At Culture Leads®, a Colorado-based consulting company, we focus on using data to help businesses and nonprofits develop important brain skills for successful change management. We specialize in aligning with the World Economic Forum’s Future of Work Top 10 Human Skills, such as creativity, self-awareness, resilience, social wellbeing, and curiosity.

Co-founded by Theo Edmonds and Cameron Lister, the acclaimed minds behind the Cultural Wellbeing Index and the Small Business Resilience Index, our mission is to foster organizational growth by intertwining artistic flair with scientific rigor in crafting culture strategies.

Our ethos is shaped by a unique blend of imaginative and analytical approaches, underpinned by data-driven, evidence-based principles. We cater to a select clientele, ranging from family offices and state-level entrepreneurial ecosystems to multinational corporations. Our expertise lies in identifying and nurturing the intrinsic cultural DNA of organizations — the "wins within" — transforming innovation from transactional to transformational.

 

  • CULTURE LEADS, formerly Underestimated People of Purpose, is a culture futurist consultancy partnership between Theo Edmonds and Cameron Lister. Our core technology began as a research project by our co-founders within a National Science Foundation-sponsored research center in Louisville, KY. In mid-2021, we moved operations to Denver, CO. Today, we work across the U.S. and internationally at the intersection of business ecosystems, arts, data analytics, and the future of work. Our cultural analytics and diagnostics help organizations prepare for the future by aligning culture change management with innovation. We use quantifiable data and research-based evidence to improve work experience, foster well-being, and unlock creative capacity in organizations to help them adapt and thrive.

  • Theo Edmonds, JD,MHA,MFA
    CO-FOUNDER & PARTNER

    Cameron Lister, MPH
    CO-FOUNDER & PARTNER
    Cultural Innovation & Wellbeing Scientist | Lives in Salt Lake City, Utah

    Cameron is a health and wellbeing researcher, data scientist, and innovation enthusiast. He is the co-winner of the 2020 University of Louisville Trailblazer Award for Research & Innovation with Theo Edmonds and a co-inventor of tools used by UPOP. Most recently, Cameron served as the lead data scientist for UPOP’s engagement with Energize Colorado to create the state’s first Small Business Resiliency Index. Cameron has published 14 scientific studies in peer-reviewed journals, with 1,100+ citations, in health behavior and technology, cultural wellbeing, innovation & design thinking, and his research has been featured in news media throughout the US. And from Feb 2018- Mar 2019, Cameron traveled with his wife over 75,000 miles to 28 countries across 4 continents on a budget of $50/day. An ex-Mormon, uncovering the critical importance of culture and community is an underlying current behind his personal and professional life.

    Hannah Payne, MPH
    Collaborator | Scientific and Technical
    Writer | Lives in Salt Lake City, Utah

    Hannah Payne has a Master of Public Health degree and is a published researcher, with over 15 papers in the scientific literature and 450+ citations. Her research has focused on a wide range of public health topics, including health technology, public health theoretical models, healthcare apps, Native American/Alaskan Native mental health, food insecurity, and women’s health. 

    Hannah has several years of work experience in healthcare technology and currently works in healthcare administration and quality, guiding ambulatory clinic leadership and staff to align their practices with models that provide patient-centered care and improve patient clinical outcomes. Hannah lives in Salt Lake City and attends medical school.

  • In 2018-2019, as part of the Center for Health Organization Transformation (CHOT) — an industry-university cooperative research center (I/UCRC) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) — our interdisciplinary research team scientifically validated the Cultural Wellbeing Index (CWI), a new way for measuring how organizational culture impacts workforce inclusion. The Cultural Wellbeing Index measures hope, trust, belonging, health, and well-being as proxy measures of inclusion. This indexed score of culture has proven predictive of employee performance, retention, engagement, and, ultimately, the innovation capacity of an organization to perform in the marketplace.

    OUR ORIGINAL RESEARCH

    Winner of the University of Louisville Trailblazer Award for Research & Innovation (2020-2021)

    Lister, C., Salunkhe, S. S., O’Keefe, M., Payne, H. E., & Edmonds, T. (2021). Cultural Wellbeing Index: A Dynamic Cultural Analytics Process for Measuring and Managing Organizational Inclusion as an Antecedent Condition of Employee Wellbeing and Innovation Capacity. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 21(4). https://doi.org/10.33423/jop.v21i4.4542

  • We provide a nuanced, culturally-responsive approach to aligning culture change management with innovation strategy. Our data analytics framework equips organizations with tailored stakeholder experience scorecards, enabling them to allocate resources effectively. We focus on empowering workforces to excel, even in the face of market upheavals and cultural shifts. Our offerings include comprehensive benchmarking data and quantitative assessments, using a proprietary algorithm to visualize organizational culture. This data informs our custom Culture Action Plans, which include evidence-based interventions aimed at boosting performance in crucial areas linked to non-incremental business growth.

  • Our methodology emphasizes:

    • Engaging storytelling to enhance ideation and implementation of cultural milestones.

    • Developing a shared understanding of transdisciplinary cultural challenges.

    • Crafting multi-dimensional employee engagement strategies and co-creation models.

    • Enhancing innovation design processes across industry groups.

    • Boosting enterprise performance through predictive cultural analytics.

    • Assisting executive decision-making to navigate cultural challenges.

    1. The OECD invited Nobel laureates and many of the world’s leading thinkers to debate innovative approaches to the major questions facing humanity. This series summarises their analyses and proposals on the interlinked challenges facing our society.
      OECD (2022), "Build Back Brainier: Base Policies on Brain Science", in Hynes, W., I. Linkov and P. Love (eds.), A Systemic Recovery, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1e893170-en.Item description

    2. Special Issue on Hope (2023). Edited by Matthew Gallagher. Journal Impact Factor is 6.813 (top 15% of scientific journals). Historical perspectives on hope have not always been positive, but within the field of psychology there has been a growing recognition in recent decades of the important role that hope can play in promoting resilience and positive outcomes across many life domains.
      ISSUE ARTICLE FEATURING OUR RESEARCH: Mouton, A. (2022). "Hope and Work: From the Pandemic to Possibility, Purpose, and Resilience." Current opinion in psychology: 101550.

  • Energize Colorado, CU Leeds School of Business, McKinsey & Co., and Culture Leads LLC completed the first comprehensive index tracking the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the Colorado economy and the barriers they face in building resiliency and inclusivity into their future growth.

    This Small Business Resilience Index (SBRI) helps community leaders understand the social and business challenges small business owners face today and how to increase their capacity in the face of future environmental, cultural shifts and shocks.

 
 
 
 
 

CULTURE FUTURIST® EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS

Unlock the Creative Potential of Your Leadership and Organization

Theo draws from his unique background and offers provocative insights that expand perceptions of the possible and valuable. Backed by Cameron’s data science expertise, our keynotes and workshops merge the art and science of wonder with innovation. Presented in an interactive, pop culture style, Theo is a vanguard in deciphering complex science into edutainment with mind-expanding questions and practical insights.

Each Program Includes:

  • Tailored Keynote or Workshop

  • 90-Minute Executive Coaching Session

  • Customization to Industry or Company Specifics

 

OUR MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS

  • Unlock Your Organization’s Creative Potential through Wonder and Wellbeing

    Learning Goals:

    • Understand the synergy of wonder and wellbeing in creative potential.

    • Develop strategies for integrating these concepts into your culture.

    • Apply insights to your industry challenges in a coaching session.

  • Building a Wonder-full Culture of Innovation

    Learning Goals:

    • Master the Wondervation Wheel, Wonder Proposition Design, and Culture Model Canvas.

    • Understand how wonder-driven approaches lead to innovation.

    • Integrate these tools into your strategy in a coaching session.

  • Bespoke Workshops for Creative Industry Integration

    Learning Goals:

    • Connect your entity with the creative industries for growth.

    • Develop strategies for creative industry integration. It’s a big and growing industry. Knowing where to focus matters.

    • Craft an action plan in a coaching session for effective implementation.

  • Leadership Retreats for the Human-Centric Future of Work

    Learning Goals:

    • Learn empathy, creativity, and foresight in leadership.

    • Foster a culture valuing human-centered leadership qualities.

    • Develop a tailored leadership action plan in a coaching session.

  • Enhancing Workplace Culture with Lessons from Art and Science

    Learning Goals:

    • Explore human-centric skills for workplace improvement.

    • Integrate top future job skills into your organization.

    • Create a workplace application plan in a coaching session.

Contact team@theoedmonds.com for more information.