💚🔥🐉 When Leadership Becomes Human: A Reader’s Reflection That Moved Me Beyond Words

Every author dreams of a moment when a reader doesn’t just understand their book, but feels it, when something they wrote reaches across distance, experience, and time, and lands softly in another person’s heart.

Recently, I received such a message from a reader named Katja, who finished reading The Leadership Leap. Her words stayed with me for days. It wasn’t just a review; it was a reflection full of depth, courage, and humanity.

“I feel the fire of your inner passion and vision for future leadership, the enormous power in words and between the lines, the dedication for standing for humanity/inclusion/connection.”

That sentence alone captures the heart of why The Leadership Leap exists. It was written for those who believe that leadership isn’t about control or perfection, but about compassion, courage, and connection.

Katja described the book as:

“Full of wisdom, knowledge and guidance for embracing the glory of diversity, knowing yourself and others in order to have compassion and give guidance for our dragons.”

Those words touched me deeply. Because the dragons in the book were never meant to be villains. They are parts of ourselves that deserve to be understood, healed, and transformed. When we do that, we begin to see the dragons in others with empathy instead of fear.

Katja also shared how the book opened a completely new understanding in her personal life:

“You opened my understanding for the world of my engineer husband with autism. I had no idea how challenging it can be to navigate in corporate life as an engineer. That amplified with autism and special giftedness makes a complex cocktail for relationships and leadership both at and out of work. Add a couple of traumatising events…well, the pressure kettle is ready.”

I found this so powerful. Because it shows how leadership and empathy are not limited to workplaces; they are languages of understanding that touch every part of life.

She went on to write:

“Chapter 2 opens new possibilities to understand my husband’s behaviour, which has been a huge mystery for me, for years. It will challenge my patterns of responding for sure.”

That line struck me deeply. Because true leadership, whether at home or in teams, begins when we are willing to challenge our own responses, when we learn to see before we judge, to understand before we act.

Katja also reflected on the emotional resonance she felt while reading:

“Chapter 3 brought chills, emotions, resonance with me. It is almost creepy how much your path, conditioning, struggle, feelings and insights are same as mine.”

It’s in moments like these that writing feels less like teaching and more like remembering together. We may come from different worlds, but we often carry the same longings, the same dragons, the same ache to be seen.

“It so gracefully acknowledges all parts of ourselves & others to find the strength and guidance from them.”

That line, for me, is what The Leadership Leap is truly about; wholeness. It’s about honouring the tender parts we once hid, and discovering that strength and softness were never opposites at all.

Katja also wrote:

“I am sure a lot of women can relate to your story one or another way. The vulnerability you bring with your honest and open story touches deeply. Yes, you really have put your mind, heart and soul at exposal. And I can only admire you for your courage.”

Her reflection reminded me that vulnerability is not weakness; it’s the birthplace of connection. We lead most powerfully when we dare to be real.

And then she wrote something that perfectly captures the essence of the book’s spirit:

“The compassion, empathy, humanity is to be felt in every paragraph. Your words do not leave a doubt for what you stand and fight for. There is so much beauty and resonance from survival into empowerment. Being resourceful in face of uncertainty.”

Those words left me still for a while. Because that transformation, from survival into empowerment, is exactly what I hope every reader feels. That even when life has burned us, there is still a dragon within that knows how to rise.

🐉 The Leadership Leap is not a manual for management. It’s an invitation to become whole, to lead ourselves with honesty, to meet others with empathy, and to use our experiences not as proof of failure, but as fuel for understanding.

Katja’s message reminded me why I do this work: to bridge worlds. Between reason and emotion. Between engineering logic and human tenderness. Between difference and connection.

💚 To every reader who dares to face their dragons and step into their flame, thank you. Your reflections are part of this ongoing conversation that keeps this book alive beyond its pages.

If you haven’t yet taken your leap, perhaps Katja’s words will light the way.

👉 avagasso.com/shop

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May you find the courage to meet your dragons with compassion, and rise, not perfect, but whole.