Even for those of us steeped in organizational culture change, workplace culture can feel a bit elusive. We all talk about it, but what does it actually mean, and how can we shape it?

Learning & Development is one way. It’s our favorite way at Experience Institute. We’ve designed and delivered learning programs that have made our partners’ workplaces more innovative, more resilient, and more feedback-oriented. But it’s certainly not the only way—or even the best way for all organizations. So, how else can you shape and shift a workplace culture? And where should you start?

With those questions swirling in our minds, Sara and I headed off to soak up some wisdom (and share a smidge of our own!) at the Culture Summit in San Diego last week. It’s an impossible task to summarize all we learned from our co-presenters and the practitioners we met. So, I thought I’d share what I’ve found myself reflecting on most since returning—a model that offers a structured way of looking at how culture is built and sustained.

Cultural Architecture: A Framework for Understanding Workplace Culture

Reference: Derek Newberry's session at Culture Summit

According to Derek, Head of Organization + Culture Design at co:collective and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Cultural Architecture defines the relationships between different aspects of the employee experience. It helps clarify which elements should remain consistent and where diversity and experimentation can be encouraged.

At the center of this framework is the core ethos—the foundation of why an organization exists, how we show up at work, and what makes the organization unique. This includes things like an organization’s purpose, values, mission, and vision.

Surrounding that core are three distinct yet interconnected layers:

• Everyday Practices: These are the regular, recurring aspects of work—performance evaluations, daily meetings, and other habitual actions that shape day-to-day experience.

• Major Moments: These include significant events like onboarding, product launches, work anniversaries, and awards. These pivotal experiences often leave a lasting impression on employees and reinforce core values.

• Spaces & Places: This layer includes the physical and digital environments where work happens, from office layouts to collaboration tools like Slack. These spaces influence how people connect, communicate, and collaborate.

You can visualize it like this:

I like this model because it captures the idea that culture is both top-down and bottom-up. It depends on establishing a strong direction and consistent identity from the top, but also on team leaders and individual contributors who bring the culture to life in their day-to-day.

Architecting a Workplace Culture

I’d argue that we’re all architects of culture, not just the C-Suite or people who have “employee experience” in their title, and not just in the workplace either. But let’s start there because that’s what the framework is designed for, after all.

Derek recommends beginning by clarifying the core. Again, that’s the reason for being and what makes your organization unique. This is not something you’ll accomplish in a day and you’ll need input and buy-in from leadership. Start by making sure you can answer questions like:

• Does your organization have a clear purpose? Is it aspirational and inspirational?

• Who are your stakeholders? How can you uniquely help them meet their needs?

• What are your values? Are they observable and measurable through behaviors? Do your values apply to your internal work and to your external work, for example, your interactions with customers?

Once you’ve got the core down, identify the “saying vs. doing gaps” between the values you promote and what actually happens day-to-day. Let's say one of your core values is making time for human connection, even when the pace of work is fast. You’ve noticed that this isn't happening—a birthday is missed, an employee purchased her first home six months ago but no one on her team celebrated her win, a colleague just sent a daughter off to college for the first time and you had no idea. This might be an example of a saying vs. doing gap. These gaps arise when there’s a disconnect between what’s preached and what’s practiced—when values are posted on the wall but not always lived out in daily interactions.

So, how could you architect more human connection into your work? Think about low-lift, high-impact shifts in the three layers of the model: everyday practices, major moments, and spaces and places. Could you introduce a new everyday practice by adding a 2-minute personal check-in at the beginning of every meeting? Could you create a monthly human connection award for someone embodying this value? Could you make a change in the way that your office kitchen is set up to make it easier to dine together?

Where Else Might This Apply?

As I said, we are all architects of culture, inside and outside of the workplace. So, this is your invitation to bite off an improvement to your culture at work or to think more broadly about the communities you belong to and their unique cultures. Perhaps you coach a sports team. How could you celebrate major moments that aren’t just wins in a way that reinforces your values? In a college dorm, what daily practices could foster belonging? How might the physical spaces of a religious congregation reflect its mission? Could you identify the “saying vs. doing gaps” in your parenting or how you are showing up in your marriage?

I’d love to hear what comes of your Cultural Architecture experiment. Connect with me on LinkedIn to share your thoughts and let’s keep the conversation going. While you’re there, check out Derek Newberry’s insights as well!