Organizational Culture Design

Organizational Culture Design transforms organizational culture proactively, not reactively. By anticipating barriers before crises emerge, teams achieve measurable results: improved performance, increased innovation, stronger cohesion. This evidence-based methodology moves beyond traditional DEI compliance to intentionally build environments where every team member thrives, driving both organizational values and bottom-line outcomes.

The Inspiration: Universal Design

Universal Design* is an architectural framework that emerged in the 1980s disability rights movement. It encourages the building of spaces, places, and products to be

  • As accessible as possible

  • To as many people as possible

  • Without introducing barriers to anyone

Think curb cuts. Originally designed for people who use wheelchairs, they help people with strollers or handcarts, cyclists, the elderly, and more. Critically, they don’t make it more difficult for anyone to go from the curb to the street and back.

Picture of a curb cut, a dip in the curb that slopes to the street. There is some grass in the space between the side walk and the street

Six Core Principles of Organizational Culture Design

  • Trust flows all ways. Leaders need to trust their teams and teams need to trust their leaders. Transparency builds trust. When employees know they are kept in the loop, trust grows.

  • Everyone one, from entry level to the C-suite has expertise. Providing the space for all team members to contribute ideas, identify issues, and question processes will increase innovation and engagement.

  • Collaboration is key to high performance and is particularly critical in health and science. Debate and conflict is equally as important. Creating a culture of healthy debate generates more productive collaboration.

  • Integrating flexibility in organizational policies, procedures, and practices is key to the Organizational Culture Design approach. Flexibility allows for accessibility without individual specific modifications.

  • We often fall in to habits without questioning the purpose of them. When we question the status quo, we can design more inclusive cultures.

  • Everyone deserves to be celebrated. Whether its a birthday, work anniversary, or reaching a personal or professional goal, finding time to celebrate our colleagues lets them know they are valued.