ABSTRACT
Generativity involves making an imprint on another person as a form of legacy. It is crucial to look closely at this process as it captures a large part of the motivation to mentor. At core is the desire to transcend one’s individual existence. That is, mentors wish to give something of themselves to proteges in order to extend their ideas, values, beliefs, professional acumen, and ways of being into the future. Generativity encompasses a distinct kind of influence—one which whether or not the mentor intends for it—leaves an imprint on the protégé and whether or not the protégé acknowledges it has the signature of the mentor. If generativity entails “kissing and biting the hand that feeds,” to use Jessica Benjamin’s tart phrase, John Kotre surely has done so by critiquing and reworking the conception of generativity put forth by his intellectual mentor, Erik Erikson.
