05.08.05 The 3rd Managerial Flaw that Encourages Negative Gossip : Delegating to Team Members that Are Unwilling or Unable to Do the Work

Delegating to Team members that are Unwilling or Unable to do the Work

Inappropriate delegation can fuel negative gossip. When a supervisor assigns tasks to team members that are not willing to work, the latter could defiantly broadcast that they will not bow down to the supervisor’s command. This can brew negative gossip within the workforce, team or community.

The bible narrates how Moses delegated the leadership of the camp to Aaron and Hur, a man who had helped Aaron to hold his (Moses’) hands up during the battle against the Amalekites in Exodus 17:10-13. Exodus 24:13-15 discloses how the delegation happened. Let us review that scripture here for emphasis. That verse reads (NLT): ¹³So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. ¹⁴Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until wecome back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.” ¹⁵Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. But was Aaron willing to work? What we see is the children of Israel propagating and believing a rumour alleging that Moses had gone for good, a thing which ended in a plague and death by the sword.

Looking at the JuaLink story, Faraja’s delegation skills were ‘wanting’ at some point. For example, you might have observed how the publicity manager had delegated the task of following up Jumbo Chefs to Lulu during the preparations of their first ever publicity campaign; not knowing that she (Lulu) was unwilling to work, with a negative impact on the performance of Faraja’s department. That unwillingness was indicated by the fact that Lulu just looked on as Procurement hired Edisa Kitchens, yet she knew that the caterer had always been late and that her food was substandard. You may recall how that saga opened the door to negative gossip at a mega level within the Agency.