Gut Ding will Weile haben — a good thing wants time.
Eile mit Weile — hurry with leisure, a German rendering of festina lente.
Übers Knie brechen — to break something over the knee. The German phrase for forcing a hasty resolution, and it names what happens to the thing.
Erst mal eine Nacht drüber schlafen — sleep a night over it first. Said in German meetings, and acted on.
Eine Lösung, mit der beide leben können — a solution both can live with. The standard German formulation, and the verb is leben, to live.
Sich zusammenraufen — to scuffle one’s way together. A rough process with a settled ending.
Auf einen gemeinsamen Nenner kommen — to arrive at a common denominator.
Unter einen Hut bringen — to bring under one hat, said of reconciling competing interests.
Etwas hochkochen lassen — to let something boil up. Said of a person who allowed a conflict to escalate, and it is an accusation.
Das schaukelt sich hoch — it rocks itself up, a conflict building through mutual response.
Öl ins Feuer gießen — to pour oil on the fire.
Die Wogen glätten — to smooth the waves, the approving description of what a good manager does.
Unter vier Augen — under four eyes, meaning between two people.
Das bleibt unter uns — that stays among us.
Schmutzige Wäsche wäscht man nicht in der Öffentlichkeit — one does not wash dirty linen in public.
Der Flurfunk — corridor radio, the German word for office rumour, and it is what a public hearing is understood to feed.
Die Aussprache. A talking-out. The German word for the conversation in which a difficulty is worked through between the people involved. It is arranged, it is expected to take a while, and it happens without spectators.
Das Einzelgespräch. The individual conversation. German managers handling a dispute speak to each party alone first, and the sequence is expected. Bringing both into a room before that has happened is read as poor handling, not as directness.
Verschwiegenheitspflicht. German works council members, company officers and many employees are under statutory confidentiality duties covering internal matters. A conflict cannot be resolved by making it public, because making it public is itself a breach.
Die nichtöffentliche Sitzung. German works council meetings are held in private by statute, and the duty of confidentiality binds the members afterwards. The law removes the audience before the discussion begins.
Deeskalation. De-escalation is taught as a named technique in German policing, nursing, teaching and public service, with its own training courses and certificates. Slowing a situation down is treated as a professional skill with a curriculum.
Das Vier-Augen-Gespräch. The four-eyes conversation. German conflict handling begins with separate one-to-one discussions rather than with a meeting of the parties. Several of them, in sequence, before anyone is brought together — which takes time by design.