Would You Fire Sarah Palin?

A series of missteps in high-profile television interviews have caused even some supporters to question whether John McCain's running mate is ready for primetime. Our panel of leadership and recruiting experts weighs in on how much adjustment time new employees deserve.

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Like any new hire, Sarah Palin has faced extraordinary scrutiny for her on-the-job performance. It doesn't help that as John McCain's surprise pick, Palin appeared to bypass the rigorous vetting process normally applied to vice-presidential nominees and other high-profile political positions. That process included a single face-to-face interview with McCain himself, who met Palin only once before taking her on. In contrast, her Democratic counterpart -- vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, who is well-known for his own foot-in-mouth moments -- has faced more than three decades of public scrutiny as a senator and presidential candidate, leaving far less room for surprise.

Widespread praise for Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention in September led to praise for McCain, for taking a chance on a charismatic veep nominee who helped energize the Republican base. But missteps during a pair of national television interviews in recent weeks -- from her failure to identify the Bush doctrine of preemptive warfare, to a rambling account of McCain's economic record -- has given even some supporters second thoughts. (Ongoing parodies by Saturday Night Live alum and Palin look-a-like Tina Fey haven't helped.) Palin has been shielded from the media since her announcement, largely refusing to take questions, which has focused even more attention on such gaffes.

It's a familiar situation for small employers. Akin to buyer's remorse, few aspects of running a growing business are as disruptive and stressful as a risky hiring decision. How can you tell if a new employee is really working out? How long should the grace period be? And when do you step in? Politics aside, we posed these and other questions to some of the same leadership, recruiting, and human resources experts we first spoke with after the Palin announcement. Here's their advice on how to handle new hires:

Now that you've seen Sarah Palin on the job, what's your assessment of McCain's hiring decision?

John Baldoni, leadership coach and author of How Great Leaders Get Great Results: John McCain, like nearly all presidential candidates who select a running mate, made a political decision. By selecting Gov. Palin, Sen. McCain energized the base of the Republican party. Now it will be up to voters to decide if they agree with his choice.

Nancy Cooper, an employment lawyer at Garvey Schubert Barer in Portland, Ore.: A classic example of reactionary hiring and subpar due diligence. It appears the campaign has lost confidence in her abilities -- or lack of skill set -- as the time and adjustment has gone on. She has been "relieved" of normal campaign duties, being insulated from the press and not doing many, if any, fundraising and stumping appearances. She seems to be the lightning rod for negative attention to the campaign as her background experience and credentials are more closely examined. If the purpose of the vice-presidential candidate is to complement the presidential candidate's skills and present as a team, then the hiring decision failed in that goal. The campaign appears to be doing more damage control than presenting the team strengths and engendering confidence. 

Francisco Dao, founder of www.StrategyandPerformance.com, a Los Angeles-based executive coaching and consulting firm: Ummm, isn't the "job" in question vice president of the United States? We've really only seen Sarah Palin in what amounts to a popularity contest, not actually performing the job she’ll be expected to do if McCain wins.

Should employers give new hires a grace period? How long should that be?

Baldoni: I would not call it a grace period. I would call it a transition period. Grace implies that you are expecting them to fail. You want them to succeed immediately, but you must be understanding that it can and should take time to adjust to a new position. Ninety days minimum, but more like six months to a year is acceptable. As Michael Watkins advices in The First Ninety Days, use the first three months to learn the job and the situation. You don't need to accomplish great things in 90 days, but you need to learn the culture, customs, and people. Learning is the operative principle. Consider executive transition coaching. Such an effort is worth its weight in gold. Invest in it.

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