Follow President Biden's Zero Tolerance Policy When Hiring—and Firing

While his official title is a bit more impressive, at the end of the day, the president is a manager overseeing a team of reports. Shortly after inauguration, President Joe Biden made it exceedingly clear where he stands on the issue of inclusion. He took a bold and important stance to make sure his team understood that he had a zero tolerance policy when it came to treating anyone as less than. 

But how does someone who doesn’t lead the free world make their mark? You have to tell your team what’s expected and set the example.

In all industries, including marketing, it starts with setting the expectation during the hiring process. It’s a rigorous search process that’s incredibly thorough. At the start of every one of those searches, make it as clear as possible that any candidate who disrespects anyone on your team, regardless of how talented they are, would be immediately disqualified. Remind your team that inclusivity lifts everyone up, and the benefits that come along with it include new ideas, diverse experiences to create from and a safe space to share in. Supporting your team will earn you their trust and creates a safe space for them to do their best work. As the industry continues to become more representative of different cultures, leaders need to be allies.  Inclusion empowers diversity of thought which will enable newer, more innovative ideas for your campaigns.

Why is this important? It sets the standard for hiring good people. You want good people on your team (and you certainly want them running the country). You’ll have to cut loose some really talented individuals, but it’s the right thing to do to build a team that is supportive and culturally additive. When the time comes to make that call, be honest with the candidate. Yes, it’s easier to come up with an excuse about not having certain experience but you’re taking away a learning opportunity from the candidate and not setting the right example for your team. Walk the candidate through the misstep—the SBI (situation-behavior-impact) framework is a good approach. Help them understand what happened and see how they react. This will help you assess if it was a misunderstanding or there’s something more there, but one way or the other, you’ll show the candidate what your team is all about.

Here are some examples of when good people make good work:

• Athleta’s recent push for size inclusivity is a really good example of something that likely wouldn’t have happened back in the day. 
• Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” ad from last year is another one that doesn’t feel like it happens without someone championing diversity.
• Gillette’s “The Best Men Can Be” was a really good example of stepping up to do the right thing.

And here are some of the bad:

• Gal Gadot’s “Imagine” song last year being a bunch of rich, famous people showing how out of touch they are.
• The CrossFit CEO reportedly being awful and not setting the example for his team.

If you’re going to be successful, you need to ensure that your team is open-minded and willing to take on a creative challenge. You need to create the open room and not fill it with close-minded individuals.

Not every hiring manager will feel like they can take this type of approach. They’re hiring because they need someone with a specific set of skills and they need that person yesterday. Keep in mind though that the compromises you make when hiring today won’t go away because your need is gone tomorrow. Those behaviors will live on and it’ll be on you to reset the example. The President has made it clear what he expects of the White House staff, and we as managers need to do the same for our teams.