Listen
Start with survey commentary, recurring friction, and what teams are already experiencing in practice.
The Model
A repeatable system for turning feedback into practice.
CST gives culture work an operating model. It starts with real signals, defines a specific behavior shift, tests practical interventions, gathers feedback, and shares what works.
Overview
Listen. Define. Test. Learn. Share.
The model is designed to make culture work observable, practical, and repeatable rather than abstract.
- Listen: start with survey themes, recurring friction, and lived experience.
- Define: clarify the shift through an
Avoid -> Embrace -> Becauselens. - Test: use small rituals, prompts, and culture hacks to make the shift actionable.
- Learn: identify what is working, what is unclear, and what should be adjusted.
- Share: make the learnings visible so the work can travel beyond one team.
Process
How the model moves from signals to action.
The model is meant to move from broad culture themes into practical, observable changes in how work gets done.
Define
Use an Avoid -> Embrace -> Because placemat to make the desired shift explicit.
Test
Translate the shift into prompts, rituals, and culture hacks teams can actually use.
Learn
Check what people are adopting, where things are unclear, and what is creating useful movement.
Share
Capture the learnings and turn individual team experiments into shared organizational knowledge.
Framing Tool
How teams define the shift.
What behavior are we moving away from, what are we moving toward, and why does that shift matter?
Avoid
Identify the current pattern, habit, or norm that is creating drag, confusion, or low trust.
Embrace
Define the behavior that should become visible in meetings, communication, learning, ownership, or recognition.
Because
State why the shift matters in plain language so the change feels purposeful instead of performative.
Culture Hacks
Small experiments teams can actually try.
CST works through practical interventions teams can try, observe, and improve. The point is to operationalize culture, not over-describe it.
Protected time
Make development visible in the calendar so learning becomes part of the work instead of an afterthought.
Visible input
Show where stakeholder feedback shaped the work so partnership feels credible, responsive, and shared.
Visible context
Pair decisions with the why behind them so teams align faster and reduce avoidable rework.
Named ownership
Close loops with owners, due dates, and expected outcomes so momentum can be sustained.
Visible recognition
Make contribution easier to see so goals, recognition, and team momentum stay connected.
Why It Matters
It keeps culture work practical, observable, and shared.
The model creates a path from lived experience to behavior change to visible learnings, which is what keeps the initiative useful.