This generative role and concern for Personal Worth often continues to show up in our life through continuing and changing relationships with our children and through the shifting nature of the projects or jobs we engage in organizations. The prevailing motivations are based in Generativity One: a focus on direct and sustained care for someone or something that is intimate (close to us in terms of both space and time).
Early Middle Adulthood
The Generativity Two role tends to be played out during the middle years of our life when we are moving into a position of experience, expertise, or influence in an organization. This generative role focuses on being a mentor to younger or less experienced members of the organization. This role also involves us as monitors, mobilizers, and motivators. This is the original notion of “generativity.” In some sense, we become a grandparent in our organization and frequently become an actual grandparent in our personal life.
Much of the gratification comes not from personal achievement and advancement; rather, it comes from fostering the growth and achievement of other people. We help the next generation (including our own children) be successful. Our sense of Personal Worth is intertwined with our sense of Collective Worth. As in the case of the first generative role, this second role of generativity frequently remains salient later in our life. With the prevailing motivations of Generativity Two, we expand our caring to people outside our family. We mentor and lead. We move from individual success (Personal Worth) to broader significance (Collective Worth), at least within our own sphere of influence and control.
Late Middle Adulthood
We find that the third role of generativity is often assigned to the later years of mid-life, as well as our senior years. This generative role is what developmental researcher George Vaillant (2012) identified as “guardianship”. It is the time when we are helping to maintain traditions and values. We are focused primarily on Collective Worth.
We are storytellers. Chair of the board rather than CEO. “Old timers” who like the way things have been and should continue to be. We are in the business of preserving heritage and honoring those who have contributed much to our society. We are legacy leaders. Generativity Three prevails alongside concern for maintaining and even enhancing the Collective Worth of our society. We expand our caring in time and expand our attention and action to caring about objects and traditions, not just people. We become holders and promoters of heritage. We are guardians of a world that is in jeopardy of passing away or being ignored.
Senior Years
Like role three, the fourth role of generativity is usually engaged during later mid-life, as well as during our senior years. This generative role concerns something more than preservation of what now exists and should be valued in a specific community. Generativity Four is engaged to further enhance and enrich the Worth of this community. The generative leaders in this role want both to sustain and build anew.
