Culture Book Values Workshop

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Identify five to seven shared current and aspirational values supported by concrete team stories.

Use it when: Use during team formation, chartering, or culture reviews when documenting shared norms, practices, and commitments.

Skip it when: Skip when team values are dictated by external mandate without room for local definition, or when there is no commitment to maintain a culture book.

Group arrangement: Individual work, small groups of three to four (with pairs or quintets if math requires), then whole group

Timing: UWT suggested 45 minutes; original source lists core steps without specific time allocations.

Materials and tools

• One printed Core Values Reference Sheet per person (or digital link)
• Ten sticky notes per person
• Writing pens for all participants
• Four voting dot stickers per person (or digital voting dots)
• Whiteboard, wall space, or digital canvas divided into 'Current Values' and 'Wish Values'
• Countdown timer

Before participants arrive

1. Print or distribute the digital link to the Core Values Reference Sheet.
2. Label two wall areas or digital canvas columns: 'Current Values (Who We Are)' and 'Wish Values (Who We Want to Become)'.
3. Place sticky notes, pens, and voting dots at participant tables.

Say this to open

Today we are selecting the foundation for our team culture book. A culture book works best when it connects clear principles to real experiences. First, you will independently select values that describe how we actually operate today, alongside wish values that describe what we aim to become. Then we will share brief stories that illustrate those values in action.

How to run it

1. Select candidate values 8 minutes

   Speak the opening script. Distribute the values reference list. Ask each participant to silently review the list and write down up to three current values and up to two wish values on separate sticky notes, one value per note. Participants may choose unlisted values if needed. Stop writing when the timer sounds.

2. Share stories in small groups 12 minutes

   Divide participants into groups of three or four. If the participant count does not divide evenly, form pairs or quintets as needed so nobody is left out. Each person shares their candidate values and tells a brief 60-second story: either a past event demonstrating a current value, or a situation where a wish value would have improved an outcome. Participants may pass on telling a story.

3. Post and consolidate values 10 minutes

   Regroup as a whole room. Have all participants post their individual sticky notes directly onto the wall under the matching 'Current Values' or 'Wish Values' column. Facilitate clustering identical or synonymous terms together. Read the resulting cluster titles aloud.

4. Vote and resolve ties 8 minutes

   Give each participant four voting dots: two for current values and two for wish values. Participants place dots on the clusters they consider most essential. Announce the top three to four current values and top two to three wish values by dot count to establish five to seven total. If items are tied at the cutoff, run an immediate 60-second runoff vote where each participant places one dot among the tied items. If ties remain, the team lead or facilitator decides the final inclusion.

5. Debrief and assign story collection 7 minutes

   Review the final five to seven values on the board. Hear two or three observations using the debrief prompts. Ask for volunteers to document the selected values and draft the accompanying stories into the team culture book.

Debrief questions

• Which selected value best reflects how decisions are made here on a difficult day?
• What is one practical action we need to take this month to live into our top wish value?
• Which story shared today best illustrates our values in action for someone joining the team?

Finished output: A prioritized list of five to seven core and wish values supported by candidate team stories, ready for documentation in a team culture book.

Remote

Use a shared digital whiteboard with pre-labeled frames for 'Current Values' and 'Wish Values'. Run small-group story sharing in breakout rooms of three to four people for 12 minutes. Use virtual voting pins or dots for selection.

Hybrid

All participants use a shared digital whiteboard as the single source of truth. In-person attendees post digital notes on the board alongside remote participants. For small-group sharing, form purely remote video breakouts and separate in-person small groups to prevent audio interference. If pairing a remote attendee with an in-person buddy at a laptop station, both people use their own devices to post individual notes and cast their own votes independently; the in-person buddy ensures the remote attendee has priority speaking time during small group discussion.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may select values and decline to tell a personal story.
• Provide the values reference sheet in advance for screen reader review or early reflection.
• Written sticky notes allow participants to contribute without speaking publicly.

If the session gets stuck

Participants submit abstract buzzwords without clear operational meaning.

Ask the contributor for a concrete example: 'What specific action did someone take recently that demonstrated this word?'

A cluster receives contradictory interpretations from different participants.

Split the cluster into distinct sticky notes under separate labels so the room can vote on the specific definitions.

Terms used here

• Culture Book: A documented, evolving collection of a team's core principles, behaviors, and real-life stories.
• Wish Values: Aspirational principles that the team commits to practicing but does not yet demonstrate consistently.