Nepotism and Excollegatism

Excollegatism !

For once, if you search for this word in Google, it does not throw any results.

So what exactly does this word mean? Let me try to help you understand with a few examples and some precedents.

Let's take Nepotism. 

I am sure you have heard about it. The dictionary defines nepotism as - Favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)

Have you experienced it anytime? I bet you have.

A politician always tries to push up his blood relations or close relatives up the ladder chain. India itself has several examples in this regard ( Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot etc etc ) are all a direct result on such nepotism. Or so it's alleged.

Does that happen in the corporate world too? Yes, it does. Let's tale a couple of examples which come to my mind immediately.

Yes Bank, one of India's leading bank, was sponsoring the Indian Premier League earlier this year. After every cricket match in the series, Yes Bank used to reward a player for his exceptional performance. 

And who represented Yes Bank at such award ceremonies? It was the wife of the chief promoter, or his daughter. Is this warranted? Does a professionally run bank have to rely on wives and children as flag bearers of their brand?

Let's take the more recent case of Mukesh Ambani and his twin children. Just a week ago, his twins - Isha and Akash - were inducted onto the board of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail Ventures. 

What is it if not nepotism? What kind of experience do these two individuals carry that make them a deserving candidate for a seat on the board?

Maybe the answer lies in the fact that we are comfortable working with people with whom we have worked earlier, or whom we know closely.

Take a couple of examples. When Narendra Modi would have become the Prime Minister of India, he brought his team with him to the centre stage. The same would also have been done by Barack Obama. And we see many corporate leaders do the same thing.

This is what I call as Excollegatism (Ex Colleague Tism) !!

Why is it that leaders do not trust incumbents in the office where they have joined? Why is it that they fancy their ex colleagues to do the job for them, rather than the people already a part of the organisation?

Are the incumbents really limited in their skills and talent? And are the ex colleagues really bright, really exceptional? Is this favoritism? Isn't this favoritism? 

This is Excollegatism !!