Teamwork Archives - Page 4 of 14

Words for Going Around

kungeln — to settle something in a secret arrangement. Duden marks it as colloquial and derogatory. One of its examples is um Posten kungeln, to bargain secretly over posts.

die Kungelei — secret dealing

der Alleingang — the solo walk. Duden: acting on one’s own strength while doing without, often deliberately, the help or consent of others, as in ein nationaler Alleingang. In football the same word means a solo run by one player with the ball.

sich abstimmen — to coordinate with each other

Rücksprache halten — to check back with someone before acting

The Weekly Plan by Thursday at 2 p.m.

In German public theaters, the week of the whole ensemble is fixed in advance. Since 1 August 2025, the collective agreement for stage artists, the NV Bühne, requires the Wochenplan, the weekly plan, to be published inside the theater by 2 p.m. on the Thursday of the week before. A non-binding preview of the following week is attached. Each member must inform himself about the plan. Most changes must be announced by 2 p.m. on the day before. Later ones need the member’s consent. A rehearsal or performance can be canceled at any time.

The Holiday List

The career site Karrierebibel advises German teams to settle at the start of the year who will take leave when, and suggests a public holiday list on the notice board or the intranet. The law sets the order of priority. Under Section 7 of the Federal Leave Act, the employer must follow the employee’s wishes, unless urgent operational needs stand in the way, or the wishes of colleagues who deserve priority on social grounds, such as parents of school-age children. A works council has a say over the principles of holiday planning. In 2021 the Federal Labor Court confirmed that an employee who takes leave that was not granted can in principle be dismissed without notice.

The Team Writes Its Fines

In German amateur football, a team agrees its Strafenkatalog, its catalog of fines, before the season. A guide by the sports retailer Decathlon describes the custom. The catalog is set jointly within the team. Missing training without an excuse is an absolute no-go. The Kassenwart, the team’s treasurer, fixes the amounts together with the coach. The money in the team kitty pays for the losers’ pizza, the team party or the end-of-season trip. Professional teams keep such lists too. In Borussia Dortmund’s catalog for 2023–24, young players named on a list paid 100 euros if they did not help the kit manager with bags and equipment. A red card for violent conduct, complaining or a deliberate foul was left to the Mannschaftsrat, the team council, to judge case by case.

The Club Constitution

A German club cannot be registered without a written constitution, the Satzung. Under Section 57 of the Civil Code, it must state at least the club’s name, seat and purpose. Section 58 adds rules on members and dues, on how the board is formed, on when the members’ assembly is called and on how its decisions are recorded. It should be signed by at least seven members before the club is first entered in the register of associations. The register counts more than 600,000 registered clubs. A common saying goes: Treffen sich drei Deutsche, gründen sie einen Verein. When three Germans meet, they found a club. The saying is anonymous.

Every Unit Signs for Its Part

In a German federal ministry, every matter has one lead unit. The Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries give the lead to the unit that is mainly responsible under the distribution of business. In case of doubt, the ministry’s organization division decides. The lead unit then decides which other units take part. Co-signing, the Mitzeichnung, is reserved for matters of importance. Durch Mitzeichnung wird die fachliche Verantwortung für den vertretenen Aufgabenbereich übernommen. By co-signing, a unit takes professional responsibility for its own area. The file must show which units worked on the matter, co-signed it and signed it. If ministries still disagree after a personal attempt to settle the matter, the cabinet paper must set out the dispute, together with proposed solutions.

The Works Council Chief Before 25,000

On 4 September 2024 the Volkswagen board defended its savings plans before 25,000 employees at a staff assembly in Wolfsburg. At the same assembly, the head of the works council, Daniela Cavallo, said: Volkswagen krankt daran, dass der Vorstand seinen Job nicht macht. Volkswagen is ailing because the board is not doing its job. She called the plans an Armutszeugnis, literally a certificate of poverty, a proof of failure. The chief financial officer told the workforce that the company had one year, perhaps two, to change course. On 20 December 2024 Volkswagen and the IG Metall union reached an agreement.

Whoever Dishes It Out

austeilen — to hand out. Duden gives an informal sense: to criticize sharply, as in sie kann ganz schön austeilen, she can really dish it out.

Wer austeilt, muss auch einstecken können. — Whoever dishes it out must also be able to take it.

einstecken — to pocket: to accept something without fighting back. Duden’s examples include Kritik einstecken, to take criticism.

ein dickes Fell haben — to have a thick hide, to be thick-skinned

keine Kritik vertragen — to be unable to take criticism

unter aller Kritik — beneath all criticism, very bad

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.

One in Three Is Often Praised

In the 2018 Employment Survey of two federal institutes, the BIBB and the BAuA, only one employee in three reported frequent recognition and praise from superiors. About six in ten said that they often received support from their manager. The trade unions’ Good Work Index of the same year found that 32 percent of employees received little or no appreciation at work.