There are times when delivery on tasks is delayed or work has to be repeated. Because life and business happens, it would be folly to assume that plans will always be executed as envisaged.

When it becomes apparent that an actor or actors will not be able to deliver in the manner promised either by timeline or substance, what are the dynamics at play and what are the expectations of both the responsible officer and intended recipient of the deliverables?

In my humble experience, the operational structures in an organization and the culture are a critical success factor in providing a safety net in the event that there are exceptional events that affect delivery. Effective communication, timely intervention and support to operations are recommended. With that, the team is adequately appraised of eventualities in time to offer interventions, support and manage expectations of third parties.

Being aware that you are part of a team and your input or lack of it can impact the team performance in one way or the other is an essential attribute.

With regards to work that has to be repeated on account of unsatisfactory quality or performance, it is important that efforts are made by both the responsible officer and the examiner to understand the factors that led to the failure.

When you grant someone an opportunity to repeat the job, you are saying, “ I understand that the job was not done up to standard but I believe that you can redeem the situation and I will give you the cooperation you need in that regard”.

Conversely, the actor being given a second chance should understand that they need to rise to the challenge of increased attention and diligence to avoid a repeat failure.

Mutual understanding, diligence and respect, in my view forms the ethic required in the navigation of delay and repeat works in organizations.

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