{"id":23548,"date":"2019-10-07T20:38:35","date_gmt":"2019-10-08T00:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=23548"},"modified":"2019-10-08T08:35:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T12:35:19","slug":"monday-morning-moment-micro-actions-and-micro-behaviors-a-conspiracy-of-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=23548","title":{"rendered":"Monday Morning Moment – Micro-actions and Micro-behaviors – a Conspiracy of Small"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Edmund Burke, Pinterest<\/a><\/p>\n

Micro-actions aren’t not the myriad of tasks that appear on our daily to-do lists. I’m defining micro-actions as all those brief, intentional acts we do that help us “get to goal”, “avoid mission drift”, or communicate value to those around us. Micro-actions can show up on in our daily habits (like my making the bed every morning, or Dave daily bringing me coffee). More often than not, they are\u00a0 spontaneous – fitting the situation or need of the moment.\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Slideshare, Mathew Sweezey<\/a><\/p>\n

Micro-actions can include acknowledging the creativity\/good sense of a teammate, writing thank you notes, taking a parking place farther from the building, making the difficult phone call (regarding a death or serious illness), stopping by the desks of coworkers just to say hi, sharing the praise for a project well-done, ordering a pizza for a young family.<\/p>\n

Small, positive actions…that could have gone undone and unnoticed if undone…but the impact!! The impact can be substantial for a teammate, family member, or neighbor.<\/p>\n

\n

Take these wise words from Small Kindnesses<\/em> by Danusha Lam\u00e9ris<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking about the way, when you walk<\/em>
\ndown a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs<\/em>
\nto let you by. Or how strangers still say \u201cbless you\u201d<\/em>
\nwhen someone sneezes, a leftover<\/em>
\nfrom the Bubonic plague. \u201cDon\u2019t die,\u201d we are saying.<\/em>
\nAnd sometimes, when you spill lemons<\/em>
\nfrom your grocery bag, someone else will help you<\/em>
\npick them up. Mostly, we don\u2019t want to harm each other.<\/em>
\nWe want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,<\/em>
\nand to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile<\/em>
\nat them and for them to smile back. For the waitress<\/em>
\nto call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass. We have so little of each other, now. So far<\/em>
\nfrom tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.<\/em>
\nWhat if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these<\/em>
\nfleeting temples we make together when we say, \u201cHere,<\/em>
\nhave my seat,\u201d \u201cGo ahead\u2014you first,\u201d \u201cI like your hat.\u201d – Danusha Lam\u00e9ris<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What micro-actions do you incorporate in your day, regularly or occasionally? Please comment below. Also we would love to hear your stories of a “micro-action” someone did with you in mind.<\/p>\n

Micro-behaviors go deeper than micro-actions. They are defined<\/a> as\u00a0 tiny, often unconscious gestures, facial expressions, postures, words and tone of voice which can influence how included (or not included) the people around us feel<\/em>.\u00a0 Micro-behaviors<\/span><\/span> become habitual and unconscious. They expose how we think and reveal our current worldview…our preferences, our prejudices, our bias. Our micro-behaviors send messages to others without us even being aware. A look (or look away), a tone of voice, a move toward inclusion or exclusion.<\/p>\n

When our micro-behaviors (or those we observe in others) are positive, they are a not-so-subliminal uplifting experience – communicating affirmation, belonging, care. It’s when they are negative that we need to check them (when we become aware) and decide is that really what we want to communicate. Is that really who we have become toward certain segments of people?<\/p>\n

Our American culture has shifted away from civility and community and more toward sarcasm and tribalism. [See Alan Weiss<\/a>‘ piece on Tribalism vs. Community<\/em><\/a>] These changes show up in our micro-behaviors.<\/p>\n

Author, educator Karen Swallow Prior<\/a>, in her book Booked<\/em><\/a>, writes about satire in a way that reflects our culture’s bent toward sarcasm:<\/p>\n

“[Jonathan] Swift helped turn my contempt for the foolishness I saw in others into compassion. While contempt leads to the case of isolation, compassion leads to a freedom found only in community…It was so easy to see [foolishness] in others, much harder to recognize it in myself. “Satire is a sort of glass,” Swift said, “wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own.” Did I love satire only because in it I saw everyone else but me? Was I as blind to my own faults as Swift showed others to be? It seemed so.” – Karen Swallow Prior<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Facebook, William Curtis<\/a><\/p>\n

Micro-actions and micro-behaviors…something to consider on a Monday. How can I take a few minutes here and there through the day to encourage or empower a colleague…or stranger, even? What am I communicating when keeping eye contact during a conversation and showing genuine interest in the other person? On the converse, what does my face fixed on my phone or computer screen, or my head down, shooting through the lobby toward my office, say to those we might have greeted but didn’t…discounting them by our behavior?<\/p>\n

Thoughts?<\/p>\n

How Can You Spot Really Good Leaders? They Practice These Simple 2-Minute Habits Daily<\/em><\/a> – Marcel Schwantes<\/a><\/p>\n

Be a Pal, My Dudes<\/em> – Erika Hall<\/a><\/p>\n

#MicroActions on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

#Microbehaviors on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Hack the Culture with Micro Changes<\/em> – Marcella Bremer<\/a><\/p>\n

Micro-actions, Fragmentation, and Influence<\/em> – Peter Roy – Asian Efficiency Team<\/a><\/p>\n

What Are Micro-behaviours and How Do They Impact Inclusive Cultures? The Little Things That Make a Big Difference<\/em> – Caroline Arnold<\/a><\/p>\n

Micro-Behaviours – What They Are and How They Impact Inclusion<\/em> – Jan Hills<\/a><\/p>\n

How Micro-Actions Can Help You Conquer Your Goals<\/em> – Megan Nye<\/a><\/p>\n

The Top 6 Micro-Actions for Entrepreneurs<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Edmund Burke, Pinterest Micro-actions aren’t not the myriad of tasks that appear on our daily to-do lists. I’m defining micro-actions as all those brief, intentional acts we do that help us “get to goal”, “avoid mission drift”, or communicate value to those around us. Micro-actions can show up on in our daily habits … Continue reading Monday Morning Moment – Micro-actions and Micro-behaviors – a Conspiracy of Small<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[926,2986,34,1704,2126,1705,1148,3394,1627,2819,1732,293,1450,353,870,5227,789,5228,1453,2821],"tags":[7685,7660,7681,190,1819,7688,7686,7679,2514,7682,2004,298,4496,7678,7683,7676,7677,1459,1458,2229,7680,2997,7684,7687,1962,2193,294],"class_list":["post-23548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attending-or-focus","category-attitude","category-books","category-communication","category-community","category-conversations","category-critical-thinking","category-habits","category-hustle","category-kindness","category-leadership","category-life-skills","category-monday-morning","category-monday-morning-moment","category-neighbors","category-productivity","category-relationships","category-time-management","category-work","category-work-culture","tag-alan-weiss","tag-booked","tag-caroline-arnold","tag-community","tag-culture","tag-danusha-lameris","tag-edmund-burke","tag-erika-hall","tag-influence","tag-jan-hills","tag-karen-swallow-prior","tag-leadership","tag-marcel-schwantes","tag-marcella-bremer","tag-megan-nye","tag-micro-actions","tag-micro-behaviors","tag-monday-morning","tag-monday-morning-moment","tag-morale","tag-peter-roy","tag-sarcasm","tag-satire","tag-small-kindnesses","tag-team","tag-tribalism","tag-work"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-67O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23548"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23574,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23548\/revisions\/23574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}