Your biggest risk? The employees you rely on the most

Cheryl had already lost two of the 12 people on her team in the company’s first reduction in force. Then her product marketing lead resigned to join a competitor. A few weeks later, she was asked to cut two more roles. But Cheryl, the company’s chief marketing officer, was most concerned about the marketing manager who ran the firm’s content platform—and had told her months earlier that she was burned out. As Cheryl explained, “I need to accelerate our training plan. If she leaves, we’re screwed.” The people you rely on most can also be your biggest risk. I’ve thought about Cheryl’s team this summer, mostly while sitting in airports. Three of my flights were canceled and two were severely delayed, and two colleagues had theirs canceled on the same day due to “air traffic control restrictions.” An independent National Academies report found that 19 of the largest U.S. air traffic control facilities, accounting for 40% of system delays, were more than 15% below their staffing targets. The gap was years in the making, and is difficult to reverse. Between fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2024, the number of controllers shrank by 13% even as operations rose by 4%. Overtime more than tripled as t…