In a Church of volunteers, this is inevitable.

What is unfortunate is that other members are compensating for these failures by doing the tasks these flaky members are not. Why is this a problem? Simple. They lack the authority. Without the authority, you have no divine help. You are on your own. That is not a good situation.

Callings: What they are and what they mean

Callings are the little pieces of Heavenly Father's work assigned to us on earth. From the Handbook:

Heavenly Father gave Jesus Christ a sacred mission to fulfill (see Luke 4:18–19; John 6:38; 3 Nephi 27:14–16). During His ministry, the Savior trusted His disciples with important responsibilities (see Luke 10:1–9). Likewise, the Lord calls men and women to serve in the Church today through inspired invitations from His servants. These opportunities to serve are known as callings.

Callings give members opportunities to feel the joy of serving God by serving His children (see Mosiah 2:17). Callings also help members increase their faith and draw closer to the Lord.

Callings are extended by those in authority, usually unit and/or stake leadership. This is generally done in a private consultation with the member in question. It should be done under divine inspiration with specific considerations.

Being Set Apart: Official confirmation and divine bestowal of assistance

The process of being set apart formalizes the process of officially being called to the work and being equipped to perform the responsibility. From the Handbook:

Members who are called and sustained to most Church positions should be set apart to serve in that position (see John 15:16; Doctrine and Covenants 42:11; see also 3.4.3.1 in this handbook). During the setting apart, the person is given (1) authority to act in the calling and (2) words of blessing as guided by the Spirit.

Being set apart is a divine bestowal and promise of divine assistance in performing the duties someone has been given. From the Handbook:

When Church members are set apart under the direction of those who hold priesthood keys, they are given authority from God to act in that calling.

Too many people know that if they don't do their calling, someone else will probably compensate and try to do it for them. This should not happen.

You only have divine affirmation, guidance, and assistance in doing your own calling, not someone else's. If you try, chances are you will flounder.

I can attest to this. In trying to compensate for someone else's inaction, I've floundered. I finally figured out why. I didn't have any divine help in trying to do THEIR calling, just my own.

Don't rediscover the wheel like I did.

A corollary problem is the havoc this wrecks on the authority structure. I don't know how many times I've gone up the line asking about activities and efforts that the person in question SHOULD be doing only to find out they aren't.

Then, I have to track down the person that is actually doing the task in question. This is time-consuming, inefficient and disorienting.

I wouldn't have to wander all over the authority structure if people confined themselves to their own calling responsibilities instead of trying to do everyone elses.

Let People FAIL!?

So, if we do not compensate for flaky people, will things fail? Yes, they probably will, perhaps often. Does that need to happen? Yes, probably. Our efforts to ensure success on every level by taking over and doing things ourselves may even subvert Heavenly Father's intent.

Our best course of action is to do our own callings, to the very best of our abilities, all the time, everywhere, and allow others to do the same.