Susan Cook Greuter’s 10 levels of Ego Development
The Opportunist (Level 2/10) ~ 4.3% of the adult population
The Opportunist is driven by the immediate satisfaction of their own needs and desires. They seek advantages and act primarily from a short-term perspective. Opportunists are capable of manipulating, deceiving, and coercing others into caring for them, while possessing a pervasive distrust of the world and limited self-control.
The Diplomat (Level 4/10) ~ 11.3% of the adult population
Focused on conforming to socially expected behaviors, the Diplomat seeks signs of approval and acceptance from their peers. They strive for the comforting sense of belonging and acceptance, avoiding all types of conflicts (both internal and external), conforming to rules, and are easily plagued by shame and guilt.
The Expert (Level 5/10) ~ 36.5% of the adult population
Deeply engaged and captivated by the logic of their own thought system, Experts see their way of thinking as the only correct one. They have strong convictions, base their decisions on indisputable facts, and strive for perfection. It’s difficult to tell an Expert something they don’t already know or know better. Experts often compare themselves to others, are critical, and compete with those around them.
The Achiever (Level 6/10) ~ 29.7% of the adult population
Focused on efficiently achieving goals and obtaining success, Achievers are proactive and scientific. They begin to appreciate complexity and multiple perspectives. They are often blind to the subjectivity behind objectivity. More information forthcoming.
The Individualist (Level 7/10) ~ 11.3% of the adult population
Marked by strong individualism. Concentrated experiences of the present and individual reality. Unique implementations independent of social roles and external conventions.
The Strategist (Level 8/10) ~ 4.9% of the adult population
Self-realization, one’s personal destiny, and the affirmation of individual potential. Integration of theory and principle into action. Creative integration of diverse types of knowledge.
The Magician (Level 9/10) ~ 1.5% of the adult population
Deep underlying processes and intercultural evolution. The synergy of awareness, thought, action, and result, and the transformation of the environment and society.
The Ironist (Level 10/10) ~ 0.5% of the adult population
Integrated, evolving. Boundary-crossing empathetic experiences. A subtle catalyst for organically powerful, long-term change. Reality is an organically evolving life pattern.
The Opportunist (Level 2/10) – 4.3% of the adult population
Pre-conventional – Dominated by the reptilian brain – Before identification with group and culture
Self-perception: Identifies self as their desires.
The world around: Competes with others for position, control, and power.
Discernment: “If I understand what others want, it’s easier to manipulate them into giving me what I want.”
Cognitive style: Concrete, based on global values and simplistic ideas, sees things in black and white.
Occupation: Seeks dominance through control and superiority or through manipulation. Has a strong fear of being manipulated, dominated, or controlled by others.
Decision-making style: “That’s your problem, not mine.”
Organizational style: Power and coercion.
Defense: Constantly blames others and distorts the perspective of situations to their own benefit to reduce stress and maximize self-esteem. Engages in fantasizing. Projects conflicts outward.
Depression: “There must be something wrong when things don’t go my way. I hate feeling controlled and restricted.”
Personality: Self-protective, stubborn, tunnel-visioned, and aggressive. Blames others for what happens to them. Entirely absorbed in their own concrete worldview. Focuses on the physical aspects of existence and bodily gratifications. Holds prejudiced views, polarizes arguments, and exploits others’ weaknesses.
Language: Good or bad. Right or wrong. Physical terms for non-physical concepts. Distinguishes only a few simple emotions: upset, sick, happy, angry.
Opportunists see the opportunities in situations and nearly all their energy is devoted to getting what they want. Adult opportunists are self-protective to cope with their fragile inner selves. They strongly experience themselves as divided between an inner self and an outer facade. They often do not state their desires because “if others know what I want, they have power over me.”
Opportunists resist the wills of the world to test boundaries and strengthen their own sense of control. The opportunist thinks “everyone is against me”. They react to feedback as if it were an attack or a threat.
Opportunists often get into trouble by crossing boundaries. Actions are only bad if they get caught and/or punished. Once discovered, the opportunist lacks both shame and remorse. They do not feel responsible for their failures or the trouble they cause. Others are blamed, never themselves.
Opportunists do not understand the relationship between actions and consequences. The ability to see things from a second-person perspective is a milestone in the opportunist’s development.
The Diplomat (Level 3/10) – 11.3% of the adult population
Conventional – Dominated by the mammalian brain, Strong identification with group norms
Self-perception: Identifies self through their relationship to a group.
The world around: “My group affiliation defines my identity and value.” Those who think differently are morally condemned.
Cognitive style: Interested in the concrete, visible aspects of experience, describing them with superlatives and conventional clichés. References to emotions are stereotypical, predictable, and align with cultural expectations.
Occupation: Conforms to rules and norms to belong to a group. Diplomats place great value on how they are perceived; status, possessions, reputation, and prestige are important. They deeply care about others’ opinions and evaluations of themselves. The shoulds and musts create shame and a strong fear of being embarrassed if not met.
Decision-making style: Decisions are made by the group, team, or leader.
Organizational style: Seeks acceptance and protection of a larger whole. Maintains current social norms; encourages, flatters, and demands conformity to the agenda.
Defense: Diplomats think, “others in my group think, feel, want, and experience the same things as I do,” hence it is easy for diplomats to swallow others’ definitions, norms, values, and opinions without questioning: “What the boss says must be true.”
Impulse control: Sexual and aggressive impulses are denied and suppressed due to the fear of rejection and/or abandonment.
Defense: Accepts all types of social and mental abuse. However, always tries to remain positive and see the best in others and the situation. Cares for others.
Language: Short, stereotypical phrases. Fond of clichés. Uses positive emotional words. Everything is fun and wonderful. Provides concrete descriptions and fact-based information.
Diplomats have a vague boundary between themselves and the group (whether it be the family, team, nation, etc.). Being part of the greater whole provides protection and strength in unity. The price for protection is loyalty and obedience. Diplomats put themselves in dependent positions and feel responsible in situations where they are not.
Diplomats experience feedback as if they are not accepted.
The Expert (Level 4/10) – 36.5% of the adult population
Conventional – Dominated by the mammalian brain, Strong identification with cultural values
Self-perception: Can now zoom out and view themselves from a distance. They have begun to objectify themselves and are thus capable of reflecting on their own nature. They see themselves as separate and focus on what makes them unique to understand, highlight, and enhance their own value.
The world around: “Separate and detached from me.”
Discernment: The Expert has a need to constantly compare and measure: “How are things and how are others in relation to how I think and value?”
Cognitive style: Capable of abstract thinking, seeing multiple perspectives, and making detailed comparisons.
Organizational style: Maintains control over oneself and one’s surroundings. Clear-sighted and goal-oriented. Seeks perfection through attention to detail. Asserts own position and dismisses others’ concerns.
Defense: Experts intellectualize, rationalize, and explain away anything that does not fit into their perception and expectations of reality.
Fear: Experts have just discovered their uniqueness and do not want to lose the sense of their unique value. They fear being drawn back into the group and becoming just another face in the crowd. They also fear that opening themselves up to others would lead to a loss of their convictions and their sense of self. Their superego or conscience is strong. The external world does not have access to this dimension of the Expert.
Personality: Like the Diplomat, wants to be accepted, but not by blending in—rather by standing out. In a group, they always seem to be on the verge of leaving but never take the step. They wish to appear better than others. Experts often feel they have realized how things really are, they have all the answers. They know what to believe, they feel justified. Experts often have a hostile sense of humor and tend to ridicule others. If they feel superior, they do not hide it well. One cannot tell an Expert something they do not already know or understand even better.
Language: More complex language syntax. Passive interest in cause and effect, “I wonder why.” Uses the imperfect tense. Responds with comparisons: “too much, not enough, reminds me of.” Indicates choices.
The Expert is deeply engrossed and fascinated by the logic of their own thought system and sees their way of thinking as the only correct one. They have strong convictions, base their decisions on indisputable facts, and strive for perfection.
The Expert takes feedback personally and defends their position vehemently, rejecting any feedback from those who are not considered the strongest in the field.
The Achiever (Level 5/10) – 29.7% of the adult population
Conventional – Dominated by the mammalian brain, strong identification with cultural functions
Self-perception: As things are (attributes) and as they should be (goals, ideals, and aspirations). Perceives self in society alongside people with similar ideals and aspirations.
This stage can be considered the goal level for our conventional society. Education and political systems aim to create achievers in society.
Occupation: Causes, reasons, goals, effective implementations, and achievements.
Truth: Can be ascertained through scientific methods, and if not currently possible, then it will be achievable later.
Style: Rational, analytical, decisive, fair, competent, often successful, and often has good self-confidence. Not particularly vulnerable to issues of acceptance or exclusion as the Diplomat or Expert might be. Shows loyalty to an ideology rather than to a person. Displays conviction, seriousness, and idealism. Achievers persuade through rational arguments instead of judgment and disparagement. They love theories and theorizing.
Organizational style: Emphasizes logical arguments, facts, statistics, and experience. Creates goal/task-oriented agreements and contracts.
Fear: Even more than Experts, Achievers fear the Diplomat’s mentality, i.e., dependence and subordination. Blind obedience and uncritical acceptance are seen as extremely dangerous and negative. Achievers are careful not to get swept up in fulfilling others’ goals without also achieving their own in the process.
Defense: Intellectualization, rationalization, and repression of the shadow are the main ways Achievers handle criticism and doubt.
The greatest deficiency with conventional levels of mentality is the acceptance of facts and the external world as real. There is a blindness to the constructed nature of truth, especially the myth of conventional science which is accepted without significant questioning. There is a complete belief that knowledge and measurements are the ultimate methods to control oneself, society, nature, and the world.
At the next level, we move from conventional to post-conventional stages. This implies a shift in security, from being based in rules and systems to one’s own interpretive ability outside of rules and systems. The intuitive experience increasingly becomes the source of truth one relies on.
Achievers receive feedback when it helps them achieve their goals and improve within their field.
The Individualist (Level 6/10) – 11.3% of the adult population
Post-conventional – Dominated by the human brain
Self-perception: Sees themselves from a relative fourth-person perspective. The Individualist begins to uncover social and cultural programming. Realizes that things are not as they have been presented. Recognizes how they have long deceived themselves, which leads them to step outside the system and forge their own reality and identity beyond the group, family, nation, and ideology.
Style & Occupation: Strong individualism. Intense, focused experiences in the present of the new “true” reality. Engages in unique endeavors completely independent of social roles or fulfilling any external conventions. The Individualist breathes freedom and experiences immense joy in their newly discovered personal world.
Organizational style: Ignores or follows rules depending on what the situation demands. Invents new rules when more appropriate. Discusses problems and airs differences.
Individualists distrust conventional wisdom and the rational creed that Achievers adhere to. There is a strong need to distance themselves from what came before. This involves a total reassessment of much of reality. It can be said that the Individualist is on a true journey of discovery.
Individualists cherish subjective reality, which is the only truly reliable thing. From focusing on doing in earlier stages, the focus shifts to being and feeling. The Individualist celebrates diversity and encourages everyone to have their own view of reality in ways that Experts and Achievers cannot comprehend. Differences are seen as strengths and are of utmost importance.
Judgment is considered the greatest sin. However, Individualists often struggle to see that they themselves can be very judgmental, especially towards Experts and Achievers. Individualists welcome feedback as a necessity for self-understanding and for illuminating hidden aspects of their personality.
Despite these remarkable discoveries, the Individualist is still just at the beginning of post-conventional thinking. In the coming stages—Strategist, Magician, and Ironist—we will see how their perception of reality and the experience of life itself radically changes and evolves.
The Strategist (Level 7/9) – 4.9% of the adult population
Post-conventional – Dominated by the frontal Lobe (human brain)
At the previous level (the Individualist), we began to uncover social and cultural programming and realized how we had long deceived ourselves. We started to step outside the system and create our own reality and identity beyond the group, family, nation, and ideology.
The Strategist is a more mature version of the Individualist, not only focusing their life around intense experiences of the new, true reality of the present but whose self is based on an inner experience of the present as the total integration and result of their entire history and potential future, their destiny. Thus, the Strategist sees fulfilling their potential as crucial for both themselves and others.
Self: A comprehensive experience of one’s own life history and future, in other words, one’s destiny, and its significance for the rest of humanity.
Occupation: Personal development, self-actualization, and fulfilling one’s personal potential.
Truth: No longer definable by scientific methods but can be approximated or estimated. More complex arguments are required as reality is described from an expanded fourth-person perspective.
Style: Well-balanced integration of body and mind, reason and emotion. Tolerant and insightful. High self-esteem and growth-oriented. Strongly principled. Behavior is an expression of the principles around which their life is centered. Accepts that there are many different viewpoints on what they discuss. Ready to make personal sacrifices and defend what they believe in by being a role model.
Inner dimension: Begins to realize that conflicts exist within oneself rather than outside.
Defense mechanisms: Strategists often defend their self in a mature manner; repression, altruism, humor, and positive anticipation. When using less mature defense mechanisms, they can be forgiving and understanding of themselves: “Right now, I need to do this, but I will be able to act more maturely later.”
Strong fear: Failing to fulfill their potential or to live up to the principles they base their life on. This, in relation to the outside world, makes Strategists easily impatient with others’ slow development and reluctance to grow.
Strategists utilize all kinds of information and knowledge. Logic, physical/bodily intelligence, intuition, dreams, and their highly developed imagination converge in their quest to understand reality and achieve their goals. Strategists are often intuitive, highly creative, and think outside the box.
Strategists welcome feedback as an aid to self-actualization.
The Strategist represents the highest level of life perspective where the experience of the self still holds a central position in the life experience.
The Magician (Level 9/10) – 1.5% of the adult population
Post-conventional – Dominated by the human brain
As we move into the last two stages, we realize that all objects are physical and mental constructions invented by humans. This includes abstract objects such as our perception of ourselves, time, and space.
Everything is based on layers upon layers of symbolic abstraction. Even everyday concepts like a chair are nothing more than crude simplifications of reality. Language has become an inadequate and blunt tool for conveying the rich experience of the reality one encounters.
At the two previous levels, the deconstruction of the conventional belief in a permanent object world began. This occurred through the realization that all objects can be given new meanings based on 1. how we choose to interpret the object and 2. depending on the contexts they are placed in. These filters purify and synthesize the information we take in.
At this level, reality is understood and perceived as an undivided, phenomenologically coherent whole, a chaos. Our fundamental assumptions about human nature and our propensity to create order from this chaos are the two major areas that Magicians and Ironists work with.
Self: Experiences themselves beyond their own culture from a historical, global perspective.
Occupation: Engages with conflicts around inner existential paradoxes, the creation of meaning, and the illusions formed by language and word systems.
Truth: Regardless of the level of intellect, abstraction, and cognitive insight achieved, one is always trapped in a kind of illusion, separated from the true reality.
Cognitive style: Sixth-person perspective. Sees the unifying patterns across different worldviews and life perspectives.
Organizational style: Reframing; the Magician turns structures inside out and upside down. Elegantly (or arrogantly) mirrors society and the broader context. Often operates behind the scenes.
Depression: The Magician increasingly realizes/experiences how their ego has functioned as a central synthesizing process for their view of reality and thus begins to question the purpose of further understanding, growth, and personal development. They feel that the pursuit of objective identification is futile due to the immense complexity and constant flux of true reality and life experience. This creates difficulties in relating to others and things.
The world around: Magicians have a strong desire to genuinely convey what lies behind the illusion of words and other summaries people use to manage and evaluate their reality.
The Magician is the one who sees the big black elephant in the middle of the room that no one else seems to notice. They are the child who cries out that the emperor has no clothes. When the Magician succeeds in conveying what to them is completely obvious, it can have a transformative effect on the entire organization. When they fail, it is their greatest sorrow.
It can almost be said that it is in the Magician’s nature to break up and clear away the stagnated societal forms that have come in the way of the organization’s/society’s core values and functions. Thus, the Magician can bring an extremely transformative effect on organizations and individuals.
Magicians can be perceived as dangerous and threatening to the survival of an organization, but are in fact probably among those who care the most about it. However, they are ready to leave stagnated cultures and systems, especially when hindered in their transformation work. In any case, Magicians are among those most capable of highlighting what is missing for the organization to flourish.
Magicians view feedback loops as a natural part of all living systems, essential if learning and change are to occur. They take it with a grain of salt.
The Ironist (Level 10/10) – 0.5% of the adult population
Post-postconventional – Unitive, integrated
The inherent conflicts present to varying degrees in the earlier conventional and post-conventional stages have been completely resolved in the Ironist. What remains is an amused observer witnessing a world where concepts like rules and control have lost their grip. A previous worldview shaped by language, thoughts, and ego; i.e., our self-experience, has been abandoned by the wayside to make room for a more universal, cosmic perspective. The separate self is now seen for nothing more than what it is: an illusion.
The Ironist has a strong sense of being an integrated part of the natural cosmic cycle: birth, growth, and death on all levels; biological, sociodynamic, societal – but also mental, philosophical, and astronomical. Everything, and truly everything, is an integrated part of the universe’s constantly evolving pattern of change.
An Ironist can experience the universe in a puddle, i.e., beyond the concrete, time-bound, and limited and into the eternal, symbolic. Various types of microcosms are discovered everywhere. The rational, time-bound consciousness is used only where necessary without being assigned either positive or negative value.
The fundamental insight into the transience, vulnerability, and changeability of existence breeds a warm empathy with all living things. With an almost supernatural sense of touch, Ironists master language on an intuitively transformative level. Through their ability to resolve conflicts and unlock seemingly impossible situations with their speech, Ironists prove that “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
People with the Ironist’s perspective are often perceived as humble and pleasant to be around, often not particularly engaged in opinion issues or group activities. In their leadership, they often function as a subtle catalyst for organically powerful, long-term change.
With their honest, self-evident, and unassuming way of navigating life, without compromising their unique identity, Ironists can awaken others to trust in themselves and their inner abilities. Those who have reached this level have abandoned the belief in ideals as something useful for themselves and instead trust in the underlying deep processes of intercultural evolution on which life itself is based.
Resting in pure goodwill.
Ontology.
Self: Integrated, evolving,
The World Around: Boundary-crossing empathetic experiences
Leadership Style: Subtle catalyst for organically powerful, long-term change
Cognitive Style: Integrative. Reality is an organically evolving life pattern.
Maxim #1 “Tell people that you love them. Life is too short for anyone to wonder if you love them or not. Say it to anyone who pops into your head.”
In the spirit of discovery, The Alchemist
