Any time an important public position opens a familiar process follows.

There’s the national search, followed by a winnowing of resumes, followed by a first interview, a second and sometimes a third.

Two or three top candidates emerge and the best person is chosen. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

That the University of Maine System has filled seven high-level positions from within the comfortable confines of state government, sometimes without following that process, isn’t a scandal and it’s certainly not illegal.

But the frequency with which this happened during and beyond the administration of former Gov. John Baldacci does show a decided organizational preference for doing what is comfortable over what is daring and bold.

Hiring records obtained by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting show a pattern of hiring from within familiar government circles for high-level administrative positions within the University of Maine System.

The positions all carry significant salaries, at least by Maine standards. And these are all responsible positions requiring professional experience and technical expertise.

They range from vice chancellor and treasurer to the director of facilities and real estate for the University of Maine in Orono. Many of the positions oversee multimillion-dollar budgets.

There is no evidence these people are doing their work poorly. While some of the appointments do raise eyebrows, none resembles an outright political payoff.

Instead, doing so much hiring from within the familiar confines of state government shows how human beings prefer working with people they already know and like, and with whom they share a philosophical outlook.

In other words, boat rockers and outsiders — no matter how gifted or experienced — are likely seen as risky and dangerous.

That may be natural, but it can also be stifling for a large organization seeking new and creative ideas. It must be said, however, that the university system has shown no reluctance about hiring chancellors and presidents from outside its ranks, which is customary in academia.

There is also no denying that Democrats spent more than 40 years in power here, and the middle ranks of state government are loaded with people hired not just for their expertise but their outlook on life and government.

Gov. Paul LePage has certainly discovered this during his first term in office. While the governor does control a certain number of high-level jobs, there is a far larger group of existing middle managers hired and trained under successive Democratic administrations.

Perhaps, in an expression of frustration, the governor lashed out at that group last week calling the state’s middle managers “corrupt.”

We suspect the governor meant “uncooperative,” although he declined to outright apologize for the remark. He’s a conservative, but he is also a stubborn man who shoots from the hip and has trouble admitting error.

Is there a single department head in the LePage administration who has been hired from outside this state? We can’t think of one. In fact, the governor hired his own daughter for a State House job.

We may all dream of a Steve Jobs-like leader who attracts the very best talent, encourages contrary opinions and relentlessly pushes people to produce excellent products.

But that sort of confident, daring leadership is also risky and uncomfortable within any organization.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.