Micromoves: How Little Things Affect Co-Worker Relationships

Relationships with our co-workers are important, but instead of characterizing them as “good” or “bad”, we should acknowledge that they are always shifting.  Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Professor Kerry Roberts Gibson of Babson College and Professor Beth Shinoff of Boston College discuss how to use “micromoves” to build the work relationships you want, instead of settling for those you have.
 
Micromoves are “small actions or behaviors that seem inconsequential in the moment but affect how we relate to one another.” They are like the steps that constitute a dance, and each step can change its direction. A positive microwave (like saying thank you or supporting a colleague’s comment at a meeting) can have a resonating beneficial impact, while a negative one (neglecting an email or excluding one colleague in a group lunch) has the opposite impact. The following principles can help you make positive micromoves:
 

• Before you make a micromove, ask yourself how you would react were you on the receiving end.
• Ask yourself how an objective observer might narrate the story of your relationship with a colleague through the micromoves exchanged.
• Journal your micromoves. If there’s a relationship you’d like to improve, jot down your last five or six small interactions with that person.
• “Bad” interactions far outweigh those of “good” ones. So if you think you’ve made a micromove that may have damaged a relationship, try brainstorming at least six positive micromoves to offset it.

 
Can you think of a positive or negative micromove you may have made lately, and the results of each? To join the conversation, click "comments" just under the photo above.  We'd really like to get your feedback!

---