Read the article below regarding a summary of a Ted Talk about defensiveness. After reading the summary, answer the following question thoroughly.

"This week I came across a Ted Talk by former Judge Jim Tamm, an expert in building effective and collaborative workplace environments.

Jim speaks a lot about chickens, because according to him, they have a lot to teach us about collaboration. Hes interested in looking at the difference between what he calls Green Zone chickens (chickens who get along well with each other) and Red Zone chickens (chickens who are aggressive and try to suppress the egg production of other chickens by harming them).

Green zone chickens who were housed together had an egg production increase of 260% in just one year. The green zone was obviously more supportive, cooperative and more highly skilled at collaboration. As for the red zone chickens, after a year, there were hardly any of them left. #rip

It provides us an important lesson that translates into our own workplace environments the one defining trait of the red zone chickens was DEFENSIVENESS. When you start getting defensive, you bring those around you down, not to mention yourself.

When issues arise in a group-work situation, people generally start to feel vulnerable, which is when this defensive behavior arises. According to Tamm, our thinking becomes rigid, our IQ drops about 20 points and we simply become stupid and then you end up with a room full of red zone people who cannot solve a problem.

Stop feeling defensive? Of course, easier said than done. Especially when you think youre right and everyone else is wrong. Defensiveness can rule us and we dont even recognize it until its too late.

However, its important to recognize that when we get defensive, its usually not from other people. Its from our own fears that we dont want to feel. Not surprisingly, Tamm says that one of the biggest fears we have is our own competency.

Indubitably, teamwork is crucial in many job areas, so its helpful to notice when this sort of defensive behavior comes up and how it affects your collaboration process. Some common tell-tale signs of this are quickened breathing, withdrawal into deadly silence, blaming or shaming others and simply wanting to be right. And if you think youve never experienced any of these before, its highly likely youre in denial, or as Tamm casually puts it, overly medicated.

Overcoming defensiveness is not something that can usually be done instantly, but it is extremely beneficial if you want to create a highly productive and positive workplace. The first step is acknowledging it, and if you can do that, youre already halfway there."

Question: The "box" perpetuates itself. We create justifications to reinforce the walls of our box. How do you react when you are feeling defensive? MINIMUM 250 WORDS.

WHAT'S THE "BOX"? READINGRAPHICS ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS IN ONE PAGE Whether we're inside/ outside the box depends on whether we're focusing on what the other person needs, or what we need. Inside the box VS Outside the box We view others as objects e.g. as a vehicle, threat, obstacle. We view others as people, with dreams, hopes and wants. Our needs/ wants are much more important than theirs. Others' needs/ wants are as legitimate as ours. We unconsciously resist others and whatever we do is ineffective. People sense our intentions and respond positively. +