In 2024 the Deutsches Ärzteblatt, the journal of the German medical profession, published a legal article on who may instruct whom among hospital doctors. The chief physician may give detailed instructions to junior doctors in training. That right shrinks as they gain expertise. “The more qualified the subordinate doctors are, the smaller the room” for instructions. If a senior physician masters an operating method that meets the medical standard, the chief may not require her to use the method the chief prefers. The author, a lawyer, describes this as the legal position. It is an interpretation, not a statute.
The Coach and the Sporting Director
In January 2020 Hansi Flick, head coach of Bayern Munich, publicly called for new players. The club’s sporting director, Hasan Salihamidžić, answered: Ich bin einfach kein Freund von medialer Kaderplanung. I am simply not a fan of planning the squad through the media. Disagreements between the two continued through the 2020–21 season. The club’s board disapproved of Flick’s one-sided communication. On 17 April 2021 Flick announced that he wanted to leave his contract in the summer.
The Vocabulary of Territory
Das ist nicht meine Baustelle. — That is not my construction site. It is not my area.
über jemandes Kopf hinweg — over someone’s head, without asking or informing that person
hineinregieren — to govern into something, to interfere from outside in an unwanted way
federführend — holding the pen, having the lead responsibility, as in das federführende Ministerium
der Zuständigkeitsbereich — the area of responsibility
das Silodenken — silo thinking
der Bereichsegoismus — departmental selfishness
Accept Solutions Other Than Your Own
The Bundeswehr’s regulation A-2600/1 on Innere Führung says: Führung muss Handlungsspielräume, Mitwirkung und Mitverantwortung ermöglichen. Leadership must allow room for action, participation and shared responsibility. Superiors must therefore lead mainly by mission, Führen mit Auftrag. The next sentence reads: Dabei müssen sie gegebenenfalls andere als die eigenen Lösungsansätze akzeptieren. In doing so, they must where necessary accept solutions other than their own. The regulation adds that only a person who was informed in time and in full, and who understands the purpose of the task, is able and willing to act in the spirit of the mission.
It Is Wrong to Order Details
German fire brigades work under the service regulation FwDV 100 on leadership in operations. Its 1999 edition defines Auftragstaktik, mission tactics, as a concept of leadership that leaves the crews as much freedom as possible in carrying out the task. Entscheidend ist das Erreichen des vorgegebenen Ziels. What counts is reaching the given goal. The order may be limited to a clear statement of that goal. The regulation also says: Es ist falsch, Einzelheiten zu befehlen, die die nachgeordneten Führungskräfte an Ort und Stelle besser übersehen. It is wrong to order details that the subordinate leaders on the spot can judge better.
Where the Stores Decide
Götz Werner and three partners founded the drugstore chain dm in 1973. Werner’s first store was in Karlsruhe. He gave his stores great independence. The store managers could decide on the product range and the staff schedules, and in part on pay. In a 2018 interview Werner said that a leader today must no longer be a Direktor but an Evokator, one who calls forth. Der Direktor weiß alles besser, gibt die Direktiven. The director knows everything better and gives the directives. Die Kollegin schaut nicht zum Vorgesetzten, sondern zum Kunden. The employee looks not to the superior, but to the customer. Werner died in February 2022, at the age of 78.
The Vocabulary of Being Watched
gängeln — to keep someone in leading strings, to patronize constantly. It comes from an old verb meaning “to make walk.”
bevormunden — to treat someone as a ward
jemanden an der kurzen Leine halten — to keep someone on a short leash
jemandem über die Schulter schauen — to look over someone’s shoulder
das Mikromanagement — micromanagement
der Kontrollfreak — the control freak
The Vocabulary of On and Off Duty
dienstlich oder privat? — official or private?
als Privatperson — as a private individual
der Dienstschluss — the official end of the working day
die Amtsperson — a person acting in an official capacity
Das ist meine Privatsache. — That is my private business.
das Diensthandy, der Dienstwagen — the work phone, the company car
die Funkstille — radio silence
The Complete File
German public administration follows the Grundsatz der Aktenmäßigkeit, the principle that every case is kept in a file. The Bundestag’s research service wrote in 2023 that proper file-keeping includes this duty. A paper by a federal and state working group on IT in administration, published by the Federal Archives, explains why. Only a complete file allows a full and legally secure reconstruction of a case. The documents serve as later proof of completeness, and they make a decision traceable and transparent. Lawyers and civil servants know the old maxim behind it. Quod non est in actis, non est in mundo. What is not in the file is not in the world.
What Is Not Recorded Is Presumed Not Done
Every doctor and therapist in Germany must keep a patient record. Section 630f of the Civil Code requires it. Entries must be made in direct connection in time with the treatment. A later change is allowed only if the original entry stays readable and the date of the change is visible. The record must contain all medically essential measures and their results, from the history and diagnoses to consents and explanations. It must be kept for ten years after the treatment ends. Section 630h adds the consequence. If a medically necessary measure was not recorded, the law presumes that it was not carried out.