Let’s be open and transparent for a moment about the current status of global talent development.

If you are in the world of Talent Development you’ve been nervous.

We all read the economic news but more importantly, we have been hearing executives signaling for months that they have been considering cutting back operational expenses in light of lower revenues, higher costs, rampant inflation, uncertain job markets, volatile supply chains, and continued global political issues.

I have had many conversations with decision makers preparing for their training initiatives for 2023 and a significant majority have been proceeding with caution based upon all the factors mentioned above.

The headlines are in our faces with greater frequency, and it doesn’t feel like a small economic adjustment anymore.

This is starting to get serious:

• Amazon – 10,000 job cuts
• Twitter – 50% of its workforce
• Meta -11,000 job cuts
• Peloton – 5,000 job cuts
•  Salesforce.com – 2,500 job cuts
• FTX Crypto – Complete meltdown

And that is just the beginning. The list is a lot longer and a lot deeper and it is a clear indication that the headcount bubble is about to burst.

The employee made another bad mistake on an assignment. The manager, who believes she has been patient, understanding, and nurturing in previous feedback and coaching sessions prepared for another GROW coaching dialogue by listing all the facts of the situation and listing out the different potential “ways forward” in solving the problems related to solving the continued mistakes.

The coaching dialogue didn’t go well. The employee felt that the manager is picking on her and blowing a little mistake out of the water. The employee also felt that the manager’s plan forward of going to a remedial training program was insulting and unnecessary. Several days later the employee filed a complaint with Human Resources claiming that the manager was creating an “unpsychologically safe environment” that was impacting her mental health and ability to perform her duties. The manager was shaken to her core and told the HR Business Partner that all she was doing was following the best practices of providing coaching and feedback in a fair and positive way.

It’s “spooky season” once again. The time of year when children and the adults who celebrate, dress up in costumes that represent ghosts, goblins, and other members of the underworld while they go out “trick or treating” in search of candy and other goodies.

While the kids are getting ready to go trick or treating, the grown-ups are having their own Scaries. In addition to global geopolitical issues such as the continued global COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine that is also disrupting the world’s energy markets, and China’s new round of continued saber-rattling, there are several Business Acumen Scaries that should be top of mind this Halloween.

For your reading displeasure, here is a list of this Halloween’s top Business Acumen Scaries:

The whispers of a coming recession have turned into shouts just as the leaves have accelerated their fall from the trees. Before we know it, the 4^th quarter, and the year, will be over and we will be facing much uncertainty as we enter 2023. Many business leaders and experts are predicting a significant recession hitting us soon and it seems inevitable that there will be a downturn in the economy.

The best companies are preparing today. They are preparing by assessing their talent and developing plans of action to close the talent gaps that are required to navigate through turbulent times. It’s at this point that leaders should be recognizing they have issues with people who can bring the entire company down as every company is going to be only as strong as its weakest link.

As a talent development professional, I know from decades of experience that every company is on a spectrum of weak to strong based on its weakest links. As you prepare for the inevitable recession, where do you think your organization falls on that spectrum and what can you do to support and develop the weakest links in your organization?