The ABCs of Culture: How to Make Culture Tangible and Actionable

A practical guide to workplace culture: turn complexity into clarity and vagueness into action

Catherine MacBride/Stocksy

“Our competitors are moving faster on AI adoption. We have the talent, technology, and resources, but our culture is holding us back," a CEO recently confided, "and we don't know where to start.” I hear this all the time – the frustration echoes across boardrooms.

Here's the thing: Organizations are trying to transform something they can't even define. For many leaders, organizational culture is still something vague and hard to grasp. They don't know how to make it more tangible, let alone intentionally improve it.

It reminds me of the parable of blind men encountering an elephant for the first time. One touches the trunk and declares an elephant is like a snake. Another feels the leg and says it's like a pillar. A third touches the ear and claims it's like a fan. Each perception is accurate but incomplete.

That's precisely how many organizations approach culture. They mistake the part for the whole. Some believe it's having a set of values, others focus on perks and appreciation, and many vaguely define it as "the way we do things here." They're all partially right – and that's precisely the problem.

This confusion doesn't just affect leaders – it impacts everyone in the organization. Only 23% of employees believe they can apply their company's values to their work, and merely 26% believe their company delivers on its values.

When leaders fail to make culture tangible, employees can't connect with it.

After years of research developing the Culture Design framework and working with hundreds of organizations, I discovered a better way to understand and transform culture. Instead of seeking a perfect definition, we need to break it down into actionable pieces.

The solution? Three interconnected dimensions: Alignment, Belonging, and Collaboration – I call them the ABCs of Culture.

This framework focuses on what culture encompasses rather than on vague definitions.

This approach will help you:

• Make the invisible visible

• Tackle culture as a system

• Break culture into manageable pieces

• Create a shared language for transformation

Let's explore each dimension and how they affect each other – together, they accelerate cultural transformation.

The ABCs of Culture: Understanding the Three Dimensions

I wasn't initially looking for an acronym. However, while developing and testing the Culture Design Canvas, I noticed connections between the different blocks and grouped them into three sections: the Core, Emotional Culture, and Functional Culture. Over time, these evolved into Alignment, Belonging, and Collaboration – because that's exactly what the blocks in those sections achieve.

Each dimension plays a vital role in shaping how organizations work. Alignment keeps teams moving toward a shared future; it's the foundation of meaningful work. Belonging is the emotional glue that binds people together, turning individuals into a team. Collaboration, often overlooked in culture conversations, shapes how work gets done – from decision-making to our meeting culture.

Before diving into each of the ABCs, remember that culture is a system. The ABCs will help you zoom in on each area, but don't forget to zoom out as well. Otherwise, you'll miss the big picture – the interconnected system.

Alignment: Your Cultural North Star

“This is exactly what we were trying to prevent,” the CTO sighs, looking at the CEO. Two different divisions just spent months building nearly identical AI solutions. Despite a clear digital strategy, teams keep duplicating efforts or – worse – pursuing conflicting goals.

Alignment is the long-term dimension of culture: It keeps everyone moving toward a shared future.

We seek to be part of something bigger than ourselves. When people share a clear purpose, work feels meaningful, and individual efforts contribute to a greater whole. Alignment isn't just about direction – it's about creating a sense of collective momentum.

When alignment is strong, teams have a sense of the future. They know where they're going and why it matters.

Alignment includes:

- Purpose: Why the team/organization exists

- Values: Our beliefs or guiding principles

- Behaviors: What we reward and punish

- Priorities: What the organization puts first, no matter what

Alignment is your culture's compass – even the best teams get lost when it fails.

Belonging: The Cultural Glue

In recent discussions with clients about AI adoption, a pattern emerges. Teams are encouraged to experiment, but subtle signals suggest that leaders see those who rely on AI as less capable. The result? People keep their learning and struggles private, creating an undercurrent of silence.

When team trust is broken, silence takes over.

Belonging is the emotional dimension of culture – the glue that binds people together. It's that deep, instinctive feeling of being accepted and valued not just as a person but as a contributor.

This need for belonging is not new. Our ancestors relied on their tribe for survival – belonging was literally the difference between life and death. While social exclusion at work won't kill us, the emotional threat remains. We are wired to connect.

Belonging includes:

- Psychological Safety: Freedom to speak up and experiment

- Feedback: How we help each other learn and grow

- Rituals: Ways we celebrate our people and work

Without belonging, culture becomes transactional. People might show up, but they won't fully engage.

Collaboration: The Cultural Engine

“Another coordination meeting about our digital initiative?” A product leader rolls her eyes at the calendar invite. Three months into a project, the team is drowning in meetings; decisions take weeks. Meanwhile, more agile competitors launch similar features weekly.

Collaboration is the functional dimension of culture – it’s how work actually gets done. Strong alignment and belonging are not enough. Broken collaboration results in friction, delays, and frustrated teams.

No one builds anything great alone. Progress happens when people bring their strengths together, turning ideas into reality. True collaboration isn't just about working side by side – it's about creating something better by bringing the best minds together.

Collaboration covers:

• Decision-Making: How authority is distributed and decisions are made

• Meetings: How we convene and work together

• Norms and Rules: Codified expected behavior

Collaboration is the engine of culture. Even with strong alignment and belonging, if collaboration breaks down, work stalls.

The ABCs of Culture: From Tangible to Impact

The ABCs of Culture is more than a framework – it gives you a blueprint to have more structured, courageous conversations. Instead of talking about culture in terms of “good” or “bad,” you can examine it through the lens of Alignment, Belonging, and Collaboration.

1. Assess Your Current Culture

Start by asking these essential questions:

For Alignment:

• Do people understand and believe in where we're heading?

• Are our values truly guiding our decisions, or are they just words on a wall?

• Are we rewarding behaviors that reinforce our culture or just short-term results?

For Belonging:

• Do people genuinely feel they belong here, or do they just show up to work?

• When someone speaks up, are they truly heard or just tolerated?

• Does our culture of feedback promote learning or blame?

For Collaboration:

• When decisions are made, do people understand how and why, or do they feel left out?

• Do meetings move work forward or just drain energy and momentum?

• Do our rules and norms promote a culture of ownership or create disengagement?

2. Design Your Ideal Culture

Many leaders have a clear direction for their culture but don't know where to start. The ABCs of Culture framework helps you break these aspirations into concrete focus areas.

Building a Culture of Innovation: Innovation thrives when people feel safe to challenge established beliefs and experiment. This requires strengthening belonging, from promoting psychological safety to celebrating experimentation.

→ Solution: Create a trial-and-error environment where risk-taking and learning from mistakes are celebrated, not punished.

Creating a Culture of Ownership: Teams that take the initiative and hold themselves accountable need strong alignment – shared purpose and goals, autonomy to make decisions, and a shared commitment to results.

→ Solution: Establish clear even/over priorities that connect freedom with accountability.

Developing An Agile Culture: Agility isn't just about being more robust; it's about adapting and responding rapidly. This requires rethinking collaboration – a network of teams, flexible resources, and end-to-end accountability.

→ Solution: Decentralize decision-making, practice, rapid iteration, and adopt agile team norms.

3. Beyond the Basics: Advanced Applications

The ABC framework can help you navigate various cultural initiatives:

Team Development:

Using the framework to design a team-building offsite increases focus. By intentionally prioritizing one of the three dimensions – alignment, belonging, or collaboration – it's easier to set a clear tone and provide a consistent experience.

Culture Integration:

When undergoing an M&A and looking to integrate cultures, map each organization and seek similarities and differences across all three dimensions. This helps identify potential friction points and guides integration planning.

Leadership Development:

Leaders can use the ABCs of Culture framework to understand how their actions influence team dynamics across all three dimensions.

Scaling Culture:

When rapidly growing or expanding to new countries, many organizations try to impose their culture, driving backlash. Instead, use the ABC framework to scale the soul of your company while adapting to the new context.

Master the ABCs of Culture

That CEO asking you to “fix culture”? Now, you have a framework to respond.

Instead of vague promises, you can:

- Map and assess which ABC dimension needs the most attention

- Develop targeted interventions and build momentum

- Have a shared language for cultural transformation

Culture isn't just “how we do things here” – it's a system you can deliberately design and improve. The three dimensions will help you turn culture from a frustrating abstraction into your greatest strategic advantage.

Your culture is too important to leave to chance. The ABCs provide a framework to shape it intentionally. What culture will you build?

Do you want to make your culture more tangible and actionable? Schedule a free consultation, and let’s discuss your challenges – and how I can help you.

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