Social Interaction and Socialization

Overcoming the greatest barrier to collaboration and our ability to solve problems by managing individual defensiveness brought on fears of vulnerability.

Based on years of experience and research studying collaborative behavior and productivity in chickens, Jim Tamm explains that defensiveness is the single greatest inhibitor to true collaboration. Defensiveness, he explains, does not protect us from other people, but instead defends us from fears we don't want to feel - usually brought on by fears of lack of significance, competence or likability. Collaboration stops and we initiate aggressive behavior.

People don't change because of external demands, they change to save something of value. You can only find out what it is if you empathize.

Esther Derby shares how ignoring the emotional impact of change, or attempting to depress or devalue people's response to change tends to amplify their emotions. Empathy enables you to understand someone else’s point of view, the challenges posed by the change, what they value, and what they stand to lose by changing." This ability is in her mind a change agent's superpower.