Generativity vs Stagnation: The Spotlight Effect

               Generativity vs Stagnation: The Spotlight Effect

                                            Source: Generativity vs Stagnation: HRB Associates 2023.

Erik Erikson (1950) in his life-span theory of the stages of physiological development, identified generativity as the life’s part where individuals are willing to engage in acts that promote empathy and selfless development, and the transfer of life’s long knowledge and skills to the next generation. It is also inferred as the path where corporate organizations promote activities that ensures the survival and sustainability of the next generation of leaders, by continuously managing the work-life cycle of employees, through on-boarding, skill development, employee engagement, performance management and work-life balance. In personal development, a generative behavior is the act of supporting our growth by helping others in their growth process. Leaders show willingness to support the growth and well-being of the younger generation of future leaders, through coaching, mentoring, training, guidance, and empowerment. The greatest measure of generativity in our useful work-life, is the constant assessment of the difference between our team’s productivity outcomes, with or without our inputs. Overall, generativity refers to creating a useful, positive, and meaningful impact in our lives, the lives of our team, and others.

Management scholars have argued that generativity is much more than selflessness, but rather a way of being productive, creating value, and living our best lives. Generativity transcends productivity in the workplace which ultimately create a sense of purpose and fulfillment. It is seen as an unconscious physiological investment  for leaders who strive to reach their full potential beyond their useful and productive lives. They seek continual growth and development, they strive for relevance, and constantly want to be in the spotlight of life. Learning and the acquisition of new skills, and reaching new heights is the goal of leaders who seek to remain in prominence, without competing with others. Age is not a barrier to learning, and there is no limit to personal growth and development. Studies have shown that individuals and leaders often see this as a limiting factor in their thought process. The quest for life-long relevance is not linear, and it is faced with curvatures that deviates from desired expectations. This is why many leaders are faced with stagnation that limits their growth, career progression, and productivity.

Stagnation, according to Erikson, occurs when an individual is no longer active in generative matters, and this can motivate leaders to redirect their time and energies to a new, more meaningful, and productive, way of life. In management parlance, when business growth slows down with persistent losses, declining sales, and lost revenue, this is the stagnant stage of the organization’s life-cycle. Stagnation often occurs at the “second-half” of the useful and productive lives of leaders. Between the ages of 40 and 65, individuals are often faced with the feeling of being stuck and unproductive, and lacking a sense of purpose. The urgent need for regenerating our career, jobs, and businesses takes the center stage in our cognitive process. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017) observed that more and more individuals are working into their later years. The studies showed that as of 2014, about 40 percent of people 55 years and older, and surprisingly 65 to 75 and older, are actively working or looking for work, and this number is expected to rise in the next 10 years.

T.RowePrice (2023) in its detailed study on why retirees want to go back to work, observed that lifestyle, finances, social and emotional benefits, are the overriding factors responsible for their choices. There is a new trend where individuals and leaders are breaking from retirement into businesses, academics, consultancy services, working part time, or working full time in a new field. All these creates a sense of social and emotional fulfillment. Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (2020) reports that 54 percent of employees plan to continue work past the retirement age, and not considering planning for retirement. A sizeable number of of individuals go back to work because they are healthy, able, and willing to work, and keep their minds active. There is a sense of purpose in work. Work enables the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, it enables valuable connections, and stimulates our intellects.  Studies have shown that there is positive correlation between typical intellectual engagement and cognitive ability in later life, and our brains stop creating new mental modules and models when it is on stagnation mode.  Erikson referred to stagnation as the failure to chat a way to contribute meaningfully to life’s “conversations”. Individuals and leaders who become stagnant often feel disconnected, lack of involvement, withdrawal syndrome, and inactivity in generative matters.  Stagnation, in the general sense, is not a negative phase in life’s curvature, but rather a motivation to redirect our energies to more meaningful work, social and affectionate connections.

Individuals and business leaders want to relinquish their full potentials to the next generation of leaders. Many believe that institutional and regulatory barriers should not stagnate their quest for leaving a legacy for the next generation. They are continually engaged in academic activities, acquiring new skills and knowledge, setting up new entrepreneurial activities, seeking new challenges, mentorship, guidance and counselling, consultancy services, and working past retirement age. Individuals want a strong sense of self and to others, they want to listen and be heard, avoid loneliness and emotional isolation, sense of control and independence, and esteem needs of confidence, strength, social acceptance, and self-belief.  Ultimately, social and emotional benefits, and not necessarily finances, are the goals and objectives for leaders to stay relevant and remain in the spotlight.

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