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Abdul tells a funny story about a time he was asked to house sit for a friend in Paris. He would watch the friend's apartment and cat for an extended period of time in exchange for a free place to stay. A free place to stay in Paris is a beautiful thing.
Being from Senegal, Abdul was a little unsure about watching the cat. In Senegal, cats are not kept as house pets (his words: "we don't have cats"). His friend assured him that the cat was largely self sufficient. Just give it food, and it will be fine.
The first week ended up being quite stressful for Abdul. The apartment was very nice, and he was adjusting to the situation pretty well. But, the cat was unhappy. It wasn't eating. It was following him around the apartment meowing incessantly. Abdul assumed the cat was missing its owner, but the failure to eat started to worry him by the end of the first week. Each morning, Abdul diligently gave the cat a fresh scoop of food, but the cat wouldn't touch it.
Finally, toward the end of the week, the friend called to check in. "Everything is fine, except the cat won't eat and keeps following me around the apartment crying," Abdul told the friend.
"That's strange," said the friend. "The cat has never failed to eat before."
"I take a scoop out of the bag, put it in the bowl, but the cat won't eat it," Abdul said.
"What bag?" the friend asked.
"The bag with the picture of the cat on it," Abdul replied.
For a week, Abdul had been trying to feed the animal kitty litter. He saw a bag in the kitchen with a big picture of a cat on it, and he thought it was the food.
So, here is the lesson we need to learn from Abdul. We should never assume that our students, our officers, our new members, our newest recruits, or anyone understands what "normal things" need to be done. Sometimes, teaching people the basics is absolutely necessary.
Part of us wants to say, "How can someone not know how to feed a cat?" But, Abdul came from a place without cats. It wasn't his fault. The friend should have made fewer assumptions and should have shown Abdul how to do the job before entrusting her pet's life to him.
Same for you, dear student leader. Sometimes you delegate something to another officer or a younger member, then get frustrated when the job isn't done right. You mutter, "If I want something done right, I need to do it myself!" But, no. You need to invest some time and caring on the front end to make sure a task is handed off correctly. Even when the person says, "Yeah, yeah, I know what to do," smile and show them anyway. Make sure expectations are understood and everyone understands the timing, the tools, and the quality of the outcome expected. By doing so, we set people up for success.
By the way, the cat lived and was fine. A parent of the woman came over immediately to help Abdul identify the actual cat food. Much to everyone's relief, the cat ate, and Abdul learned the true purpose of kitty litter.
