The Spiral Dynamics Model & Its Traps

The Spiral Dynamics model is much talked about, but it’s often misapplied and misunderstood. Today I want to show you the traps you may be falling into after learning Spiral Dynamics and give you very practical solutions so that learning this model helps you rather than hinders you.

Let’s talk about what the Spiral Dynamics model is before looking closely at the various traps you may fall into and how you can avoid them.

The Spiral Dynamics Model

So, what is Spiral Dynamics? It’s a developmental model that describes how humans pass through a series of levels as they mature. Though there are dozens such models, Spiral Dynamics focuses on values, psychology and behaviour, which is one of the reasons it’s different to the others out there. The eight levels apply both to individuals and groups of them, and line up with the general levels found elsewhere.

For detailed information on this model and the eight stages, head to my article What is Spiral Dynamics?

Learning the Spiral Dynamics model can bring a dramatic shift in how you view yourself and the world. In my case, I went through a kind of “Spiral Dynamics awakening”: I could suddenly see that my life wasn’t a random process of me chasing my tail, but a process of growth through these stages. That knowledge has never left me, and it has continued to guide me and my understanding of the world.

That said, learning this theory can have some downsides, and that’s what I attempt to capture in these five traps.

Trap 1 of the Spiral Dynamics Model: Judging other people

Warning: My first and last traps are the ones you probably least want to hear!

The first trap is using the model as a way to judge other people, to wit:

“He’s so Stage Orange, he’s so naive because he thinks money will make him happy.”
“She’s so Stage Green, she’s so sensitive and bitchy and politically correct.”
“What a naive, close-minded Blue sectarian nutjob.”

I’ll be honest, I notice myself making these judgments of other people, even to this day! I’ve seen it all over the internet, and even some of the leaders in this field show remarkable allergies to certain stages. It’s safe to say it’s pretty ubiquitous.

You might wonder what’s the problem if it’s so ubiquitous.

Well, first, you’re being obnoxious and judgemental, and using a theory of human psychology to justify it. Way to go! Don’t we all judge people and look for sneaky justifications for it? And The Spiral Dynamics model gives us a really sneaky one (“the model tells me I’m higher than them, so I can judge them”).

Second, you likely judge others because you don’t fully understand and appreciate the level they’re at. Sure, you see the surface features, and likely understand that the person is essentially addicted to a lower level of consciousness, but you don’t really see why. You only see them from your own perspective: this is why you judge them.

And finally, we’re distracting ourselves. From our own development and inner growth. From our poor integration of the levels we judge. From our own dark side. From our own higher potential.

The solution is quite easy. I advocate we focus on ourselves. Your judgements reveal your allergies, which reveal the un-integrated aspects of your personality.

As such, use these allergies to guide your growth and integration. I talk about Integrate and Anticipate: reintegrating everything that has come before in our development, and anticipating, willing, stepping into what is next.

You can learn from the trials and tribulations of other people, but judging and pigeon-holing is not appropriate. Instead of practicing objectification (“How are they lower than me? Which stages is that person embodying and how am I better than them?), practice empathy and understanding (“What truths or insights does that person have that I don’t?” “Why are they like that really? Let me assume there is a legitimate reason for it.”).

Trap 2 of the Spiral Dynamics Model: Seeing the Levels as Disjoint Steps

That’s the second most common trap I see people falling into. We tend to talk about the stages as though they were disjoint steps. Under this model, we reach a new phase, stay there for a while, then leave it behind and move on, like stops on a journey.

Though this does capture some key features of our development and the first-person experience of our journey through these stages, it’s quite inadequate as an explanation. It contradicts not only the Spiral Dynamics model but a swathe of other developmental theories.

The levels are really a series of downloads. The earlier levels remain in us and are elaborated on. Just as later computer operating systems rely on earlier ones, so does evolution, both collectively and individually. All the levels, up to the highest you have access to, are online. They remain there and support the later ones. Otherwise you couldn’t exist.

The original Spiral Dynamics theory talks about the concept of centre of gravity and gives a rule of thumb of 25-50-25: when we’re centered at a given stage, 50% of our actions come from that stage, and the other half comes from the two stages either side in equal measure.

Yet I don’t think this means that earlier levels are inactive. My hunch is that they’re subordinated to the higher levels and absorbed into them. The higher levels by necessity absorb and include them. The earlier ones continue on autopilot, behind the scenes.

My solution is to see these as operating systems active in you, each more complex and conscious than the next. Each allows you to deal with the specific challenges you face every day.

3: Over-Simplifying People and The World

This model is powerful because it can give us cohesion, clarity, and a new framework for understanding ourselves and the world. I think many people could do with learning this theory to experience that power.

That said, the explanatory power of this theory can be seductive, especially if we’ve never come across a theory of this kind.

We often become so obsessed with the theory that we begin to reduce people and the world to these levels. We see the stages everywhere and go wild with our labels: “It’s a miracle! I can use this theory to understand and conceptualise absolutely everything!”

The problem with this is age old: If you’re a hammer, everything is a nail. It’s easy to get lost in an echo chamber of Spiral Dynamics enthusiasts, where all you talk about are these stages, and this model becomes the hammer that will fix any problem with a good old bash.

We even do this with other people: we no longer see them as friends, family or citizens, but as Spiral Dynamics levels!

The solution is to keep in touch with other information and appreciate what it offers on its own terms, without trying to shoehorn it into this model and the stages it proposes. Keep an open mind, and appreciate the richness of life and other people.

4: Thinking You’re Higher Than You Are

I did say that the final trap was the most emotionally difficult one, so you were warned.

This trap is tricky and seductive, and its essence is this: you learn the stages in the Spiral Dynamics model, you notice that some characteristics from the higher levels are present in you, so you start to identify as being Green or Yellow or Turquoise, like a badge of honour.

Nothing wrong with that per se, but often I’ve found that it brings out the person’s obnoxious, judgemental side. Let’s face it, we like feeling superior. This theory offers us a very easy way to feel superior and hold a ready-made explanation for it.

Not only that, but it’s very easy to fool yourself as to your level of development, especially if you’re obsessed with personal growth. You like the idea of being at Stage Yellow because it’s 2nd-tier, but it doesn’t mean you’re really there. Yet you build a whole identify out of it.

It’s wise to notice our growth and celebrate, but we also want to avoid fooling ourselves and creating a whole identity out of being at a certain stage in the model. The few benefits are heavily outweighed by the potential damaging effect.

The solution is to take the opposite approach and focus more on identifying the levels you need to revisit and integrate rather than striving upwards. While not neglecting higher growth, continue to look for your earlier levels to ground you and keep you humble.