Mapping Organizational Culture

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Document and connect observed workplace behaviors to specific business outcomes and structural organizational drivers.

Use it when: Use when diagnosing team dynamics, preparing for an organizational change, or investigating why stated company values do not match daily operational habits.

Skip it when: Skip when evaluating individual performance, when direct managers must attend and prevent candid critique, or when participants lack shared day-to-day work context.

Group arrangement: Parallel peer groups of 4 to 6. For awkward totals, form groups of 3 to 5 (e.g., 7 splits into 3 and 4; 13 into 4, 4, 5) without direct supervisors present.

Timing: Source indicates 15 minutes for individual sketches up to 90 minutes for full groups. UWT sets 60 minutes for small group mapping and debrief.

Materials and tools

• 1 large poster or whiteboard per group (A0 size or roughly 36x48 inches)
• Sticky notes in 3 distinct colors (one color for behaviors, one for outcomes, one for enablers and blockers), 1 pad of each color per subgroup
• Fine-tip dry erase or flipchart markers, 1 per person

Before participants arrive

1. Draw the Culture Map template on each group's poster or board, dividing it into three horizontal zones from top to bottom: Outcomes (top), Behaviors (middle), and Enablers & Blockers (bottom).
2. Separate participants into peer groups of 3 to 6 who work together, making sure direct managers are placed in separate groups or rooms.

Say this to open

We are going to map our culture using a clear visual framework. Think of a garden: outcomes are the harvest, daily behaviors are how the garden grows, and enablers or blockers are the soil, weather, tools, and weeds that drive those behaviors. We will start by listing concrete behaviors we see every day, map their direct results, and then identify the systemic causes behind them. Write one observation per sticky note.

How to run it

1. Introduce map sections 5 minutes

   Explain the three layers of the map: Outcomes at the top (the business results or harvest), Behaviors in the middle (what people actually say and do day to day), and Enablers/Blockers at the bottom (organizational policies, tools, habits, or structures that cause behaviors). Read the opening script and confirm that direct managers are working in separate spaces.

2. Brainstorm and cluster behaviors 15 minutes

   Each person silently writes concrete daily behaviors on sticky notes of the first color for 5 minutes. Behaviors must describe visible actions, like a scene in a movie. Example: 'Engineers deploy hotfixes directly without code reviews when release deadlines are under 24 hours' rather than 'People feel rushed.' Participants post notes in the middle band. The group clusters duplicates. Each participant then uses a marker to dot-vote on 3 notes they want to examine. The 3 to 5 notes with the most votes move forward.

3. Map business outcomes 15 minutes

   Take the selected behaviors one by one. Team members write direct business outcomes on sticky notes of the second color. Place each outcome in the top band directly above its behavior and draw a connecting marker line. Ask: 'What happens to our work, customers, or team because of this behavior?' Keep the relationship simple: aim for one primary outcome per behavior.

4. Map enablers and blockers 15 minutes

   Take the selected behaviors one by one. Team members write organizational causes on sticky notes of the third color. Place each note in the bottom band directly below its behavior and draw a connecting marker line. Ask: 'What metrics, incentives, missing tools, or workplace rules lead people to act this way?' Aim for one primary systemic driver per behavior.

5. Examine relationships and debrief 10 minutes

   Have groups review their completed vertical chains. Invite 1 or 2 volunteer groups to present one single chain (enabler/blocker to behavior to outcome) to the full room. Select 1 or 2 debrief questions from the provided list based on the themes that emerged and hear 2 or 3 quick responses to conclude the session.

Debrief questions

• Which behaviors surprised you by having systemic enablers rather than personal motivations?
• Looking at the blockers on your map, which single lever is most directly within your team's control to change?
• What is one positive behavior on your map that needs stronger structural support to continue?

Finished output: A visual three-tiered Culture Map per subgroup linking specific daily behaviors directly to their business outcomes and organizational drivers.

Remote

Set up a shared digital whiteboard with pre-drawn three-band Culture Map canvases. Place participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 6. Designate color-coded digital sticky notes for Behaviors, Outcomes, and Enablers/Blockers. Participants place notes into the bands and use digital connector lines to link them vertically.

Hybrid

Form fully virtual breakout groups on a digital canvas and fully in-person groups using physical wall posters. During whole-room debriefs, project the digital canvas while pointing a room camera at the physical wall poster so all groups can follow along.

Access and participation choices

• Offer typed or verbal sticky note input for participants with motor or handwriting limitations.
• Allow participants to contribute notes anonymously or pass on speaking during group discussions without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

Participants write abstract attitudes instead of observable actions, such as 'Bad attitude' or 'Lack of trust.'

Ask: 'If this were captured on video, what would people actually be doing or saying?' Direct them to describe the visible action.

The map becomes an unreadable web with crisscrossing lines connecting every behavior to multiple outcomes.

Enforce the constraint of one primary outcome above and one primary enabler or blocker below each selected behavior.

Terms used here

• Enablers and Blockers: The organizational systems, rewards, metrics, policies, or lack of tools that encourage or discourage specific workplace actions.