C2 · 50 words
Leadership and organisation in Spanish
Deciding, delegating, conflict and change — the words managing people is worked in.
El clima de confianza en el equipo is the climate of trust, and la confianza is a word English has to break into three. It is trust: no me da confianza, I do not trust it. It is confidence, and self-confidence is la confianza en uno mismo. And then there is a third sense English has no noun for at all. Tener confianza con alguien is being close enough to say the awkward thing without dressing it up — and tomarse confianzas, in the plural, is going too far with exactly that licence. On a page about leading people the third sense is the one that matters, because it is the thing a manager has to earn and can lose in a single meeting.
The words
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Phrase (49)
la autoridad formalthe authority that comes with the postPhraseC2
La autoridad formal viene con el cargo.Formal authority comes with the post.
la autoridad moralthe authority that has to be earned and can be lost in a dayPhraseC2
La autoridad moral se gana y se pierde deprisa.Moral authority is earned and quickly lost.
el liderazgo situacionalthe leading that fits the style to the person in front of youPhraseC2
El liderazgo situacional adapta el estilo a la persona.Situational leadership fits the style to the person.
el liderazgo transaccionalthe leading that works through clear rewardsPhraseC2
El liderazgo transaccional funciona con incentivos claros.Transactional leadership works with clear incentives.
el liderazgo transformadorthe leading that changes what people want in the first placePhraseC2
El liderazgo transformador cambia lo que la gente quiere.Transformational leadership changes what people want.
el liderazgo distribuidothe leading with no single name at the topPhraseC2
El liderazgo distribuido no tiene un solo nombre arriba.Distributed leadership has no single name at the top.
el ámbito de controlthe number of people one manager can actually carryPhraseC2
El ámbito de control se estrecha con la complejidad.The span of control narrows as complexity grows.
la doble dependencia jerárquicathe answering to two bosses at oncePhraseC2
La doble dependencia jerárquica obliga a negociar prioridades.A double reporting line forces priorities to be negotiated.
la estructura matricialthe structure that gives every person those two bossesPhraseC2
La estructura matricial da dos jefes a cada persona.The matrix structure gives every person two bosses.
la línea jerárquica y la funcionalthe professional line and the disciplinary one, which sooner or later collidePhraseC2
La línea jerárquica y la funcional entran en conflicto antes o después.The professional line and the disciplinary one collide sooner or later.
la delegación efectivathe delegating that hands over the decision as well as the workPhraseC2
La delegación efectiva traspasa también la decisión.Effective delegation hands over the decision as well.
el nivel de decisión delegadothe level of decision handed over, agreed in writingPhraseC2
El nivel de decisión delegado se acuerda por escrito.The level of decision delegated is agreed in writing.
la rendición de cuentasthe answering for the outcome, which is never handed overPhraseC2
La rendición de cuentas no se delega nunca.Accountability is never delegated.
el mandato clarothe brief that says what, by when, and with how much roomPhraseC2
El mandato claro dice qué, para cuándo y con qué margen.A clear brief says what, by when, and with how much room.
la expectativa explícitathe expectation said out loud, which prevents half the argumentsPhraseC2
La expectativa explícita evita la mitad de los conflictos.An expectation said out loud prevents half the conflicts.
el mensaje incómodo bien dadothe awkward message given well: prepared, and not put offPhraseC2
El mensaje incómodo bien dado se prepara y no se aplaza.An awkward message given well is prepared and not put off.
la retroalimentación específicathe feedback that describes behaviour and not characterPhraseC2
La retroalimentación específica describe conducta, no carácter.Specific feedback describes behaviour, not character.
la valoración por objetivos acordadosthe appraisal against agreed objectives, which surprises nobodyPhraseC2
La valoración por objetivos acordados no debe sorprender a nadie.Appraisal against agreed objectives should surprise nobody.
el sesgo de recencia en la evaluaciónthe bias that weighs the last month and forgets the other elevenPhraseC2
El sesgo de recencia en la evaluación pesa el último mes.Recency bias in appraisal weighs the last month.
el plan de desarrollo individualthe development plan, written by the person themselvesPhraseC2
El plan de desarrollo individual lo escribe la persona.The individual development plan is written by the person themselves.
la sucesión de puestos clavethe planning of who follows into the posts that matterPhraseC2
La sucesión de puestos clave se prepara con años.Succession into key posts is prepared years ahead.
la retención del talentothe keeping of good people, which is decided by their own managerPhraseC2
La retención del talento se juega en el jefe directo.Keeping good people is decided by their immediate manager.
la rotación no deseadathe leaving that nobody wanted, visible in the surveys firstPhraseC2
La rotación no deseada avisa antes en las encuestas.Unwanted turnover gives warning in the surveys first.
el motivo real de la marchathe real reason somebody left, learned too latePhraseC2
El motivo real de la marcha se conoce demasiado tarde.The real reason for leaving is learned too late.
el clima de confianza en el equipothe climate in which saying that something is going wrong is possiblePhraseC2
El clima de confianza en el equipo permite decir que algo va mal.A climate of trust makes it possible to say that something is going wrong.
el pensamiento de grupothe thinking that mistakes silence for agreementPhraseC2
El pensamiento de grupo confunde silencio con acuerdo.Groupthink mistakes silence for agreement.
el abogado del diablo asignadothe person given the job of arguing the other sidePhraseC2
El abogado del diablo asignado obliga a oír la objeción.The appointed devil's advocate forces the objection to be heard.
la decisión por consentimientothe decision that asks not for enthusiasm but for no serious objectionPhraseC2
La decisión por consentimiento no exige entusiasmo, solo ausencia de objeción grave.Decision by consent asks not for enthusiasm, only for no serious objection.
la decisión reversiblethe decision that can be undone, and so is taken fastPhraseC2
La decisión reversible se toma deprisa y sin comité.A reversible decision is taken fast and without a committee.
el coste de la indecisiónthe cost of not deciding, which appears in no budgetPhraseC2
El coste de la indecisión no aparece en ningún presupuesto.The cost of not deciding appears in no budget.
el conflicto de tareathe argument about the work, which improves the decisionPhraseC2
El conflicto de tarea mejora la decisión.Conflict about the task improves the decision.
el conflicto de relaciónthe argument about the people, which spoils it every timePhraseC2
El conflicto de relación la empeora siempre.Conflict about the relationship always makes it worse.
la mediación internathe mediating done inside the house, by somebody with no stakePhraseC2
La mediación interna necesita a alguien sin interés en el resultado.Internal mediation needs somebody with no stake in the outcome.
la pregunta que abrethe question that opens, worth more than ten statementsPhraseC2
La pregunta que abre da más información que diez afirmaciones.The question that opens gives more than ten statements.
la gestión del cambiothe leading of a change, which begins by explaining whyPhraseC2
La gestión del cambio empieza por explicar el porqué.Leading a change begins by explaining why.
la resistencia al cambiothe resistance to it, which usually carries useful informationPhraseC2
La resistencia al cambio suele contener información útil.Resistance to change usually contains useful information.
la coalición promotorathe group that has to be behind it before anything is announcedPhraseC2
La coalición promotora se forma antes de anunciar nada.The supporting coalition is formed before anything is announced.
la victoria tempranathe early win that buys time for the hard partPhraseC2
La victoria temprana compra tiempo para lo difícil.An early win buys time for the hard part.
la cultura organizativathe culture, which is what is done when nobody is watchingPhraseC2
La cultura organizativa es lo que se hace cuando nadie mira.The culture of an organisation is what happens when nobody is watching.
el valor declarado y el practicadothe value stated and the value actually lived byPhraseC2
El valor declarado y el practicado rara vez coinciden.The stated value and the practised one rarely coincide.
la norma implícita del equipothe unwritten rule of a team, which outweighs the written onePhraseC2
La norma implícita del equipo pesa más que el reglamento.The team's unwritten rule weighs more than the regulations.
el ritual de equipothe team ritual, which holds what no process holdsPhraseC2
El ritual de equipo sostiene lo que ningún proceso sostiene.The team ritual holds up what no process holds up.
la incorporación de un nuevo miembrothe settling in of a new member, which decides the first yearPhraseC2
La incorporación de un nuevo miembro decide el primer año.Settling a new member in decides the first year.
el equipo distribuidothe team spread across places, which must write more and speak betterPhraseC2
El equipo distribuido necesita escribir más y hablar mejor.A distributed team has to write more and speak better.
la reunión sin agendathe meeting with no agenda, which is a meeting with no endPhraseC2
La reunión sin agenda es una reunión sin final.A meeting without an agenda is a meeting without an end.
la carga cognitiva del equipothe mental load on a team, which grows with every new toolPhraseC2
La carga cognitiva del equipo crece con cada herramienta nueva.The team's cognitive load grows with every new tool.
el agotamiento profesionalthe burnout that a holiday does not fixPhraseC2
El agotamiento profesional no se resuelve con vacaciones.Burnout is not solved by a holiday.
la carga de trabajo sosteniblethe workload that can be carried for months, not just weeksPhraseC2
La carga de trabajo sostenible se mide en meses, no en semanas.A sustainable workload is measured in months, not in weeks.
el ejemplo desde arribathe example set from above, which teaches more than any rulePhraseC2
El ejemplo desde arriba enseña más que cualquier norma.The example set from above teaches more than any rule.
Noun (f) (1)
la microgestiónthe managing so close that it replaces trust with checkingNoun (f)C2
La microgestión sustituye la confianza por el control.Micromanaging replaces trust with checking.
This list belongs to Work and jobs — 24 lists and 1155 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.