In his book Triggers - Creating Behavior That Lasts, Marshall Goldsmith writes about the power of posing active questions versus passive questions to shift behaviors and help employees assume greater responsibility for their own actions. The downside of passive questions such as, "Are you engaged at work?" or "Do you have clear goals?" is that they place the burden of responsibility entirely on the leadership team or organization, making it easy for some employees to shrug their shoulders and wait for things to change from on high. Passive questions such as these might paint a picture of how effective the managers are in your workplace, but if you want to make changes in your own life and/or encourage your employees to step up and assume greater responsibility, shift to asking active questions:

• "Did I do my best to be happy at work today?"
• "Did I do my best to be fully engaged in my job today?"
• "Did I do my best to set clear goals for myself today?"
• "Did I do my best to build positive relationships at work today?"

Questions such as these put the onus on everyone's own behaviors. Goldsmith's research shows that people are far more successful at making improvements and shifting behaviors in both their work and personal lives when they use active questions and create a daily scorecard to monitor their progress.