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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Eskalationsgespür

English translation:

an excellent sense of timing

Added to glossary by H. C. Centner
Jul 5, 2014 10:21
10 yrs ago
German term

Eskalationsgespür

German to English Bus/Financial Advertising / Public Relations
Context:
Das Erreichen gesteckter Ziele ist mir wichtig, den richtigen Umgang mit Vertrauen und das Gefühl für das richtige Eskalationsgespür setze ich voraus.


This is a text from Austria. It is in the context of an interview. Does *Eskalationsgespür* here
mean having a sense to know when things are getting worse or a situation is escalating??

Any suggestions?
Proposed translations (English)
3 an excellent sense of timing
3 A sense of when to escalate issues
3 Knowing when to push the envelope
3 sensing the right moment to escalate things

Discussion

Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
@Helen Maybe, if she's talking about interviews, she means that the successful candidate will be the one who knows when to let her or the executive team know when something needs to be escalated.
H. C. Centner (asker) Jul 5, 2014:
thank you all! Thanks everyone for your suggestions. As it is the highest official in the company who is giving the interview, I think I will simply leave it at having a sense of when it is time to escalate....(meaning going after an objective or such).
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
@TonyTK Yes, as I posted initially, that was my understanding, too, on the face of it. People don't always write logically, and you can spend too much time getting side-tracked by it!
TonyTK Jul 5, 2014:
In this context, ... .. I immediately thought of what Phil said - referring a problem to someone higher up the ladder.

I'd say he/she is saying he/she has a feel for when the time has come to refer an issue up to the next level of management (IOW knows not to bite off more than he/she can chew). I wouldn't get too caught up in the Gefühl/Gespür thing - otherwise we're translating words instead of meaning.
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
The author Is the author speaking about his/her own skills or what he/she seeks in others?
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
Gespür can also mean 'flair' - but quite what a flair for escalation might be, I don't know. Maybe a native speaker could help us out. It might be one of these management-speak terms that in the advertising world has some kind of hip meaning. So maybe something like having a sense for someone who really knows how to go for it (in advertising terms). But now I'm just trying to get into the mindset of a hip German advertising exec, and it is just guessing!!
Juliet Dawnay Jul 5, 2014:
Without further background information, I understand this along the lines of 'having a feeling for the right time to escalate an issue'.
H. C. Centner (asker) Jul 5, 2014:
your discussions! thank you for the lively discussion. Just a quick info - I too am a little surprised by the Gefühl and Gespür...and since this is the highest level employee it can't go higher....Helen, I also wondered if it meant to escalate not to recognize an escalation....difficult...to get the right sense...
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
Though I know that's not the context here!
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
@Phil Yes, or, I suppose, if in the political realm, the right moment to do a bit of firefighting or to issue a statement or agree to an interview, etc. Or even in today's climate to institute yet another inquiry.
philgoddard Jul 5, 2014:
Yes Escalate as in the sense of pass it up to someone more senior.
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
Or rather having a sense of when that moment has arrived. Strange that both Gefühl and Gespür appear in the sentence - rather tautologous, but maybe I'm understanding it wrong.
Helen Shiner Jul 5, 2014:
A thought I wonder if it is more to with the right moment to escalate things.

Proposed translations

9 hrs
Selected

an excellent sense of timing

I consider it important to acheive set goals, handling trust respectfully coupled with an excellent sense of timing are prerequisites.

voraussetzen could also be interpreted as taken for granted

this would be one way of inferring she/he knows when to act, to charge ahead
Peer comment(s):
neutral Michael Martin, MA : Your term could be applied to almost anything including a soccer player's finishing touch whereas this is about knowing when negative action is required..
23 hrs
Yes, it could apply to many things, but negative action is not necessarily what is meant. That's why I kept my suggestion vague. Be well, Michael.
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : this half answers half the Q, but if that's what Asker wants...
1 day 4 hrs
It infers, not defines, as I stated in my comment. Must be what the asker was looking for, wouldn't you say?
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Ramey!"
3 hrs

A sense of when to escalate issues

That's what I would use..
Peer comment(s):
neutral Lancashireman : Nice tweak: things > issues
6 hrs
Nope. The real tweak is a shorter, less cumbersome phrase
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

Knowing when to push the envelope

or: have a sense of when to force the issue
or: knowing when to take the initiative
or: knowing when to raise the stakes
Wiedermal ein Beispiel wo ein Wort vollkommen falsch interpretiert wird.
"Escalate" has the connotation of enhancing something in a negative way, e.g. "escalating hostilities", but NOT "escalating peace" (instead: 'strengthening peace'). Since they talk about positive attributes (Vertrauen), they can only mean the time when forceful, yet beneficial action is called for.

Peer comment(s):
neutral Helen Shiner : Knowing when to force the issue is more negative than escalating things. Pushing the envelope is too colloquial. Raising the stakes makes no sense in the context. / If that's what is meant, then that's fine, but it seems less emphatic than escalation.
56 mins
Well, simplest would be 'knowing when to take decisive action'
Something went wrong...
1 hr

sensing the right moment to escalate things

As posted in discussion box.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2014-07-05 16:17:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

If, as gangels says, something rather more positive is meant, then how about 'sensing the right moment to take things further', which is neutral or even 'to develop things'. Without knowing what is under discussion, and the job for which the interviewee is applying, it is hard to come up with something more succinct. It could be 'expanding the brief' in certain cases.
Something went wrong...
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