An A-ha Moment

"What I am proposing is that the psychology of the mature human being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating, sprialing process, marked by progressive subordination of older, lower-order behavior systems to newer, higher-order systems as man's existential problems change."

Dr. Clare Graves

I came upon the theory of Sprial Dynamics two years ago through the progressive suburban Colorado church I frequently attend. I've been searching throughout my adult life for a thoughtful construct that helped me understand how I fit in. The Reverend Roger Teel, the church's now-retired senior minister, taught a multi-week class on Spiral Dynamics, and I was immediately hooked. 

Spiral Dynamics is a provacative theory on the evolution of human consciousness initially promulgated by developmental psychologist Clare Graves then given further definition by his mentee, psychological theorist Don Beck. In brief, the upward moving graphic depicts the movement of human consciousness as it develops and can be applied to both humanity as a whole and to the evolution of one's own consciousness. The color-coded "memes," or progress points, are given definition based on accepted anthropological studies of societal development from what is believed to be the dawn of human consciousness approximately 100,000 years ago (the foundational "Beige" meme).

Giving further definition to the construct are vertical and horizontal bifercations in the upward moving spiral. As the spiral spins upward, the vertical delineation depicts the transition from a more individualistic persona to a more collective persona and vice versa as consciousness continues its evolutionary progress. The more intriguing bifercation is the horizontal, situated between the "Green" and the "Yellow" memes, signifying the shift from "1st Tier" to "2nd Tier" consciousness. This delineation signifies the shift in consciousness from a subsistance existence to a being or integral existence, a significant milestone in the progression of human consciousness from development and establishment to self-exploration and thought expansion.

While all of this is truly fascinating to the anthropologist in me, the most interesting aspect of this look at the evolution of human consciousness to me at least comes from the view that individuals rooted in the 1st tier "subsistance" existence can't fully appreciate the value of those rooted in the 2nd tier; they believe that their worldview is the only true worldview. Those who have moved through the transition into the 2nd integral tier, though, do fully appreciate the value and necessity of all the memes and their roles in society. (The Next Evolution, 2020.) Those familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs will know this as "self-actualization," or the top of the Maslow pyramid. 

This is my "a-ha." 

I have struggled throughout my adult life and career to understand why so many leaders don't fully comprehend the value and potential of human talent within their organizations. Spiral Dynamics has helped me understand the need for leadership diversity and training, especially for organizations seeking to transform and evolve themselves to meet current socio-economic challenges. For those like me who see opportunity within the chaos, seek out growth and understanding. There is a wealth of potential right in front of you.