“The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing”: meaning, origin and examples
What it means
The phrase means that there is a lack of communication and coordination within an organization or group, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
Tone Frustration and criticism
Where it comes from
The phrase likely originates from the Bible, specifically from Matthew 6:3, where it is used in a different context to illustrate the idea of doing good deeds in secrecy. Over time, it has evolved to describe situations of poor communication.
Examples
- The project failed because the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, with the marketing team unaware of the changes made by the development team.
- It felt like the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing when the company’s HR department scheduled interviews without consulting the hiring managers.
Spotted a mistake in this article? Tell us