Coaching practices for The Morning Questions at Work
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For The Morning Questions at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m hitting every productivity target and somehow feeling emptier by the week
- When I check in on myself it’s always "how did the day go," and the answer always seems to ride on things outside my hands
- My one-on-ones always open with a status check
- I’ve got the conversation booked but I’m staring at a blank page of questions, worried I’ll waste their time asking things I could’ve Googled
- I could list ten things that went wrong at work today without blinking but I’d struggle to name one that went right
Practices that may help
- The Morning Questions
Marshall Goldsmith’s morning questions are a daily active question routine in which you score yourself each morning on whether you "did your best" to pursue specific values-based commitments the previous day. The practice reframes self-monitoring from passive measurement ("how did X go?") to active responsibility ("did I try?"), which research on active questions suggests produces greater engagement and honest self-assessment. The evidence base is practitioner-clinical; large-scale trials are limited. - Include a happiness question — not as an outcome goal but as a signal
Add "Did I do my best to be happy today?" to the list — not as a target, but as a daily quality-of-life sensor.
The Morning Questions - Reframe passive questions as active questions
Ask "did I do my best to...?" rather than "how was my...?" — the word "try" changes what the question measures.
The Morning Questions - Open with "What’s on your mind?"
The best opening question is also the most open — it invites exactly what the person most needs to talk about.
The Coaching Habit: Seven Questions to Be More Coach-Like - Prepare questions you genuinely don’t know the answer to
Ask about the unwritten realities of the role — the things no job posting reveals.
Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network - Apply three good things to work contexts specifically
Use the exercise to rewire what you notice about your work day — contribution, competence, and collaboration.
Three Good Things: The Evidence-Based Gratitude Practice - Protect the first cycle as non-negotiable deep work
Begin the first 90-minute cycle of the day before opening email, messages, or social media.
Ultradian Rhythms: Working with Your Brain’s Focus Cycles - The Coaching Habit: Seven Questions to Be More Coach-Like
Michael Bungay Stanier’s seven questions — from "What’s on your mind?" through "What was most useful for you?" — are a practical system for coaching conversations that takes less than a minute to learn and a career to master. The framework is practitioner-derived from behavioral coaching practice; its mechanisms are grounded in autonomy support, self-determination, and the generation effect. The questions work because they shift the cognitive labor back to the person who owns the problem. - Protect mornings for deep work — no internal meetings before noon
Morning is when cognitive capacity is highest for most people; spending it on reactive coordination is a predictable waste.
Designing a Calm Company (Fried & Hansson) - Set your three outcomes as the first act of the workday
Choosing your three before opening email or messages ensures your agenda drives the day rather than others’ demands.
The Rule of Three for Productivity, Made Practical
Related concerns
- The Morning Questions In A New Job
Marshall Goldsmith’s morning questions are a daily active question routine in which you score yourself each morning on whether you "did your best" to pursue specific values-based commitments the previous day. The practice reframes self-monitoring from passive measurement ("how did X go?") to active responsibility ("did I try?"), which research on active questions suggests produces greater engagement and honest self-assessment. The evidence base is practitioner-clinical; large-scale trials are limited.
- The Morning Questions As A Caregiver
Marshall Goldsmith’s morning questions are a daily active question routine in which you score yourself each morning on whether you "did your best" to pursue specific values-based commitments the previous day. The practice reframes self-monitoring from passive measurement ("how did X go?") to active responsibility ("did I try?"), which research on active questions suggests produces greater engagement and honest self-assessment. The evidence base is practitioner-clinical; large-scale trials are limited.
- The Morning Questions As A Parent
Marshall Goldsmith’s morning questions are a daily active question routine in which you score yourself each morning on whether you "did your best" to pursue specific values-based commitments the previous day. The practice reframes self-monitoring from passive measurement ("how did X go?") to active responsibility ("did I try?"), which research on active questions suggests produces greater engagement and honest self-assessment. The evidence base is practitioner-clinical; large-scale trials are limited.
- The Morning Questions With Friends
Marshall Goldsmith’s morning questions are a daily active question routine in which you score yourself each morning on whether you "did your best" to pursue specific values-based commitments the previous day. The practice reframes self-monitoring from passive measurement ("how did X go?") to active responsibility ("did I try?"), which research on active questions suggests produces greater engagement and honest self-assessment. The evidence base is practitioner-clinical; large-scale trials are limited.
- The Morning Questions With My Team
Marshall Goldsmith’s morning questions are a daily active question routine in which you score yourself each morning on whether you "did your best" to pursue specific values-based commitments the previous day. The practice reframes self-monitoring from passive measurement ("how did X go?") to active responsibility ("did I try?"), which research on active questions suggests produces greater engagement and honest self-assessment. The evidence base is practitioner-clinical; large-scale trials are limited.
- Did My Best Questions
Ask "did I do my best to...?" rather than "how was my...?" — the word "try" changes what the question measures.
Reframe passive questions as active questions
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