2.10 Green
(NOTE: If you are new to my site, it helps to read the posts in order. They are listed under the Contents tab here.)
Remember that each stage evolves to 1) address new Life Conditions and 2) to correct the problems created by the previous stage. Keep that in mind as we review the qualities of the Green stage.
Everybody is equal
Increased sensitivity and concern for the oppressed and traumatized
Everything is relative
Work for harmony within group
Consensus decision-making
Learn to collaborate
Accepting of the other; pluralistic views
Feelings are recognized and processed
Create social safety nets and safe environments; use politically correct language
Renewal of spirituality; environmentally sensitive
Everyone should benefit equally.
Looking back at the Orange list, this is a lot of change! Orange is go-go, takes risks, focused on career, making money, making hard-nosed decisions with data, and controlling behavior with policies and laws. Green is kumbaya, but with an edge of questioning and challenging previous levels.
Pretty striking, isn’t it? Where people are valued for their skills and achievements in Orange, those qualities are minimized, even rejected in Green. Orange works for social justice and “fairness” through incremental policy changes. So incremental that many do not notice change and the work goes unrecognized. Green demands justice through radical institutional change and compensation for past inequality, exploitation, and cruel intolerance.
Their patience has run out?
For many Greens, yes. There is an important quality that is trending in the stages we’ve been reviewing. As we go from Red to Blue to Orange to Green, inclusivity is slowly increasing. For many Greens, this “trending” is not fast enough. There is a natural tendency for people in the various stages to like just where they are, yet, with each level of growth our circle of acceptance grows: from me, to we, to all of us. This inclusivity also widens with respect to our values, knowledge, experience, consciousness, and so on. Exposure to wider Life Conditions accustoms us to tolerate and even enjoy more of life.
Now we come to a paradox in Green. At this stage we are enlarging our ability to accept more different types of people. I think the paradox is a clash between two forces at play in the Green stage: wider inclusion of others and continued binary “good/bad” thinking that sorts people into groups. Wider inclusion is helping us become better at accepting people different from us. This is good! At the same time, when our binary inclination to sort people into good and bad categories is still robust, our desire for social justice at this stage can lead us to condemn those who do not share our values or are not yet at the same stage. Not all Greens do this, but the ones who do are not yet employing a skill that comes alive in the next stage: non-dual, both/and thinking. Since thus is a Yellow stage, Tier 2 skill, we should take care in how we talk to Greens about this behavior. Until our own Tier 2 non-dual skills develop, it’s difficult to do this.
I have a couple questions. First, how are Greens condemning people? And second, how can we deal with disagreement with Greens before we develop Tier 2 skills?
When you ask it like that, I realize “condemning” may be too harsh. The values of Green come from the best instincts and intentions. It might be better to think of these behaviors as overcorrections. Here are a couple examples:
Cancelling: using social media or public venues to criticize people with sticky labels like racist, misogynist, white supremacist…even when a person tries to explain themself, their words are taken as validation of the label.
De-platforming: shouting people down or forcing organizations to cancel appearances of controversial people, perpetuating the cycle of censuring people on both sides of an issue.
I realize Reds and Blues—remember I’m talking Spiral Dynamics colors—do these things too, but I think we need to avoid “whataboutism” as a valid strategy. I’m hopeful our culture will re-calibrate these responses after becoming aware that we have hurt others, either ignorantly or knowingly. We must live through a lot of trial and error. It will take a while to develop new rules for healthy dialogue.
And the 2nd question. Just as Greens are becoming more sensitive and thoughtful towards ill-treated and exploited people, they become more insensitive to those who show their biases, overtly or covertly. Since I am not yet very skilled at dealing with this difficult behavior, how should I respond?
There’s no easy answer, but I promise to work hard at developing this idea as we go forward. First, this is not a universal problem with Greens. As with all new stages and other endeavors in life, we often start out overly enthusiastic. Some of us have to dial down our first attempts, which can be overheated. So, cut them some slack. Next, I would recommend we look at the things we’ve previously included from previous stages. I’m going to include one item from Red, Blue, and Orange just to demonstrate:
From Red: Caring less about what other people think. When someone makes an outlandish claim about me, I need to employ my “water off a duck’s back” skill.
From Blue: Tenacity. After reviewing my behavior and my values, did I do the right thing, or can I learn from mistakes made? Either way, I’m committed to my personal growth.
From Orange: Using Mentors and Experts. Use skilled 3rd parties to continue learning.
From Green: Spirituality. Each level confronts us with challenges to our beliefs and values. This gives me a YADOG: yet another damn opportunity for growth.
What about ideas like integrity, compassion, patience? Why aren’t those on your list?
They should be, but thinking developmentally, those qualities are only partially developed at this point. This is a core insight that development theories have given me: until you, or I, or Uncle Joe integrates an expansive, liberating idea, skill, or worldview, our older habits will still show up. This is something impatient Greens don’t yet understand or accept: most of us change incrementally, not instantly. And we have days when we still fail. And…something else they might not yet get: condemning someone for past behavior or belief without including the opportunity for forgiveness will undermine growth. We know through therapy and 12-step programs the therapeutic benefits of talking about our previous mistakes. Why bother with growth-promoting behavior like candor or transparency if I may be potentially outed for immature behavior I did during less mature stages?
Hang in here with me. I am not saying we excuse earlier-level behavior; I’m saying we work to understand it. If I am a Green, I have evolved to a level where I understand the perspective not only of a person who’s had the cards stacked against them, but I can also understand the earlier versions of myself, when I could be insensitive or ignorant of others. I was fortunate to work 40 years in a diverse workplace and have friends and mentors who helped me widen my own circles of acceptance. That work continues.
That work continues? You’re over 70, when will you get there?
I’m a developing human being. It does not end. I fall down, I get up. I stumble, and right myself. I start to say something that comes from an old dormant habit, catch myself, remember my developing values, and find more compassionate words.
