Spiral Dynamics1 is a concept many team coaches apply to help a team explore and become more aware of its internal dynamics. Unlike most stage models of human development, Spiral Dynamics assumes that the values people and groups apply vary with the situations in which they find themselves. It identifies eight v-Memes (short for values-attracting meta-memes), with increasing levels of complexity of thinking and behavior and labels each with a distinguishing beige, purple, red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and turquoise. Each v-Meme leads to a specific pattern of beliefs, social groupings, motivation patterns, organizational dynamics, and goals.

In achieving change within a group, it is important to approach them in the v-Meme they are at, rather than one higher up the spiral, then help them envisage the next phase of development. The eight v-Memes, presented here in a very truncated form, represent a gradual transition from an individualistic, egotistical perspective toward a more communal, selfless perspective.

The v-Memes as they apply to individuals

Beige: Survival and reproduction, satisfying instinctive urges.

Purple: Family bonds, placating the spirits; honor ancestors; seeking protection.

Red: Power/action; domination; control, hedonism.

Blue: Stability/order; obedience to authority; certainty; rewards later or in next life.

Orange: Opportunity/success; competition; autonomy; influence.

Green: Harmony, belonging, mutual growth.

Yellow: Self-worth; independence of thought and circumstances; being part of and contributing to a living system.

Turquoise: Being part of a global community; spiritual and ecological; higher consciousness.

The v-Memes as they apply to teams, groups, or organizations

  1. Beige: A Stone Age mentality of basic survival that relies on loose, clan-based groups.
  2. Purple: Tribalism, with strong attention to rituals and cycles, respect for rules, allegiances, and strong leaders.
  3. Red: Starts from the assumption that people are naturally idle and must be forced to work. Exploitative and authoritarian, there is usually a top dog whose word is law,1 a strict hierarchy, and a division of haves and have-nots. The organizational narrative is a feudal one of “heroes” and conquest.
  4. Blue: An authoritarian regime, typically a pyramid structure, in which people obey authority, feel guilty when not conforming to group norms, and try to serve the greater good through self-sacrifice. Moralistic in tone and employs lots of prescriptive management techniques.
  5. Orange: Entrepreneurial and focused on the individual achieving personal advancement. Behavior tends to be driven by personal gain, so, for example, bonuses have more impact than appeals to loyalty or group cohesion. Competition and autonomy are encouraged.
  6. Green: Communitarian – focused on community and personal growth, equality/diversity, and environmental good citizenship. Leaders facilitate rather than dictate, and hierarchies may be indistinct. People value learning from and collaborating with others. Work is motivated by human contact and contribution, learning from others.
  7. Yellow: Systemic – Being able to see the world from multiple perspectives in life; to conceive, implement, and work with complex systems. People in these organizations actively seek out change and the learning that comes from it.
  8. Turquoise: Essentially Yellow taken to the extreme. Sees the world holistically, integrating collective thinking and collaboration to create innovative solutions to large-scale, complex, multi-dimensional problems. Work must have meaning at many levels.

The challenge for team coaches

Beck and Cowan describe two kinds of change agents: change wizards and spiral wizards. Change wizards help a team make the transition from one v-Meme to the next. They have already made this transition themselves and can support others in following their path. Their weakness is that when the team catches up with them, they may not be able to keep one step ahead. Spiral wizards view situations from multiple perspectives, recognizing the stage at which a team is and supporting it through change one step at a time. They themselves are, by necessity, at a yellow or turquoise level of development. It follows that team coaches need to be spiral wizards if they are trying to help teams make transitions that will gradually take them into the higher levels of thinking and behavior.

Complicating situations a team coach may encounter include:

  • Members of the team may be at different stages in their evolution. By raising awareness, they can be helped to be more tolerant of each other’s views, and the less mature individuals can begin to grow into the next level.
  • A team may not wish to advance to the next level, even though that would be more appropriate to the tasks and aspirations they have. The team coach needs patience in helping them move partway into the next level. Change of this kind is always gradual!

© David Clutterbuck, 2015