Culture as Strategy's Secret Sauce: The Teammate-Led Approach That Gets Results

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 10:45AM–11:30AM CT | Meeting Room 104 CD, Level 1
Session Type: Breakout Session
Delivery Format: Presentation/Panel Session
At UVA's IT organization, we discovered that culture isn't just a "nice-to-have"—it's the special sauce that transforms strategic intentions into tangible outcomes. When new leadership arrived, we recognized the value of our teammates' voices in the approach to culture development and empowered groups from across the organization to design our values framework from the ground up. This session reveals our multiyear journey of intentionally cultivating a culture that not only resonates authentically with our team but directly supports our strategic objectives. We will detail our methodology from initial organization-wide surveys through partner-based value creation and ongoing workshops and demonstrate how establishing a shared cultural language has strengthened university partnerships even during challenging times.

Presenters

  • Kelly Doney

    Vice President and Chief Information Officer, University of Virginia

  • Damian Doyle

    Deputy CIO, University of Virginia

  • Patti Pate

    AVP, Chief of Staff, University of Virginia