Germany, Feedback, Relationship - understand-culture

Criticize the Work, Not the Person

Hart in der Sache, weich zum Menschen — hard on the matter, soft on the person. A common German rule for criticism. The SPD’s party school uses the variant Hart in der Sache, fair zu den Menschen, hard on the matter, fair to the people.

sachlich bleiben — to stay factual, to keep to the matter

sachliche Kritik — criticism of the matter

Kritisieren Sie immer die Verhaltensweisen — always criticize the behavior, never the traits, as a management guide for dental practices advises

The first motto is the German form of a principle from the Harvard negotiation method of Roger Fisher and William Ury, published in 1981 as Getting to Yes.

Judged by Number, Not by Name

In a German public architecture competition run under the federal Guideline for Planning Competitions of 2013, the jury does not know whose design it is judging. Under the guideline, each participant marks every part of the entry only with a Kennzahl, a code number. The entries stay anonymous until the jury has decided. The jury assesses the shortlisted designs in writing, and the decision is recorded in minutes. Afterwards all entries are exhibited in public with the authors’ names, together with the minutes.

Criticize the Treatment, Not the Doctor

The professional code of the Medical Association of Saxony-Anhalt says: Ärzte haben sich untereinander kollegial zu verhalten. Doctors must behave collegially toward one another. The code then says what this excludes. Unsachliche Kritik an der Behandlungsweise oder dem beruflichen Wissen eines Arztes sowie herabsetzende Äußerungen über dessen Person sind berufswidrig. Unfactual criticism of a doctor’s treatment or professional knowledge, and disparaging remarks about the doctor as a person, violate professional rules. The association’s journal added in 2012 that factual criticism of a colleague’s treatment remains allowed.

The Professor Who Went Back to Sie

The Trier guide for students tells of a professor who at first said du to her staff. Over the years she found that younger staff found it increasingly hard to say du to a respected and older superior. She also found that it is much easier to criticize staff, to warn them or even to dismiss them, when one is on Sie terms with them. According to the guide, most professors therefore switch at some point in their careers to an obligatory Sie with new staff, if they have not used it from the start. The guide also says who makes the first move. A research assistant would hardly offer the du to the head of department, but the other way round would be more conceivable.

The Hospital Meeting About Bad Outcomes

The Morbiditäts- und Mortalitätskonferenz is a regular hospital meeting about complications and deaths. A case that went badly is presented, and the team asks what happened. In 2016 the German Medical Association published a guide for these meetings. It says the discussion should be sach- und nicht personenbezogen, about the matter and not about the person. It should concentrate on facts and processes, not on people. The aim is to work through critical events free of blame. It should be possible to ask “Why?”, and doctors in senior positions must be ready to have their own mistakes discussed. Among the obstacles the guide lists is a discussion that focuses on blame and individual mistakes.

Words for a Useful Quarrel

sich zusammenraufen — to tussle one’s way together. Duden: to reach an understanding step by step after more or less fierce arguments.

ein reinigendes Gewitter — a cleansing thunderstorm. Duden’s example: der Streit wirkte wie ein reinigendes Gewitter, the quarrel worked like a cleansing thunderstorm.

reinen Tisch machen — to make a clean table, to create clear conditions.

Nichts für ungut! — No offense meant. Duden: it is not meant badly. It is said after a blunt remark, and it does not take the remark back.

The Dance Judge

Joachim Llambi has been a judge on the RTL dance show Let’s Dance since 2006. He also judges professional and amateur dancesport. In 2014 he published a book subtitled Mut zur ehrlichen Kritik, courage for honest criticism. In 2025 he said: “Ich will bei ‹Let’s Dance› stets ein ehrliches, klares Urteil geben.” I always want to give an honest, clear verdict on Let’s Dance. It annoys him, he added, when criticism becomes insulting for no reason. He looks at timing, footwork, body lines and the work with the partner. “Wir bewerten das, was wir sehen”, he said. We judge what we see.

The Electric Chair

From 1947 to 1967, the writer Hans Werner Richter invited authors to the meetings of the Gruppe 47. Authors read unpublished texts aloud, and the others criticized them on the spot. The reader sat on the free chair next to Richter, which was jokingly called the elektrischer Stuhl, the electric chair. Zur wichtigen Maxime wurde, dass der Vortragende sich nicht verteidigen durfte, sowie dass die Kritik der konkreten Texte im Mittelpunkt stand. It became an important rule that the reader was not allowed to defend himself, and that the criticism focused on the actual texts. In 1958 Günter Grass read the first chapter of his still unpublished novel Die Blechtrommel at a meeting in the Allgäu and won the group’s prize.

Words for Leaving the Matter

unsachlich werden — to stop being factual.

persönlich werden — to get personal.

Das ist nicht persönlich gemeint. — That is not meant personally.

das Totschlagargument — literally a manslaughter argument. Duden defines it as a pseudo-argument made on purpose, hard to contest because it is empty or general, and meant to end the discussion of the substance.

die Schlammschlacht — a mud battle. Duden: a dispute, especially in politics, conducted without objectivity and with disparaging remarks.

ein Schlag unter die Gürtellinie — a blow below the belt. Duden: unfair, impermissible behavior.

Der Ton macht die Musik. — The tone makes the music. Germans use the proverb when bluntness has become rude.

The work reference

Das Arbeitszeugnis. Every German employee is legally entitled to a written reference on leaving, and it must describe the work performed and assess performance and conduct. It is a document about the substance of the job — the tasks, the responsibilities, the specialism — not a character reference.