an introductory guide to maturity and identity maturation 

“My identity is my needs and wants.”

Rough population size in organisations: < 5% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

At this stage, people see their identity as tied to their immediate needs and desires. Their thinking is straightforward and focused on survival, often leading to short-term, opportunistic behaviour.

• Ethics aren't a priority here; the main concern is figuring out how to navigate life to meet their needs. This can sometimes clash with collective efforts, as those in the Self-protecting stage may prioritise their own needs, even if it means others are negatively impacted.
• This is a normal stage of development that young adults go through. Getting stuck here is mostly as a result of trauma.
• This behaviour is very useful in difficult circumstances, such as dangerous prisons, gangs, refugee camps, and maybe even war. It helps us to survive. It can even be useful in moments of sectoral growth or chaos, such as gold rushes, transitional economies, new market developments, and security management.
• In highly regulated environments, people at this level may not work in the long-term best interests of the organisation.

“My identity is what my group wants.”

Rough population size in organisations: 12% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

At the Conforming stage, identity is shaped by external influences. People start to see themselves through the lens of how society, peers, and family view them. This often leads to behaving in ways that align with societal expectations, with labels like "good leader" or "bad leader" reinforcing these identities.

• It is difficult for people at this stage to take in and digest negative feedback. Negative feedback tends to be experienced as a criticism and an existential threat unless carefully couched as something the group wants. Any difference, including that of opinions, is seen as problematic and a criticism.
• People at this stage add a lot of value to the organisation by strengthening social cohesion, stabilising systems, building compliance, and executing strategy in a stable market. They are less effective at including diverse groups because of their strong orientation to their own groups.
• The existential challenge at this stage is balancing the desire to fit in with the urge to express one's individuality. People may fear stepping out of line, worried that doing so could lead to rejection by their community and endanger their existence.

“My identity is my craft logic or professional knowledge.”

Rough population size in organisations: 36% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

At this stage, people define themselves by their professional expertise and the logical, rational thinking developed through education and work. Identities are easily conflated with job identities. For example, transferring a way of behaving from work into a home life that may not be contextually appropriate.

People at the Specialising stage excel at technical tasks and adhering to professional norms, but they tend to struggle with emotions and uncertainty. Emotions are often seen as less than useful, especially in the workplace, where they should be “left at the door”. At this stage, we can view certainty as something that could and should be cured by more information or rules.

The focus here is on inputs and processes, not outcomes. We see this in most strategic documents where the emphasis is on inputs or outputs. Similarly, we’ll find little about the role of culture in creating outcomes because the focus is on the quantitative, tangible elements of strategy. Culture requires qualitative abstract thinking, which is not always present at this level of maturity.

The existential challenge at the Specialising stage is reconciling the value of feelings with an often rigid, rational approach to life and work. Specialising individuals may view themselves more as efficient machines than complex emotional human beings. However, they are also realising that emotions are beyond their control and that they are much more than a sum of their biological parts.

“My identity is the outcomes I create.”

Rough population size in organisations: 30% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

Individuals at the Performing stage have developed a stronger inner sense of self and a deeper emotional understanding of others. They are skilled at combining technical expertise with human insights to create meaningful outcomes. The focus here is on outcomes and what it takes to create these. There is broader and more flexible thinking around inputs because the focus is on what creates outcomes regardless of how scientifically valid or irrational the inputs may be.

At this stage, people often feel confident. They may even believe they’ve found the "recipe for life". Negative feedback may still feel uncomfortable, but because individuals at the Performing stage know that feedback can bring new insight and value to outcomes, they are more open to accepting it. They bring this same attitude to diversity and inclusion, and start to see difference as a source of value.

People at these stages make great leaders in a capitalist system. They meet the shareholder requirements and legal frameworks with effective strategies and execution. These leaders balance technical and interpersonal skills to create great outcomes. They can work well with culture and innovation, and cope with uncertainty better than people at the Specialising stage.

During this stage, the inner world of people at the performing stage becomes much richer and more active. They become more interested in their own motivations, values, feelings, purpose, and meaning. Yet this also becomes an existential challenge when they find that their inner worlds are potentially at odds with their outer worlds.

“My feelings and inner world are balancing me.”

Rough population size in organisations: 11% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

As people move into the Internalising stage, the inner journey becomes the focus for growth. They want to understand themselves more fully and create a life that aligns with their inner worlds, rather than with societal expectations.

Typically, people start to explore aspects of themselves that they may have neglected before, including feelings, backgrounds, parents, societal norms, and majority consensus. These minority areas are strengthened during this time, balancing out the other areas developed during the conventional stages of maturity.

• The Internalising stage is marked by an expanded sense of identity and a greater appreciation for diversity, both within themselves and in the world around them. In fact, some people at Internalising can even overplay the minority card, choosing to back the underdog within themselves and others.
• People at the Internalising stage tend to be inclusive, automatically understanding the value of multiple perspectives. They have access to a strong inner world that can integrate greater good ideas into decision-making and facilitate extraordinarily innovative strategies.
• Yet things can also become very relative during this time. In this relativity, objectivity is lost to ground and centre decisions. As a result, decision-making can become difficult, and people can feel very lost.
• The Internalising stage can also be a time of uncertainty and isolation, as old identities fall away and new ones emerge. The challenge here is finding a community that supports one's evolving self while navigating the complexities of one's shifting identity. There is also the challenge of moving from the perspective that everything is relative to recognising some indisputable facts that are not.

“A system is balancing me.”

Rough population size in organisations: 5% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

Individuals at the Strategising stage have developed the capacity to process information on multiple levels - cognitively, emotionally, and spiritually. This is a confident and cognitive time where people balance out the often very emotional time at the previous stage with systemic thinking and objective facts. They begin to see the world more systematically and understand how to shape it to achieve their goals.

• Like in earlier stages, people at this stage use maps of reality to make sense of things. The difference here is that the maps are complex and overlaid. They use complex terms rooted in methodologies that are often beyond the ken of the average person. This can make it difficult for others to understand their position.
• A key value people at Strategising offer is their ability to read current and future systems and build strategies that align with the natural progression of these systems over extended periods. This makes them highly effective leaders that can deal with uncertainty, nudge cultures, innovate and predict trends. It may also predispose them to being somewhat arrogant at times.
• The existential dilemma that emerges at this stage is the sense that the maps they use could take them away from understanding reality, rather than towards it. When this happens, individuals at Strategising begin to look to their feelings and senses as a source of growth and grounding in reality. This takes them to the next stage: Transforming.

“Who I am is balancing me.”

Rough population size in organisations: < 2% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

The Transforming stage marks a shift from the cognitive, socially driven mindset of Strategising to a deeper focus on emotions and meaning. At this stage, we organise our meaning-making around feelings rather than facts and begin to see that meaning is something we create rather than receive. Critically, we learn that meaning is malleable and constructed, and can be built in a way that supports the greater good or not.

• The magic that people at the Transforming stage offer is to change the meaning of an event, integrating broader perspectives and time frames, multiple perspectives, and balancing out majority views with minority values. While some of this is cognitive work using maps of reality, feelings and the greater good are the biggest sources of meaning-making for these people.
• People at this stage tend to connect on a human level, enhancing their authenticity and charisma. This makes them excellent leaders who can connect at all levels. However, they may be less interested in using their skills in corporations and prefer to devote their energy to greater good projects.

“I am just being.”

Rough population size in organisations: < 1% (Cook-Greuter, 2013).

Less than 1% of people mature to this stage. This occurs when people at the Transforming stage notice that even feelings and language are just maps, and maps are not reality. As a result, they seek to connect with reality and the flow of life more directly, outside of maps. Being connected in this way allows for intimate connection with the flow of life, and there is no desire to control or direct the course of events. They are just being.

Note: The descriptions above are largely influenced by Cook-Greuter's work, especially the descriptions of later stages. Aside from Cook-Greuter, there is limited research on later stages because so few people progress there. The maturity stage population percentages are sourced from Cook-Greuter’s work in the UK and EU.