Posture Over Procedure
Why "How Are We Doing?" Matters More Than "What Are We Doing?"
Recently, I attended a staff event where the facilitator challenged us to shift our focus from asking, “What are we doing?” to asking, “How are we doing?”
That small shift landed with surprising clarity for me—and for at least one other staff member. But for many in the room, I could practically see the smoke coming out of their ears as they tried to wrap their heads around what this meant. Later, when we debriefed the event with a teammate who hadn’t been there, I was asked to explain why that particular phrase struck me as so meaningful.
To be honest, the concept didn’t land well with most of our team. People struggled with how to make space for asking each other how we’re doing without crowding out the work of actually getting things done. So, I launched into what turned into a mini-monologue about posture vs. procedure.
I don’t believe the facilitator was advocating for a new policy that would force everyone to ask, “How are you doing?” before ever asking, “What are you doing?” That would be procedural—and ironically miss the point. I understood it instead as an invitation to cultivate a culture that cares about performance and production from the inside out, not the outside in. It was about building a people-first posture, not enforcing a people-first policy.
To help make sense of it, I shared a metaphor I learned while pursuing my Master’s in Counseling: The Sinner, Sinned Against.
This metaphor is used to explain why behavior modification on its own rarely leads to lasting transformation. “Sinner, Sinned Against” acknowledges that while clients may present with harmful or unhealthy behaviors that need to change, it's crucial to also recognize the ways they’ve been impacted by others’ actions. Transformation happens not just by changing behavior but by uncovering the deeper why behind the what. It’s about working from the inside out, not just addressing surface-level problems.
In counseling, this metaphor helps shape the counselor’s posture toward the client and the change process. And I think it offers something similar for how we lead teams. Unfortunately, instead of bringing clarity, this metaphor seemed to confuse the room even more, as one staff member made very clear.
To be fair, I didn’t explain it nearly as cleanly in the moment as I’m doing now. My thoughts were mid-process and not exactly polished. But what stood out to me was how quickly the conversation shifted back to strategies and policies. One person even proposed setting aside two hours a week for staff to check in on how we’re doing—so the remaining 43 hours could be used to focus on what we’re doing. (Yes, that was a real suggestion.)
That moment told me something: our team is still far more comfortable crafting policies than shaping culture. We have some work to do when it comes to adopting a people-first posture.
And to be clear, I’m not saying that policy and procedure don’t matter. They absolutely do. But without the right posture, even the best procedures fall flat. A healthy organizational culture—one where people feel seen, valued, and supported—doesn’t come from policies alone.
For those still asking, “Okay, but what do I actually do with that?”—here’s an illustration from bodybuilding.
Most serious bodybuilders use the same core lifts: bench press, squat, deadlift, military press. Sure, their routines vary in terms of auxiliary lifts and conditioning, but ask what really sets them apart, and you’ll hear this: it’s not the method, it’s the mindset.
Elite bodybuilders talk about something called the mind-muscle connection—the ability to mentally engage the exact muscle they’re trying to work. The lift itself matters, but the posture toward the lift is what produces maximum results. Without the right posture, the same movement won’t yield the same gains.
Likewise, in leadership, policies and procedures may look good on paper, but without a healthy mindset—a posture of valuing people first—they won’t deliver long-term results.
Adopting this posture isn’t quick or easy. It requires introspection, humility, and a willingness to invest in things that don’t always show up on a spreadsheet. It means understanding what motivates your team, what drains them, and how their personal stories connect to your organization’s mission. It means creating space for your people to bring their whole selves—not just their productivity—to work.
And yes, it takes time. But the return on that investment? It’s massive.
Just ask Google.
