Building Employee Buy-In for Policy Changes | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Richtlinien scheitern oft, wenn Mitarbeitende das Gefühl haben, dass ihnen Veränderungen aufgezwungen werden.

   Policies tend to fail when employees feel changes are being imposed on them.

   Richtlinien

   policies; guidelines

   scheitern

   fail

   oft

   often

   wenn

   when

   Mitarbeitende

   employees; staff members

   das Gefühl haben

   have the feeling

   ihnen

   to them

   Veränderungen

   changes

   aufgezwungen werden

   be imposed

   More detail

   Richtlinien is the plural of Richtlinie and means policies or guidelines here. The ending -en marks the plural form; the same form is also used for the nominative plural subject in this sentence. Example: Die Richtlinie ist klar. — “The guideline is clear.” scheitern means “to fail” or “to be unsuccessful.” Here it is the finite present-tense form for the plural subject Richtlinien; it has the same spelling as the infinitive. Example: Der Plan scheitert. — “The plan fails.” oft means “often” and describes how regularly something happens. It is an adverb, so it does not change for number or case. wenn introduces a condition or time-related subordinate clause; here it means “when” in the sense of “in situations where.” German places the finite verb toward the end of this subordinate clause. This clause begins with wenn Mitarbeitende ... and contains the more specific dass-clause inside it. Mitarbeitende means “employees” or “staff members” here. It is a gender-inclusive nominalized present participle related to mitarbeiten (“to work with/on a team or project”), and it is the plural subject of the wenn-clause. As a nominalized participle, it is capitalized and takes adjective-like endings in other forms; the plural nominative form here is Mitarbeitende. Example: Mitarbeitende erhalten Schulungen. — “Employees receive training.” das Gefühl haben is a reusable expression meaning “to have the feeling” or “to feel.” Gefühl is the noun “feeling,” and haben is the verb “to have”; here haben is present tense for the plural subject Mitarbeitende. Example: Sie haben das Gefühl, dass niemand zuhört. — “They feel that nobody is listening.” ihnen is the dative plural pronoun meaning “to them” here. The fixed translation identifies the referent as the employees. German uses the dative because the people are the ones affected by something being imposed, while Veränderungen is the grammatical subject of the passive clause. The dative form contrasts with nominative sie (“they”) and accusative sie (“them”) in the relevant plural forms. Veränderungen is the plural of Veränderung, meaning “changes.” It is the subject of the passive clause, even though it appears after the dative pronoun. Example: Veränderungen sind manchmal schwierig. — “Changes are sometimes difficult.” aufgezwungen werden is the present passive construction “be imposed.” aufgezwungen is the past participle of aufzwingen (“to impose or force something on someone”), and werden is the passive auxiliary. In Veränderungen aufgezwungen werden, the changes are presented as being imposed on the employees; the employees do not appear as the grammatical subject. Because this is inside a dass-clause, the finite auxiliary werden comes at the end. Example: Den Kunden werden zusätzliche Kosten aufgezwungen. — “Additional costs are imposed on the customers.” Together, Richtlinien scheitern oft says that policies often fail. The subordinate clause wenn Mitarbeitende das Gefühl haben gives the condition: this happens when employees feel something. The dass-clause specifies what they feel: ihnen Veränderungen aufgezwungen werden, “changes are being imposed on them.” Thus the complete utterance means: “Policies tend to fail when employees feel changes are being imposed on them.”

2. Mitarbeitende passen sich eher an, wenn sie bei diesem Prozess wirklich mitentscheiden können.

   People are more likely to adjust when they have a real say in the process.

   Mitarbeitende

   employees; staff members

   passen sich … an

   adapt; adjust

   eher

   more likely

   diesem

   this

   Prozess

   process

   wirklich

   really

   mitentscheiden

   have a say; help decide

   können

   can; be able to

   More detail

   Mitarbeitende means “employees” or “staff members” here. It is a gender-inclusive nominalized present participle used as a plural noun; the form does not identify the employees’ genders. A useful singular contrast is ein Mitarbeitender or eine Mitarbeitende, while the plural form here is Mitarbeitende. passen sich ... an comes from the separable verb sich anpassen, “to adapt” or “to adjust.” sich is the reflexive pronoun required by this verb, and an is the separated prefix. In the present tense, the prefix moves to the end of the main clause: Die Mitarbeitenden passen sich an. The form passen is present tense, third-person plural, agreeing with Mitarbeitende. eher makes the adjustment more likely or more probable rather than asserting that it definitely happens. It is commonly useful in the pattern eher ..., wenn ...: “more likely to ..., when ...”. For example, Sie stimmt eher zu, wenn man sie einbezieht. — “She is more likely to agree when she is involved.” diesem means “this” in the form required here. It is a demonstrative determiner in the dative masculine or neuter singular. The dative is required by bei, and it agrees with the masculine noun Prozess: bei diesem Prozess. The form alone does not identify a physical location; here it points to the relevant process. Prozess means “process.” Its plural is Prozesse. In this sentence, bei diesem Prozess means “in this process” or “during this process”; bei takes the dative in this use. The noun remains masculine, which is why the demonstrative is diesem rather than dieser. wirklich means “really” and strengthens the idea that the employees genuinely have a role in deciding. It modifies the following participation in decision-making, not the word Prozess. mitentscheiden means “to participate in deciding” or “to have a say.” The prefix mit- adds the idea of deciding together or having an influence on a decision. As a separable verb, it can appear as Sie entscheidet mit. — “She has a say.” In the supplied sentence it stays as the infinitive mitentscheiden because it follows the modal verb können. können means “can” or “be able to.” It is the finite modal verb here and is in the third-person plural form agreeing with sie, whose grammatical role is the employees. In a main clause, Sie können mitentscheiden. means “They can have a say.” In the wenn clause, German places the infinitive before the finite modal: wenn sie ... mitentscheiden können. Together, bei diesem Prozess identifies the setting, while wirklich mitentscheiden können says that the employees genuinely have decision-making influence. The wenn clause gives the condition, and the main clause says that the employees then passen sich eher an: they are more likely to adjust. Thus the whole utterance means: “Employees are more likely to adjust when they have a real say in the process.”

3. Wir könnten Vorschläge einholen, bevor wir den Plan endgültig festlegen.

   We could invite suggestions before we finalize the plan.

   Wir könnten

   we could

   Vorschläge

   suggestions

   einholen

   solicit

   bevor

   before

   Plan

   plan

   endgültig

   definitively

   festlegen

   finalize

   More detail

   Wir könnten means “we could” here. könnten is the Konjunktiv II form of können used with wir to present the action as a possible proposal. The other verb appears later as the full infinitive einholen, as required after a modal verb. Example: Wir könnten warten. — “We could wait.” Vorschläge means “suggestions” here. It is the plural of the noun der Vorschlag; the singular is ein Vorschlag. In this sentence, Vorschläge is the direct object of einholen. Example: Wir sammeln Vorschläge. — “We are collecting suggestions.” einholen means “to solicit” or “to obtain,” here referring to suggestions. It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, Wir holen Vorschläge ein means “We solicit suggestions.” After könnten, it remains as the full infinitive einholen. Example: Wir holen Feedback ein. — “We solicit feedback.” bevor introduces a subordinate time clause meaning “before.” In German, the finite verb is placed at the end of this clause: bevor wir den Plan endgültig festlegen — “before we definitively finalize the plan.” Plan is the noun der Plan, meaning “plan.” In den Plan, the masculine singular article is accusative because the plan is the direct object of festlegen. Example: Wir ändern den Plan. — “We change the plan.” endgültig means “definitively” or “finally” here. It describes the final status of setting the plan, not the time when the action happens. The same adjective can describe a noun, as in eine endgültige Entscheidung — “a final decision.” festlegen means “to finalize,” “determine,” or “set.” It is separable: in a finite main clause, Wir legen den Plan fest means “We finalize the plan.” In the subordinate clause here, the finite form is placed at the end and the prefix is joined to the verb: wir ... festlegen. Although this form looks identical to the infinitive, it is finite here because wir supplies the subject and the clause is present tense. Example: Wir legen den Termin fest. — “We set the date.” Together, Wir könnten Vorschläge einholen expresses a possible proposal: “We could solicit suggestions.” bevor wir den Plan endgültig festlegen adds the time relation: the solicitation would happen before we definitively finalize the plan. The complete utterance is: “We could invite suggestions before we finalize the plan.”

4. Dadurch kämen praktische Probleme zur Sprache, die wir von hier aus vielleicht nicht erkennen.

   That would bring up practical issues we might not see from here.

   Dadurch

   thereby; as a result

   kämen

   would come

   praktische

   practical

   Probleme

   problems; issues

   zur Sprache

   come up for discussion

   von hier aus

   from here

   vielleicht

   perhaps; maybe

   erkennen

   recognize; see

   More detail

   Dadurch means “through that” or “as a result of that.” It points back to an already mentioned measure or circumstance; here it introduces the consequence that follows from it. Example: Dadurch sparen wir Zeit. — “That way, we save time.” kämen is the Konjunktiv II form of kommen (“to come”). In this sentence it presents a possible or hypothetical consequence: practical problems would come up. The form chain is kommen — “to come,” kamen — “came” (simple past), kämen — “would come.” The umlaut and ending belong to kämen, the verb form itself; they are not features of the nearby noun. praktische is the inflected form of the adjective praktisch (“practical”). It describes Probleme here. Because the adjective stands before a plural noun with no article, it takes the ending -e in this form: praktische Probleme. Example: praktische Lösungen — “practical solutions.” Probleme is the plural of Problem (“problem; issue”). The singular/plural contrast is ein Problem / mehrere Probleme. In this sentence, the plural refers to practical issues in general, not to one specifically identified problem. zur Sprache is part of the idiom zur Sprache kommen, literally “come to speech,” meaning “come up for discussion” or “be brought up.” The fixed phrase uses the contraction zur = zu der; Sprache is the noun inside the idiom. Example: Das Thema kam zur Sprache. — “The topic came up for discussion.” With kämen, the idiom is hypothetical: the issues would be brought up or would come up for discussion. von hier aus means “from here” or “from this position or perspective.” aus adds the point of departure, so this is more specific than simply hier (“here”). Example: Von hier aus sieht man den See. — “You can see the lake from here.” vielleicht means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It makes the claim uncertain: the speaker says that the issues might not be recognizable from this position, rather than asserting that they definitely are not. erkennen means “to recognize” or “to see clearly.” It is the base form used after the negation in the relative clause: die wir ... nicht erkennen — “that we do not recognize or see.” Example: Ich erkenne das Problem jetzt. — “I recognize the problem now.” The separate word nicht negates erkennen in the sentence; it is not part of the verb’s meaning. The relative pronoun die connects Probleme with the clause wir von hier aus vielleicht nicht erkennen: the problems are the things that “we might not see from here.” Here wir is the subject of erkennen, while Probleme is its object. German places the finite verb at the end of this relative clause, so erkennen comes after nicht. Taken together, Dadurch kämen praktische Probleme zur Sprache says that, as a result, practical issues would come up for discussion. The relative clause specifies which issues: die wir von hier aus vielleicht nicht erkennen — “that we might not see from here.” The complete meaning is therefore: “That would bring up practical issues we might not see from here.”

5. Außerdem gibt es den Mitarbeitenden mehr Anlass, sich für das Ergebnis zu interessieren.

   It also gives people more reason to care about the outcome.

   Außerdem

   also; furthermore

   gibt

   gives

   Mitarbeitenden

   employees; staff

   mehr

   more

   Anlass

   reason; occasion

   interessieren

   be interested

   Ergebnis

   outcome; result

   More detail

   Außerdem means “also” or “furthermore” and connects this statement with what has already been said. It appears at the beginning here, but it can also occur elsewhere in a German sentence. Example: Außerdem ist der Plan umsetzbar. — “The plan is also feasible.” gibt is the third-person singular present form of geben (“to give”): geben → gibt. In this sentence, geben is not the existential “there is”; it has a recipient and something given. The reusable pattern is jemandem Anlass geben, etwas zu tun — “to give someone reason to do something.” Mitarbeitenden means “employees” or “staff members” here. It is a nominalized form used as a gender-inclusive designation. den Mitarbeitenden is dative plural: den marks the recipient of gibt, and the plural form ends in -en. The dative is required because the employees are the people receiving the reason. Example: Wir danken den Mitarbeitenden. — “We thank the staff members.” mehr is the comparative form related to viel: viel (“much/many”) → mehr (“more”) → am meisten (“the most”). Here it indicates an increase in the amount of reason, without itself stating an exact number. Example: Der Bericht gibt uns mehr Informationen. — “The report gives us more information.” Anlass is a masculine noun: der Anlass, plural die Anlässe. In this sentence it means “reason” or “grounds,” not a particular event. The phrase jemandem Anlass geben is useful for expressing that something motivates or justifies an action. Here mehr Anlass is the accusative object of gibt: the sentence gives the employees more reason. interessieren is the infinitive of interessieren. With a person as the interested party, German normally uses the reflexive pattern sich für etwas interessieren, meaning “to be interested in something” or, in this context, “to care about something.” The sentence uses the infinitive construction sich ... zu interessieren; zu stands immediately before the verb, while sich appears earlier. Example: Sie interessiert sich für Musik. — “She is interested in music.” Ergebnis is a neuter noun: das Ergebnis, plural die Ergebnisse. It means “result” or “outcome.” In für das Ergebnis, the preposition für introduces what the interest is directed toward; das is the neuter form used with this noun. Example: Wir warten auf das Ergebnis. — “We are waiting for the result.” Together, gibt den Mitarbeitenden mehr Anlass means “gives the employees more reason.” The following infinitive construction, sich für das Ergebnis zu interessieren, specifies what they have reason to do: be interested in or care about the outcome. Thus the whole utterance means: “It also gives people more reason to care about the outcome.”

6. Ein umsetzbarer Plan braucht trotzdem Mitarbeitende, die sich mit ihm identifizieren.

   A workable plan still needs people to feel invested.

   umsetzbarer

   workable

   Plan

   plan

   braucht

   needs

   trotzdem

   still

   Mitarbeitende

   people

   sich mit ihm identifizieren

   identify with it; feel invested

   More detail

   umsetzbarer describes the plan as feasible or workable. Its base form is umsetzbar; here it has the ending -er because it comes before the masculine nominative noun Plan after the indefinite article ein. The ending reflects the full grammatical conditions, not singularity alone. Compare: ein umsetzbarer Plan = “a workable plan,” but eine umsetzbare Idee = “a workable idea.” Plan is a masculine noun meaning “plan.” Its plural is Pläne. Here it is the subject of braucht, so ein umsetzbarer Plan means “a workable plan.” braucht is the third-person singular present form of brauchen (“to need”). Its subject is ein umsetzbarer Plan: Der Plan braucht Zeit. = “The plan needs time.” trotzdem means “still” or “nevertheless.” It marks a contrast: despite the relevant preceding condition, the plan has the need expressed by braucht. It does not itself mean “again.” Mitarbeitende refers here to people involved in the work—“people” in the fixed translation. In this sentence it is a plural nominalized present participle used as a gender-inclusive term for employees or collaborators, and it is the object of braucht. The corresponding form in this sentence is plural because the relative clause has plural die and identifizieren. Example: Die Mitarbeitenden arbeiten zusammen. = “The employees are working together.” sich mit ihm identifizieren is a reflexive construction meaning “to identify with it” and, in this context, “to feel invested in it.” The base verb is identifizieren; with sich mit it expresses a personal connection with something or someone. mit takes the dative, and ihm is the dative singular pronoun referring here to Plan, so mit ihm means “with it.” Example: Viele Menschen identifizieren sich mit dem Projekt. = “Many people feel connected to the project.” The relative clause die sich mit ihm identifizieren specifies which Mitarbeitende are needed: those who identify with the plan. die is the plural relative pronoun referring to Mitarbeitende. sich is the reflexive pronoun required by identifizieren; its form is the same here for third-person singular and plural, while the plural subject is shown by die and the verb form identifizieren. ihm remains singular because it refers to the plan. Taken together, Ein umsetzbarer Plan braucht trotzdem Mitarbeitende means “A workable plan still needs people,” and die sich mit ihm identifizieren specifies that these are people who feel personally connected to or invested in the plan. The complete utterance is: “A workable plan still needs people to feel invested.”

7. Die Herausforderung besteht darin, die Diskussion konstruktiv und konkret zu halten.

   The hard part is keeping the discussion constructive and specific.

   Herausforderung

   challenge

   besteht darin

   consists in; lies in

   Diskussion

   discussion

   konstruktiv

   constructive

   konkret

   specific

   zu halten

   to keep

   More detail

   Herausforderung means “challenge” here, specifically the difficult part of an activity. Its base form is die Herausforderung; the plural is die Herausforderungen. The article and noun form show feminine singular in this sentence. besteht darin is the reusable pattern darin bestehen, etwas zu tun, meaning “to lie in doing something” or “to consist in doing something.” besteht is the third-person singular present form of bestehen (“to consist” here), agreeing with the singular subject die Herausforderung. The darin points forward to the action expressed by the infinitive construction, rather than identifying a physical location. Diskussion means “discussion.” The form here is die Diskussion in the accusative because it is the thing being kept. Its plural is die Diskussionen. German uses the same noun form for nominative and accusative feminine singular; the article would show the case more clearly in contexts where it changes. konstruktiv describes the discussion as constructive. In this sentence it is used after halten, so it is a predicative adjective and has no ending. The adjective can take endings when placed directly before a noun, for example eine konstruktive Diskussion (“a constructive discussion”), but that is a different position. konkret means “specific” here: the discussion should remain focused on definite, tangible points rather than becoming vague. Like konstruktiv, it is predicative after halten and therefore remains without an adjective ending. Example: Bitte formuliere dein Ziel konkret. — “Please formulate your goal specifically.” zu halten means “to keep” in this construction. halten is the base form, and zu halten is its infinitive with zu. The pattern etwas + adjective + halten means to keep something in a particular state: Wir halten den Plan einfach. — “We keep the plan simple.” Here, die Diskussion ... zu halten names the action in which the challenge lies. Together, Die Herausforderung besteht darin introduces what the challenge consists of, and die Diskussion konstruktiv und konkret zu halten expresses that action: keeping the discussion constructive and specific. The whole utterance therefore means, “The hard part is keeping the discussion constructive and specific.”

8. Dann sollten wir gezielte Fragen stellen, statt allgemein um Rückmeldungen zu bitten.

   Then we should ask focused questions instead of making a broad feedback request.

   Dann

   then

   sollten wir

   we should

   gezielte

   focused, targeted

   Fragen

   questions

   stellen

   ask

   statt

   instead of

   allgemein

   broadly, in general

   Rückmeldungen

   feedback

   bitten

   ask for, request

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here and links this proposal to the preceding discussion. It can also refer to a time or a consequence in other sentences; here it marks the proposed next step. sollten wir expresses “we should”: sollten is the first-person plural form of sollen in the Konjunktiv II, used here for a recommendation rather than a firm command. The subject is wir, “we.” Compare Wir sollen ... (“we are supposed to ...”), which more directly reports an expectation or instruction. Example: Wir sollten früher anfangen. — “We should start earlier.” gezielte describes the questions as specifically directed at the information wanted. It is the inflected form of the adjective gezielt; here it agrees with plural accusative Fragen in a noun phrase without an article. The adjective is not based on Fragen. Example: gezielte Unterstützung — “targeted support.” Fragen is the plural of Frage, “question.” In this sentence it is the accusative object of stellen. The singular is eine Frage; the plural form is Fragen. Example: Ich habe eine Frage. — “I have a question.” stellen literally means “put” or “place,” but eine Frage stellen is the standard German construction for “ask a question.” The infinitive follows sollten: Wir sollten Fragen stellen — “We should ask questions.” This is different from fragen, which directly means “ask” and normally takes the person or thing asked, for example Ich frage ihn. — “I ask him.” statt introduces an alternative that is not chosen: “instead of.” In this sentence it introduces the infinitive construction statt ... zu bitten. German also uses statt with a noun phrase, commonly with the genitive: statt einer Frage — “instead of a question.” allgemein is an adverb here, describing the manner or scope of the request: broadly or in general. It contrasts with the more specific focus expressed by gezielte. Example: Bitte nicht allgemein antworten. — “Please do not answer in general terms.” Rückmeldungen is the plural of Rückmeldung, meaning feedback or responses. In um Rückmeldungen bitten, the noun follows um; this construction means “ask for feedback.” The plural presents feedback as responses or pieces of feedback, without specifying a number. Example: Wir bitten um Rückmeldung. — “We ask for feedback.” bitten means “ask for” or “request” when used with um: um etwas bitten means “to ask for something.” Here it is an infinitive with zu in the larger clause: statt ... um Rückmeldungen zu bitten. Do not confuse it with fragen: fragen asks a person or asks a question, whereas um etwas bitten requests something. Together, Wir sollten gezielte Fragen stellen means “we should ask focused questions.” The alternative clause statt allgemein um Rückmeldungen zu bitten means “instead of broadly asking for feedback.” Thus the complete utterance is: “Then we should ask focused questions instead of making a broad feedback request.”