Culture Building Canvas |
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What is it
A framework based on “influence channels” that shape and define an organization’s culture.
Why use it
- Build and foster healthy cultures in a respectful, inclusive, transparent manner.
- Reduce the time needed to introduce such changes, by identifying the initial steps which can be taken right away.
- Helps teams develop an actionable, specific culture change plan for their organization.
When to use it
When trying to establish and foster a new set of shared cultural attributes.
Level
Intermediate
Outcome
Scope
Group Size
4+ people
Suggested Time
60+ minutes
Culture Building Canvas
How to do it
STEP 1
Assemble a small culture team. Give each participant a copy of the Culture Building Canvas to use (ideally on 11×17 paper).
STEP 2
Describe the shared beliefs and behaviors that would be found in this culture, filling in the boxes on the left side of the canvas.
STEP 3
Write some adjectives in the “What does the Desired Culture look like?” section, such as creative, compliant, collaborative, speed-oriented, risk-averse, thrifty, creative, etc.
STEP 4
List people, organizations, or groups that already exhibit the desired culture in the “Where does the Desired Culture already exist?” section.
STEP 5
Fill out the four quadrants with specific answers to the italicized prompts. Include existing items that support the desired culture, as well as new items that need to be developed. Write action sentences, such as “Ms. X meets with Group Y and says Z,” or “Increase offerings of Course ABC by X%.”
STEP 6
Identify any contradictory messages coming through these channels. Recognize that enthusiasm in one channel can be contradicted by silence in another.
STEP 7
Circle the concrete actions in each quadrant that contribute to conveying a consistent, coherent message through all four quadrants.
Benefits
Clarifies desired cultural attributes & behaviors, provides material for developing a specific culture building action plan.
Challenges
- Culture building takes time. The action plan is just the first step.
- Harder to see immediate results from this tool than some others.
Combine With
- Problem Framing to define the problem to be solved
- Personas to understand your audience
- Stakeholder Engagement Tool for implementation (coming soon)