personal satisfaction and meaning from these Generativity Four experiences. Both Emerging and Senior Sage leaders deliver the message that what they especially enjoy about their civic involvements is work with other people. For them, Generativity Four civic engagement is not only about seeking the betterment of their community; it’s about collaborating with others to bring this result about—to engage collectively the “bigger picture.” In sum, most satisfaction comes from bringing together an engaged group of people to mobilize and achieve a shared civic goal.
Download Article 1K Club
