There is certainly truth in some people hiring their friends or family. I have seen that happen first hand. I have also helped off-board some managers that we

There is certainly truth in some people hiring their friends or family. I have seen that happen first hand. I have also helped off-board some managers that were hiring their friends. It isn't always easy and really requires a culture in your company that discourages such behavior. When you see this, ensure that you and your coworkers document all the facts with no emotion. Agree on timelines. Report it to your HR dept. and if you have an ethics team, include them as well. Ensure they understand the legal risk the managers are incurring on your company. Or .. if your company is just plain toxic, there are places like Glassdoor to document what is going on. At the board level, it gets really tricky and way beyond politics. There is usually company-company-partner-vendor back-scratching going on in very complicated circles that even takes merit and friendships somewhat out of the picture.