What Are The Five Maturities—and Why Are They Important? A Brief Overview
Over the last few weeks, we’ve introduced you to The Five Maturities through our free Discussion Series. We have been thrilled with the response and conversations, and we appreciate all that we have learned from the hundreds of participants in terms of what you all are looking for.
This approach represents a new paradigm for coaching and the development of coaches that prioritizes collaborative maturation in support of better outcomes.
However, The Five Maturities might still seem more theoretical than practical. Terms like "mastery" and "maturity" are broad and conceptual as well.
We believe this new work from David is vital for our professional futures and our contributions to what the world needs most right now. For those who are drawn to its potential, we’d like to start by breaking down each of the five maturities and explore how you can leverage them to enhance your personal growth, strengthen your client relationships, and upgrade your coaching practice.
New to The Five Maturities? You can download the report here.
The Importance of Focusing on Maturity
We live in an era of heightened distractions.
With increasing demands on our time, attention, and energy — coupled with greater systemic challenges — it's easy to feel disconnected from ourselves, nature, and each other.
The Five Maturities offers a framework through which we can work with greater autonomy, authenticity, and agility. It offers both a new paradigm and a pragmatic approach to support the evolution of us, our practices, and coaching itself.
It advocates for moving beyond competency models to measure progress. It values all of who we are and what we bring to our work. It prioritizes the growth of the client and the working relationship in line with decades of research. It acknowledges that every gain in our mastery requires a matching gain in our maturity to be sustainable and adaptive.
Maturity goes beyond acquiring more books or pieces of information. It’s about how we care for ourselves, position ourselves, and more. So, let’s dive into each aspect of maturity and discover how it can advance your coaching practice.
What Are the Five Maturities?
Traditional approaches to coaching often focus on a one-size-fits-all approach.
But the true measure of our success is reflected in the client's growth and the progress they make with what matters most to them.
To empower our clients and decentralize our role, we need a new approach. Here’s how each of the Five Maturities supports your mastery and helps you achieve this aim in practice:
- Personal Maturity. This supports your Capacity in terms of what you can draw on from within yourself as you work with clients. Examples include your ability to: self-regulate in challenging moments; be open to growth through feedback; and be aware of your assumptions and formulations. This maturity is the foundation for all the others.
- Spiritual Maturity. This supports your Clarity in terms of what you can see in the ‘field’ as you relate to clients. Examples include your ability to: build a strong, adaptive working alliance with clients; remain radically present in the moment; and astutely get to the crux of issues.
- Professional Maturity. This supports your Competency in terms of what you can do as you work with clients. Examples include: understand the essential elements of your trade; be clear about the role you play; and abide by ethical guidelines and a duty of care.
- Social Maturity. This supports your Capability in terms of how wisely you can use what you know as you work with clients. Examples include your ability to: adapt your approach in line with clients’ contextual narratives; show up to ‘moments of meeting’ for collaborative growth; and structure your process so clients are supported after sessions.
- Contextual Maturity. This supports your Credibility in terms of what you can understand as you work with clients and achieve as a result. Examples include: adapt your role to support what is emerging; draw on elements and objects in guiding clients in serious play; and accurately reflect back to clients what you observe in service of what they are seeking.
We need to spend more time where and how our clients need us most. Our mastery as practitioners is built on what Gabor Mate calls our “emotional architecture” — in other words, our maturity. This calls us to ask ourselves questions such as "Who do I need to be right now to support what is unfolding?” and “How can I best serve the process and the client’s growth?”
Help your clients implement and integrate what they've learned during their time with you. By de-centering ourselves and using our time and energy in new ways, we can better support clients in making the changes they seek.
Watch The Five Maturities Discussion
The Five Maturities is a new paradigm for coaching and coach development that prioritizes collaborative growth for better outcomes. Initiating this discussion with our community has been very rewarding and well-received.
While this work started in coaching, it has much to offer other practitioners such as our Integrative Development graduates.
We’re hosting free discussion sessions to explore The Five Maturities and how they can serve as scaffolding for your growth.
These sessions are an opportunity to learn more and engage in conversations about the changing coaching landscape and your quest for greater maturity as a person and as a practitioner.
In our last discussion, we covered:
- Why is the focus on maturity important?
- What are The Five Maturities?
- What is the core gift in each one?
Watch the replay here:
If you feel called to explore these themes further, we invite you to join The Five Maturities Discussion Series. Here, you’ll find a supportive space to discuss the maturities, learn from others, and deepen your personal growth and professional impact.
You’ll also learn about our plans for deeper immersions in the work coming up.
Want to join us? Register for the next Five Maturities session here!
In gratitude,
David & The Moment Institute Team
