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A few years ago, when we were searching for a successor to lead one of Cisco's highest-growth regions, we elected to elevate a younger, local leader with less experience than the other candidates. Why take the risk? He had a close connection to evolving customers, shrewd instincts about how the market was developing, and a keen sense of the disruption that was needed in the region. In other words, he had the right mindset.

Most organizations say they are more open-minded than ever about virtual teams, and yet they still have old-school systems in place for hiring people across the country or around the world. From where I sit, the overlapping barriers come down to structure, culture, and mindset.

Worries about separating family ties from political power are nothing new; they go back to the nation’s very founding. As the fledgling Americans knew, nepotism hits at the heart of a democratic republic. The nation’s first president George Washington saw it as a serious matter, particularly since a president who brings his children into power could be paving the way for hereditary rule.