Fatalistic Favorites

Nepotism and favoritism seem to be close to the hearts of anyone who matters in our political, social and cultural circles. Maybe the great and mighty feel all alone to occupy high chairs, and would want their near and dear ones to stay close to them. I come to see nepotism and favoritism taking place all around me; in some cases, it takes place surreptitiously, and in some other cases it happens openly. We have seen some families ruling the nation from one generation to another, and the whole nation watching the fun silently and even supporting the family to last longer, even after the ties are slowly severing. Every big politician would want his son or daughter to succeed him or her in the public platform, even when the youngster does not qualify to be there; but that does not stop them, because they have the blessing and the unabashed backing of their parents to draw them to the center stage.

We all have our own favorites, and under certain circumstances, we may not be able to bring in our relatives and family members to be hanging around us, but to have favorites nearby all the time is quite common. Who does not like the people they love and appreciate all the time around? We all have our favorites, and want to be of help to them whether they need them or not. If we are in a position to provide favors to them, we do not even think of consulting them before we order these favors done to them, and this charity even at the cost of bending the laws of the land or causing loss to the exchequer. I feel terrible when I come across cases where favoritism has caused so much of loss to institutions, and it is always a hard task to point out to people that favoritism should not be encouraged.

To drop the people we like from being kicked out of our sight is something that we cannot tolerate, and favoritism assures their presence around us all the time. One might question my arguments and tell me, why should I have a problem with the people who are well qualified to occupy a position in the institution? If people qualify to occupy an official position, then there is no question of favoritism, because they have been absorbed into the institution not because of their link with the big boss, but because of his qualifications. If people are absorbed without possessing required qualifications, then the institution is sure to become inefficient and unprofessional. The boss then might spend more time with his relative than with the institution.

Wherever I had been, I could see some of the persons who have certain power and authority in the institution favoring certain persons, and even keeping them close to them, hoping they would help the institution. It did not take me too long to realize that favoritism breeds contempt in an institution, and outsiders would be able to smell something stinking too soon. An emotional involvement among the favorites and the head of the staff can adversely affect the atmosphere, and it may even lead to a lopsided decision-making at the management level. But who cares about the institution so long they are kept in good humor, and get the special treatment from their favorites; it could be occasional dinners at home, or at select hotels, or special programs outside the city, and there is no limit to the kind of favors the favorites would do to get them promoted to a higher level.

I am quite convinced that the family, relatives, friends and close associates should be kept at safe distance from the institutions, or else there is bound to be pulls and pushes affecting the persons involved with them. As head of an institution, my concern should be the welfare of the people associated with the institution and the reputation that the institution has enjoyed in the past. I cannot defame an institution overnight. The nation is going through series of examples of what favoritism and nepotism could do to a nation. I am referring to the 2G scam, with the former Telecom minister Raja and his associates swindling the nation’s exchequer and filling the coffers of their own kith and kin. We need to be careful that history does not repeat itself.

Know thy Achilles’ heel

Any one taking charge of a place or an institution generally would like to assert that his worthy predecessor was not altogether innocent of many of the things that the new person would approve of. Finding fault with predecessors is nothing new with new executives, and this is all the more true in the case of persons who had been occupying the high-end chairs for a decade or more; it is too long for them to occupy a position, and as a result they fail to see the rut that might be collecting around them. It would be the duty of the successor to clear some of the dirt, especially those collected under the carpet, and those hanging from the ceiling. The new executive is also duty bound to protect the identity of the predecessor, and even unwillingly support what he had done before the employees, because that is what is expected of him from the institute he has become an integral part of.

I am quite wary of the people who would sell the institutions they represent, in order to show favoritism towards a couple or more persons, who do not even come under the ambit of the institution. It is a dangerous trend, if outsiders take advantage of the generosity and openness of the executive in order to curry favor, much to the chagrin of the other staff of the institution. I had come across such instances quite a few times, and had been quite critical about this kind of dealings, but there was very little that I could do to prevent such a kind of dealings. How can one allow outsiders take the institution for a royal ride? After all, the institution is not a private property of any particular individual, but belongs to the people, and when one receives the appointment letter to give the leadership role, one needs to bear in mind that one has to protect the greater interests of the institution before all else.

As an executive who has great responsibility laid upon his or her shoulders, one of the most important things he/she needs to be aware of is, his/her own weaknesses. People outside know how to locate and attack on the Achilles’ heels. It is after all not altogether difficult for people to find out the weaknesses of their bosses, and it would not be too late before they spread the net to catch them unawares. There are people, who are weak in certain respects, and I do not need to elaborate what people are generally weak at, and once people know what the weaknesses of their bosses, then half their work is done, and all they have to do now is, create a situation where the boss becomes an easy victim, and that is the starting point of the institution being taken for a royal ride by unassuming persons, with unlimited power and prowess to dictate how the boss deals with the daily affairs and the policy decisions of the institution.

One of the first lessons that I require to learn before I begin to take charge of an institution is to be aware of my own limitations and weaknesses, so that when someone tries to attack me on my weak points, I could catch them there and then, and therefore do not permit them from making me a pawn in their hands. Becoming conscious of and acknowledging my own limitations is nothing demeaning for me; there are areas in me, which are beyond my control to reform or transform, and being conscious of these would be more rewarding than even getting out of these limitations. This is like guarding one’s home from the hands of the burglars who might be attempting at the thick of night. If you are alert and agile to any such attempt, then the burglars cannot succeed in breaking open the house and robbing the treasures. Let me give a silly example, if everyone knows that I go to bed at 9 pm, and wake up at 5 am, then they also know that the best time for them to break open my room is between 9 pm and 5 am. But then, I may also have systems, such as digital alert systems so that as soon as any one tries to break open the door, they are stunned by the sirens honking at deafening volume, waking up the entire neighborhood.

If I am a person who likes to have a few people always at my side, who would always support my viewpoints and perspectives, irrespective of if they would help the institution or not, then I am sure to become their slave too soon, and it would not be long before they put their conditions to me, and extract out of me whatever they might be in want of. The interests and welfare of the institution should take precedence over the interests and welfare of the boss or the employees, and it is only under such circumstances can the institution last long; or else the institution might become a useless entity too soon, and it might come to a situation when it might need to be given a decent burial. Unfortunately this is the story of many of the towering institutions disappearing into thin air over the past decades, and the life of the institution is party in the hands of the one steering it; while it is a privilege, it also calls for greater amount of responsibility on him/her.