The year 2020 gave me the opportunity to record the most important tools I have gathered over the 15 years of developing the Gefühlsmonsters, for working with teams, for talking with employees, and for self–reflection, in a structured and practical way. I called this first book “Leading with Empathy”.
I was often asked where the name Gefühlsmonsters came from. That – and a lot of practical knowledge about dealing with feelings – can be found in my second book, “Sometimes Feelings are Monsters”.
“Leading with Empathy”
In this book, every chapter is about feelings, pleasant, difficult, different, and common feelings, past and present, our own and others’, and surprising feelings.
Feelings have a tendency to sometimes jump out at us at inopportune times. This can lead to problems, especially with challenging feelings. Talking about feelings helps to better process what we have experienced, to define differences and commonalities, and to develop new techniques together. The Gefühlsmonster Cards® can facilitate these conversations.
“Sometimes Feelings are Monsters”
The most important message in my book is that we can influence what we feel, and also, that it is important to understand how our feelings work, and that with this knowledge and its implementations we have influence over the future development of our environment.
Basically my thesis is that if each of us is in touch with their feelings, and strives towards what brings them joy, we will automatically become who we are meant to be.
“King Archibald and the Gefühlsmonsters”
Little colorful creatures that no one has ever seen
Why did I write this book? Because I wish for more and more people to get to know themselves well, to perceive, feel, and regulate their emotions. To address this on a different level than in a textbook, it became a fairy tale.
More about this can be found in the first part of the book. It is closely related to the topic of leadership and self-leadership, and “leading on equal footing,” which for me is synonymous with respectful interaction and an awareness of the roles in which we interact.
I am fundamentally convinced that good leadership is only possible on the basis of good self-knowledge and self-reflection. Only then I can:
- perceive and regulate my emotions,
- empathize with others and recognize differences in emotionality and respond to them,
- consciously make difficult decisions as a leader,
- know when I want to seek external support (coaching, mediation),
- know in which role I am currently speaking,
- endure when my team perceives me differently than I perceive myself,
- engage in a genuine dialogue where both sides are heard and equally important,
- lead on equal footing.
All of this requires that I know my own feelings – and this is the journey King Archibald embarks on, even though he initially envisioned it quite differently…
I invite you to immerse yourself in this story and see where you might identify with Archibald!
Prefer listening?
King Archibald and the Gefühlsmonster as audiobook
If you prefer listening to stories rather than reading them, the fairy tale is now available everywhere audiobooks are sold. Even though you won’t see the illustrations from the book during the recording, you will still be quickly drawn into the spell of the fairy tale. It’s incredible what a difference it makes! If you like, you can find an audio sample here.
Jens Winter’s impressive ability to convey the feelings, thoughts, and emotions of the king with nuance and depth creates a vivid world before your eyes, where you can identify with King Archibald and his experiences.
Experiencing this was and still is a very special gift for me! It’s hard to believe – but listening to the story read aloud made it even clearer to me why I wrote this book! Enjoy listening!