Leadership from the Inside Out – Co-Generational Community

CO-GENERATIONAL

Leadership from the Inside Out Booklet 4 – Co-Generational Community

Booklet 4– Co-Generational Community Welcome to the Co-Generational Community Booklet. The term co-generational was coined by a young Girl Scout who sought to describe the potential for interaction between girls and adults of all ages. Co-generational implies the kind of community cooperation and co-creation that mutually affects and influences each of us.

Background: Co-Generational Community The long-term impact of Girl Scouting on any girl is dependent on those who generously give of their time to witness, support, guide, mentor, and lead girls. It is important that this community consist of people of all ages, including elders, adults, and younger children. The more a truly co-generational environment is present and alive, the richer the experience will be for each girl.

In Girl Scouting, when we think of co-generational environments, we think not only of adults working with girls, but also of girls from different levels working together. The example of girls working with girls at different levels can be seen throughout the council. Individual troops can work with troops from other levels, or participate together in council– wide activities.

In any exchange between girls and adults, there is mutual giving and receiving. This requires sincere and open listening to one another, with the willingness to be influenced by the views and different perspectives of the other. Genuine interest in one another is demonstrated by open inquiry and listening.

Sometimes it is difficult for adults to really listen to intense communication from girls when they speak bluntly, or to help them speak when they clam up because of the perceived age or power differential.

Each decade of experience in the life cycle of a woman has its own distinct voice and authentic contribution to bring to the

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whole. This contribution can sometimes take time to uncover and articulate because of the media’s attempt to influence how we look or what we think, our family expectations around success or what is acceptable for a woman, school or peer pressures–even messages about the aging process from pharmaceutical companies.

As members of different generations explore together to define their individual identity and the unique gifts of their age or stage in life, their voices become more distinct, audible, and valued in the community. Each of these generational groups has a gift for those older and those younger than themselves.

In a co-generational community, no one ever outgrows her potential to contribute and belong. There is a place for all women and men, whether they are young or mature in age and substance. It is natural to have the girls, adult staff and volunteers, and former leaders, staff and board members actively present in the community. It is important that we in Girl Scouting ensure that Elders are welcomed and included to fill out the generational continuum so that the wisdom and resources of committed supporters of the movement are preserved.

Elder Circles One of the ways we are creating co-generational community at Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council is helping elders to reclaim their place in the system through participation in Elder Circles. But before we go any further it will be important to clarify the term elder as the word is often interpreted differently by different generations.

At GSACPC, we use the term elder to describe those members of our community who possess a wealth of wisdom and perspective as a result of their life experience. The title of elder may be self-adopted but it may also be bestowed by other generations. The title does not necessarily correspond to the age of an individual; however, we acknowledge that those of us who have been around the block more than once usually have increased capacity for understanding and acceptance.

Although this is not always the case, we believe it is never too late to learn new tricks.

If an elder has reflected on her own life, her experience is available to others as a wellspring of wisdom. That includes the hard-won growth that comes from years of living–from making hard choices, from the normal trials of family life, from making mistakes, from wrestling with pressures to please others, from grieving a loss, from the challenges of relationship, from the search for meaning and purpose.

Elders’ gifts typically no longer lie in doing the organizational work, but rather in the power of their presence. Presence is conveyed only rarely by the giving of advice. Rather, it is conveyed through the non-judgmental quality of listening and through deep interest in, and understanding of, the experience of the girls. Presence is expressed by the flow of love and witnessing that comes in “showing up” with an open heart and the developed ability to see, appreciate and affirm others.

Elder circles are groups of elders who meet regularly to connect and reflect together but to also prepare to serve the community. Elders show up as mentors, surrogate grandparents, women and men who honor and witness girls at points of transition in their lives. Elders may mark these moments with ceremony. They can also simply offer their

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reassuring presence in crises such as the death of a loved one, in leadership transitions, or times of organizational change when steadiness and a sense of continuity are needed.

Elders report when they embrace this new role a new sense of purpose is discovered, one often forgotten in today’s world.

We also consistently see that when elders share their great gift of presence, all of our lives are enriched. Elders are an integral part of our Girl Scout co-generational community.

Storytelling One of the important ways for the co-generational community to interact is through storytelling. Ever since humans have gathered together, telling stories was the means to learn, remember and connect at a deeper level. Storytelling often introduces the “currency” of the heart and of deep feeling.

Storytelling serves many purposes:

• to pass on family lore, values and beliefs, common history and heritage

• to teach factual and conceptual information

• to entertain

• to form bonds of friendship and understanding among different generations and peoples

• to connect with one’s inner self as one expresses the unfolding story.

Storytelling helps us to be active in presenting, in focused listening, and in responding–all of which are vital skills in communicating. Storytelling is an ancient art that strengthens and enhances skills such as sharing ideas and building upon them. It is an art, a tool, a device, a gateway to the past and a portal to the future that supports the present. By developing the ability to tell our own stories clearly and compellingly, or to tell stories about our experiences, our families, our history, or about things that are precious to us, we reinforce and develop our own understanding of these important times in our own lives and can give them as gifts to others. Our true voices and our genuine, lived experiences come alive when we share stories.

The process can be as simple as sitting in circle together so that there is a safe space, and then inviting each girl (or adult) “to share with us a time when you felt truly yourself,” or to tell a story about “something that you remember and treasure from when you were very little.” As you prepare girls to tell their stories, invite them to try out some of the elements storytellers use to make their stories come alive:

• Purpose – What is the main story you want to bring out?

• Mood – Do you want the story to be serious, reflective, lighthearted, or humorous?

• Characters – Who is the story about? How might you bring the people to life?

• Setting – Where and when did the story happen?

• Theme – What is the main theme of the story and how does it develop?

In the end, it is important is that the story comes from the heart and helps the girl to connect with who she is and how to communicate her story to others.

Growing Side by Side As troop leaders, one of your important roles is to help create this co-generational community. You can consider having a co-leader from a difference generation than the one you represent. If your troop is holding a special event or has a special need, call the Girl Scout office and ask about the possibility of having an elder join your event to witness and support the girls. Elders are also available to join multiple troop events and to share their Girl Scout story.

The purpose of the Girl Scouts is indeed to actualize the potential of girls, and this cannot happen without adults who lead the way by realizing their own value and contribution.

Key to co-generational vitality is the willingness of adults to examine their own lives. It is therefore important for adult leaders and elders to embrace self-discovery. When they do, the younger women and girls are naturally attracted to them because they can see that such adults are living an examined,

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reflective and conscious life. This may require, for example, overcoming generational taboos about discussing personal matters. When an adult has reflected on and come to terms with her past, she can draw on a lifetime of learning to bring to her companionship with girls.

At the heart of a co-generational community are girls and adults involved in programs focused on self-discovery together. This side-by-side exploration of self can have a profound effect on the wholeness of community By participating in a co-generational community, girls are able to advance diversity in a multicultural, multi-generational world and feel connected to their communities, locally and globally. The following are outcomes and indicator developed

by GSUSA for these skills.

grade level

outcome

indicator

Girl Scout Daisy

• Gain increased understanding of how they belong to various groups in their communities.

• Increasingly relate to others in an inclusive manner.

• Give examples of various groups which they belong.

• Notice when others are excluded from activities.

Girl Scout Brownie

• Recognize the importance of being part of a larger community.

• Strengthen their appreciation of difference in others.

Girl Scout Junior

• Give examples of how community members help and support each other.

• Do not make fun–and might encourage others not to make fun–of those who look/talk/behave differently from themselves.

• Begin to feel part of a larger • Enjoy connecting with girls/ community of girls/women. women locally, nationally or globally.

• Recognize the value of promoting diversity in the • Demonstrate increased world. interest in interacting with other from different backgrounds.

Girl Scout Cadette

• Strengthen existing relationships and seek to create new connections with others in their community • Can examine the negative impact of stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and privilege on their lives and the lives of others.

• Feel more confident contacting community members for help with community service and action projects.

• Describe the negative impact of stereotyping and prejudice when given examples from media.

Girl Scout Senior

• Actively seek to bring people together in local and global networks.

• Are increasingly able to address challenges to promoting inclusive attitudes and diversity.

Girl Scout Ambassador

• Have extensive feelings of connection with their local and global communities.

• Are increasingly able to address various challenges of promoting inclusive attitudes and diversity locally and/or globally.

• Develop connections with multiple generational communities.

• Place a high value on empathy and open mindedness when interacting with people from diverse backgrounds.

• Report positive attitudes toward different members of their communities and place high value on providing support for diverse members of their communities.

• Identify the main reasons that prevent people from embracing diversity and can suggest possible solutions.

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Contributors Carol Ackerson Barbara Cecil Glennifer Gillespie Mary Lee Hoffman Beth Jandernoa Matt Thesing Tamara Woodbury

Editors Glennifer Gillespie Robin Telle

Graphic Design Nicole Andersen

Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council would like to thank The Fetzer Institute for their generous support of this project.

Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, Inc. 119 E Coronado Road | Phoenix, AZ 85004 602.452.7000 | 800.352.6133 www.girlscoutsaz.org