4. Generativity – focused on emergent possibilities and results

Of all the values we have pulsing through all we do ‘generativity’ is the capstone and the culmination of them all. It’s not a commonly-used word, but it’s an idea that is rich with possibility.

Let’s start with what generativity means:

Generativity is the life-giving capacity to create, nurture and sustain growth in people, ideas and organisations – leaving a legacy of value that extends beyond oneself. It is both creative and caring: sparking new possibilities while stewarding what matters for the future.

So much of our work is captured in this definition – life-giving, growth, value beyond, creativity and care, new possibilities. Generativity is present from the beginning. It starts with us creating the space for people to process what got them here. It starts with us listening, not just in a quick or superficial way, but so that our clients feel heard and seen, and respected. A thinking partnership is generated as we discuss challenges and solutions, possibilities and opportunities.

American poet Maya Angelou once made an apt observation:

‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’

We create space for you to tell your story. Not just tell your story, but have someone take that story very seriously. We want to hear your story. We also want you to hear your story, hear it and learn from it, hear it and know it’s yours to shape afresh, yours to take full ownership of.

As people share their story, as they tell it in the presence of another, in the presence of another who is interested and curious, something special happens. When people feel that belief they often come out of their shell. When they know we are taking their story seriously they start taking it seriously. Their innate, life-giving capability starts bubbling up, their context becomes less barren or hostile, and their sense of what might be begins to emerge. Their creativity and adaptability starts to awaken. Our job, as coaches, is to blow gently on those tentative sparks, to shift dry kindling into the path, and let the fire have its way. Our job is to steward, with them, what matters for their future.

Not that it’s all just encouraging and nurturing because resistance emerges too. Then, as coaches our job becomes a catalyst of capability. We take seriously that part of them that is reluctant or resistant, and listen to it, let its debilitating voice be heard. Once aired, once given voice, it’s easier to develop strategies to ameliorate and mitigate, and smooth the path forward. Resistance, fully acknowledged and untangled, has the potential to unblock clogged thinking and release fresh energy.

The spirit of generativity sees both the positive potential in our clients and the myriad ways they can sabotage themselves and hinder their own growth and development. But generativity never gives up hope.

Generativity not only creates an atmosphere of possibility, it keeps the focus on how you can change your life, how you can author a new future for yourself.