The Stages of Transformational Change

In the chapter on change in Spiral Dynamics Integral, Don Beck gives the five stages of Transformational Change:

Stage One: All is Well. Individuals and groups tend to plateau and become comfortable in their current situation. There is little or no impetus to change even if the current situation isn’t ideal or healthy. As long people are comfortable they will not change.

Stage Two: Growing Discontent. When dissatisfaction begins to grow, people begin to look for solutions. There are three basic strategies that are tried: 1. Do more of the same. But if what we are doing isn’t working, doing more of it won’t solve the problem, but usually make it worse. 2. Go back to the ‘Good Old Days.’ Solutions to today’s problems cannot be found in the past but only in the future. Besides, the good old days were not as good as we like to think they were. 3. Realization of new possibilities. When we realize that all of our old solutions don’t work, then we will begin to look for new solutions. The same thinking that created the problems were are currently in cannot solve those problems. Only new thinking, new ideas, new paradigms will bring the transformation we need.

Stage Three: The Trap. There is always the danger that finding or implementing solutions will be more difficult than we imagined and we may fall into the trap of thinking that we can’t move forward. This is where pathologies emerge, suicide becomes rampant, and people generally begin to withdraw from reality because the pain and disappointment are too great to bear. Leaders need to ask, “Who is afraid of what and why?” If we can answer these questions, we can help people overcome the blockage and avoid the trap.

Stage Four: The Surge. Barriers are overcome and a new surge of energy sweeps through the individual or group, As barriers are overcome they are no longer seen as obstacles but as stepping stones to a higher level. As problems are solved and new solutions are implemented, fresh energy and excitement drive an increase in creativity and production.

Stage Five: The New State. The surge of creative energy brings about a higher stage of existence which begins to stabilize and plateau. When discontent begins to grow again, the process repeats itself.

As leaders it is important to understand these stages in order to be an effective change agent. Realizing which stage an individual or group is in will help you craft an appropriate strategy to help them move to the next level. Trying to bring about change in the wrong sequence will frustrate you and the group, so it is vital to understand and work in the proper order.