Have you ever wondered how your boss got their job? Have you ever thought "this guy is so incompetent, he probably doesn't even know it"? How/why does this happen?

Whenever there's an job opening, staff are frequently asked if they know anyone who might be a good fit. This is indeed an excellent way to jump start the hiring process; personal references are frequently much better than "off the street" hires. The obvious caveat is that the inside person doing the recommending has good sense and a good understanding of more than just the skills required. For example, the inside person may be a good person and a good employee but may not understand the corporate culture or their friend well enough to see that it just won't work out: think highly structured vs. very laid-back, for example.

What does this have to do with getting an incompetent boss? Imagine that a CEO or the VP of whatever is given the same opportunity. And, instead of tapping his or her experienced, competent network, they bring in friends with whom they have personal history and who will be loyal (sound familiar?) To be quite frank, I've seen this happen for the apparent purpose of looting a company (no names, no dates, don't ask). I mean, what is it that they're up to where unquestioned loyalty is a better quality than the ability to actually do the job?

Loyalty is a great quality ... in dogs. It should not be the basis for a hiring decision especially if it's at the expense of competence.

Although this is not a political blog, there's no way I could ignore citing the obvious real world example presented by the current Bush administration. That the Bush administration considered loyalty over pretty much everything else is well documented. By all non-partisan (e.g. non-loyal) accounts, this policy has been a disaster. Productivity and morale have suffered in departments where this hiring policy has been employed. Retention of solid, performant - but non-loyal - employees has slipped dramatically. The near-miss of Gustav reminds us of the disaster that was, and still is, Katrina. The absolute failure of FEMA can be tied to the policy of hiring people who were loyal, but completely incompetent.

This situation, although grim, is not completely hopeless. If your boss's main skill is loyalty to his/her boss, you have a few choices:

1. Vote with your feet (harder in a tough economy)
2. Point this out to the boss's boss - frequently the equivalent of (1) above, but not always.
3. Keep a record. Note decisions made, not made, etc., that show incompetence (be thorough, but be fair). This can come in handy in the event that things have been noticed further up.

So remember: hiring through a personal network is great. Just make sure they have the skills and temperament to do the job and leave mindless loyalty for the dogs.