Page 39 - Company Excellence

Matching always needs self‐(er)knowledge and knowledge of human

Know your inner monkeys: on the benefits of knowing
yourself and knowing people

"What monkey laughed at you?" used to be asked when a behavior or
reaction was not understandable to others or when they could not dock
to it. If, in other words, there was no match with the expectations or
behaviors of others. Let's sum it up figuratively: One must know the
(at least one's own) "inner monkeys", the inner monkeys, who react
quite directly and unadulterated to situations, before every action and
attitude has passed through the socialization filters and appears on
the surface as business-suited, rounded and socially compatible
packaged in good behavior. Because the "inner monkeys" embody our
inner attitudes and feelings - and these are triggered when
expectations, behaviors, attitudes do not fit together. In other words,
when the "social fit" or matching is not right. Matching requires the
ability to analyze what makes you tick and what makes other people
tick, why people are the way they are, and why they appear to others
the way they do. It's about assessing yourself and other people and
constantly engaging in (self-)reflection about what that means for self-
management - or self-leadership - as well as for managing employees,
dealing with customers and interacting with other stakeholders in the
company.

One of the most important bases for matching and testing,

whether and under which circumstances people fit together
or not or not, are self-knowledge and knowledge of human

nature, with which you can better assess yourself and other
assess yourself and other people.

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