the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
In a situation or setting in which people are working together, certain people in the organization are ignorant of the actions of certain other people in the organization, leading to dysfunction. The contradictory emails I've gotten from that company lead me to believe that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
Prov. One part of an organization does not know what another part is doing. (Biblical.) It was evident that the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing when we planned our potluck dinner party, since everyone brought dessert and no one brought a main dish.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, the
The actions are uncoordinated, especially when they are contrary, as in Purchasing has placed the order and accounting says we can't pay for more supplies this month; the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing . Today this expression is nearly always used as a criticism. But, it first appeared in the New Testament (Matthew 6:3) in an approving sense, when Jesus recommended not publicizing one's good deeds- not letting the left hand know what the right hand does. [Early 1600s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, the
An uncoordinated action; also, taking a stand on an issue despite one’s ambivalence. This term appears in the Bible (Matthew 6:3) with a quite different meaning. Quoting Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, the Gospel writer says one should do good quietly rather than publicize one’s actions: “When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret.” Over the centuries, the idea of secrecy vanished, and the term was applied first to individuals who took a stand or acted without being wholly committed to that direction, and later to organizations in which one branch or department took actions quite contrary to another’s.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer