Organizational Culture
MethodKit for Organizational Culture

Read and shape how your
organization really works.

61 cards covering every facet of organizational culture, from the objects on the walls and the stories people tell, to who actually holds power and what happens when things go wrong. Put them on the table and the whole culture comes into view.

Explore the library Free to read
61 cards for organizational culture
One deck · one culture · every angle
61cards
9themes
305questions to explore
1shared read
01.

What this kit is

Culture is what people do when no one is enforcing it. It is mostly invisible, set by behavior not by posters, and you can both read it and shape it. Four starting points.

Culture is behavior, not a poster
Idea 01Values on the wall and culture in practice are often two different things. The real culture is what gets rewarded, what gets tolerated, and what happens when no one senior is in the room.
Most of it is invisible
Idea 02Culture lives in the unwritten rules, the small rituals, the way meetings run, the stories people tell each other over lunch. You can only shape what you can first see and name.
You read it before you shape it
Idea 03Trying to change a culture without understanding it is like renovating a building without knowing which walls are load-bearing. The cards help you slow down and look carefully before you act.
A shared map makes change possible
Idea 04Culture change fails when people have different pictures of where things stand. Laying every part on the table gives everyone one honest view to work from, argue over, and build on.
02.

Read a culture in four moves

You cannot fix a culture you have not honestly read first. Before you reach for the whole deck, start with these four cards. They surface the gap between what an organization says about itself and what it actually does, which is where the real culture lives.

01 Feel the room

Start with Atmosphere (card 2). The general vibe is the fastest read you have: the energy in a meeting, what gets joked about, how people sound when the boss leaves. It tells you in minutes what a values statement takes months to reveal.

02 Compare words to deeds

Put Values (card 56) next to Consistency (card 6). One is what the organization claims, the other is whether it lives up to that day to day. The distance between the two is the single most honest measure of a culture's health.

03 Watch what gets rewarded

Look at Recognition (card 39). Culture is set by what gets praised, tolerated, and quietly punished, not by what gets written down. Whatever behavior earns recognition here is the behavior you will get more of, whatever the posters say.

04 Listen for the warning signs

End with Signals (card 49). Burnout, turnover, the things people stop saying out loud: these are the symptoms that tell you whether the culture is sustaining people or slowly wearing them down. Notice them before you decide what to change.

03.

From reading the culture to shaping it

Culture is not a checklist you complete in order, so treat this as a sense-making arc, not a sequence. It moves from understanding what a culture is, to seeing where it shows up, to finding the levers that shape it, to changing it on purpose. Read first, shape second.

01What the culture is

The foundations that sit underneath everything else: the stated values, the mission and philosophy, the goals, and the spoken and unspoken expectations and rules people are held to. Start here to understand what the organization believes it is.

02Where it shows up day to day

The visible signals where culture actually lives: the objects and stories, the atmosphere, the language and rituals, how people greet each other and communicate, what the space and dress code say, and how the place behaves under pressure. This is the everyday experience, the culture you can see and hear.

03What shapes & reinforces it

The levers that quietly set the culture: how leaders behave, how power and structure are arranged, who gets hired and how they are welcomed in, what gets rewarded and paid, the tools and processes people work through, and the world outside that presses in. Pull these and the culture shifts.

04Living it together

What the culture feels like to be inside of: whether people belong and are treated fairly, how openly things are shared, how people collaborate, grow, and stay engaged, and whether the conditions of work keep people well or wear them out. This is the human experience the culture produces.

05Shaping it on purpose

The work of changing a culture deliberately and making the change stick: taking the temperature, watching the warning signs, reading satisfaction and performance, holding on to the people you want, building strong teams, and sustaining all of it over time. Only do this once you have honestly read the rest.

04.

The library

Search freely or filter by theme. Each card is one facet of organizational culture with its own page: how it shows up day to day, questions to discuss, and things to watch for.

Filter by theme

Showing all 61 cards

Card 1: Artifacts 1Artifacts The signs & objects that tell our story Signals & Artifacts Card 2: Atmosphere 2Atmosphere The general vibe in the organization Signals & Artifacts Card 3: Attendence & scheduling 3Attendence & scheduling Work hours, flexibility & remote work Wellbeing & Balance Card 4: Celebration 4Celebration What & how we celebrate Rituals & Community Card 5: Collaboration 5Collaboration How we facilitate & support collaboration Growth & Development Card 6: Consistency 6Consistency Live what we preach Values & Norms Card 7: Crisis 7Crisis Prevent, handle & solve acute problems Wellbeing & Balance Card 8: Departments 8Departments Different cultures within the organisation Communication Card 9: Discrimination 9Discrimination Prevent discrimination & harrassment of all types People & Belonging Card 10: Diversity & inclusion 10Diversity & inclusion Make everyone feel valued People & Belonging Card 11: Dress code 11Dress code How people should dress Wellbeing & Balance Card 12: Employee background 12Employee background Background & experience of employees People & Belonging Card 13: Employee turnover 13Employee turnover How often employees quit & for what reason Performance & Recognition Card 14: Empowerment 14Empowerment Empower people to thrive Growth & Development Card 15: Engagement 15Engagement Motivation & caring about work Growth & Development Card 16: Events 16Events Do things together, from after work to conferences Rituals & Community Card 17: Expectations 17Expectations Spoken & unspoken expectations you need to meet Values & Norms Card 18: External environment 18External environment Public opinions, trends & media attention Communication Card 19: First impression 19First impression What impression you leave others with Signals & Artifacts Card 20: Gender Equality 20Gender Equality Equal opportunities for all genders People & Belonging Card 21: Goals 21Goals Where we are going Performance & Recognition Card 22: Greetings 22Greetings Who greets who, when & where Rituals & Community Card 23: Health & well-being 23Health & well-being How we promote health Wellbeing & Balance Card 24: Hierarchy 24Hierarchy How hierachies shape the culture Leadership & Power Card 25: Internal Communication 25Internal Communication How we communicate & what we emphasize Communication Card 26: Language & Jargon 26Language & Jargon Professional language, jargon & 'jokes' Values & Norms Card 27: Leadership 27Leadership How leaders act & support employees Leadership & Power Card 28: Philosophy 28Philosophy Ideas & ideals about culture & leadership Leadership & Power Card 29: Location 29Location Where you are & how that shapes the culture Signals & Artifacts Card 30: Measurements 30Measurements Take the temperature of the culture Communication Card 31: Mentoring 31Mentoring From Mentorship & coaching to development talks Growth & Development Card 32: Mission & Vision 32Mission & Vision Who we are & what we want to become Leadership & Power Card 33: Onboarding 33Onboarding How to introduce new people Growth & Development Card 34: Organizational structure 34Organizational structure Formal & informal structures we build Leadership & Power Card 35: Performance 35Performance How we evaluate performance Performance & Recognition Card 36: Personal agendas 36Personal agendas How personal agendas influence the culture Leadership & Power Card 37: Pride 37Pride Feeling proud to be a part of the organization People & Belonging Card 38: Professional development 38Professional development How employees can grow & progress in their career Growth & Development Card 39: Recognition 39Recognition What type of efforts are being recognized & how Performance & Recognition Card 40: Recruitment 40Recruitment How we connect with potential employees People & Belonging Card 41: Rewards 41Rewards From a day off to a big bonus Performance & Recognition Card 42: Rituals & Traditions 42Rituals & Traditions Create belonging & sense of community Rituals & Community Card 43: Rules & regulations 43Rules & regulations What you should & shouldn't do Values & Norms Card 44: Salary & benefits 44Salary & benefits Fair compensation for work Performance & Recognition Card 45: Satisfaction 45Satisfaction How happy people are with their work situation Wellbeing & Balance Card 46: Social space 46Social space Spaces for just hanging out together Rituals & Community Card 47: Stories 47Stories What the stories we tell say about us Signals & Artifacts Card 48: Sustainability 48Sustainability Planet impact & greater good Wellbeing & Balance Card 49: Signals 49Signals Signs of a culture's health (burnout) Signals & Artifacts Card 50: Talent attraction 50Talent attraction How attractive you are as an employer People & Belonging Card 51: Teambuilding 51Teambuilding How we build strong & effective teams Rituals & Community Card 52: Tools & technologies 52Tools & technologies The tools we use & how they shape culture Wellbeing & Balance Card 53: Training 53Training Growing skills & competencies Growth & Development Card 54: Transparency 54Transparency Transparency & openness in the culture Communication Card 55: Vacation & rest 55Vacation & rest How people can take time off from work Wellbeing & Balance Card 56: Values 56Values The core principles that define you Values & Norms Card 57: Welcomes & farewells 57Welcomes & farewells How you welcome new-hires & say goodbye Rituals & Community Card 58: Work processes 58Work processes The standardized processes we repeat Wellbeing & Balance Card 59: Work situation 59Work situation Work hours, work load & security of employment Wellbeing & Balance Card 60: Work-life balance 60Work-life balance Help employees balance life & work Wellbeing & Balance Card 61: Workspace 61Workspace How the physical space shapes culture Signals & Artifacts
05.

About

A library for understanding and shaping organizational culture, built on a card deck that already lays the whole subject out on the table.

Why

Organizational culture is not one thing: it is dozens of overlapping layers, from the physical space and the stories people tell, to the hierarchy, the rituals, the unwritten rules, and the way power actually flows. MethodKit for Organizational Culture is a deck that lays those layers out together so you can see the whole picture at once. Here each card gets its own page that asks the same questions: how does this facet show up in practice, what does a healthy version look like, and what should you be paying attention to?

It is for founders, leaders, people and HR teams, and anyone who wants to understand why their organization works the way it does, and what they might do about it. The texts are conversation starters and groundwork, not a playbook to copy.

How to use it

Pull the cards that feel most alive for where your organization is right now, set the rest aside, and use the questions to get honest about what you see before you try to change anything. Lay them on a table, sort them into what is working and what is not, or use them to structure a team conversation.

Want the cards in your hand? The deck is available from MethodKit.