Spiral Dynamics Theory: Stages of Development and Examples

Beige: Survival

The beige stage is the first stage of development driven by survival instincts and characterized by:

• a lack of self-awareness
• reaching goals of immediacy.

Groups and individuals at the beige stage show a limited ability to differentiate between their own drives and those of others.

Businesses and teams in this stage are primarily concerned with achieving their basic goals: searching for relevant business niches, stating their mission, thinking in the short-term perspective, and responding to market conditions without trying to forecast trends.

Bottom Line: At this stage, teams are characterized by a lack of identity, priorities set in a short-term perspective, and goal achievement based on urgency rather than importance.

Purple: Security

Purple stands for security. It is the color marking belonging to clan-like organizations that provide comfort and security in a turbulent environment.

The teams at the purple level operate with a focus on safety and fulfilling tasks evolving in the actual moment.
On the structural level, one example of Purple businesses is startups, which are not aimed at upscaling yet. Mostly, they shape close-knit organizations that value:

• safety
• tradition.

In team management, it reflects on:

• choosing time-tested strategies
• the absence of a rigid hierarchy
• favoring informal communication
• putting the interests of the team above personal goals.

Bottom Line: the Purple teams are loyal to traditional tried and true ways of solving problems, exercising horizontal communication for reaching goals.

Red: Energy and Power

The outlook stems from seeing this world as a wild jungle in which the strong dominate
and the weak serve. Exploitative impulses play a major role.

Motivation is driven by self-serving needs, interests around claiming power,
and the urge to upscale through competition.

Therefore, the ability to foresee the long-term consequences of actions is little or non-existent. Organizations built on a rigid hierarchy are an illustrative example of the Red stage.

Bottom Line: This part of the spiral advances pursuing short-term specific goals with a focus on the present.

On the forefront, there is a fight-flight-freeze mode of operation, which implies:

• focusing on the strengths of the business
• making expansion the fundamental goal
• assertiveness in defending business decisions
• pursuit of competitive advantage.

Blue: Order, Authority, Conformism

Stability, belonging, righteousness, and future rewards are the principal drivers of this stage. Being good equals being self-disciplined. Thus, the Blue level features:

• duty
• self-control
• stability.

Group identity builds around opposing us vs. them and announcing collective goals above personal ones. To gain rewards, group members must act in accordance with the strict codes of conduct set by an authority.

Since large-scale cooperation requires rigid roles, the Blue level teams favor strict social norms and a high level of professional training. At this stage, teams adhering to values of duty are to attend to the wellbeing of their own group.

Bottom Line: Blue-spectrum business strategy involves the creation of a system and the establishment
of a transparent structure.

Orange: Success, Rational Thinking, Achievement

Orange stage values and beliefs are driven by a desire for personal freedom and success. The primary motivation is self-reliance.
Empowerment by science and the evolvement of markets gives a comprehensive explanation of business expansion and allows instant rewarding individual effort in the achievement of:

• material progress
• acceleration of business growth
• individual prosperity.

This drives teams and businesses to be rational — they operate on knowledge that comes from scientific laws and the application of facilitating tools.
It is celebrating practical opportunists who are interested in understanding why certain things happen so they can conquer nature's challenges and prosper as individuals.

Bottom Line: The Orange worldview is one that values self-reliance, freedom, and individualism. In team management, it means that managers deal with a group of high performers with the capability of successful autonomous work. Hence, the role of leadership shifts from control and coping to collaboration.

Green: Harmony, Connection

At the Green stage, teams believe that once you have mastered the art of connection, there's nothing stopping you from achieving your goals. The most important thing is to be authentic and strive to be your best within a chosen community.

The main business metrics grow along with the development of the career development of employees during this stage.

Company characteristics and values at the Green level include:

• unification of globalized markets
• self-expression through creative pursuits
• respecting diversity and inclusivity
• equal distribution of resources.

Green-centered teams strive for maintaining balance and reaching altruistic goals.

Bottom Line: By ensuring the common good and equality of team members, this stage departs from hierarchy and highlights less of individualistic thinking and more of an ecosystem.

Yellow: Synergy, Integration

In the Yellow stage, teams use synergy to develop capabilities for achieving short-term and long-term goals. The goal is taking care of one's own interests but being as harmless as possible.
Yellow-spectrum organizations rely on:

• exploring the mechanisms of productive coexistence.
• valuing cooperation and partnership over competitiveness.
• building strategies around innovative solutions.

In this stage, innovations include sustainability and corporate social responsibility, within the development of social networks and new methods of business operations.

Bottom Line: The key to reaching goals at this stage is to accept the intrinsic uncertainty of the environment, which requires concentrating on building teamwork around resilience, functionality, flexibility, and improvisation.

Turquoise: Support, Awareness, Service

To embody this stage, teams and businesses need to lose egoistical drive and shift to a philanthropical scale. Such a need may result from devotion to service or realizing the limits of business expansion.

This stage is characterized by activating all cognitive and metacognitive sources and holistic thinking. Time is perceived in its global perspective, which actualizes business identity on a totally new level of thinking from a systemic perspective and a mindset of abundance.

One example of the Torquise stage system is eco-industrial parks.

Bottom Line: Being a supportive instrument of enlightenment inspires and enthuses teams and directs them to evolve further.