Leading Through Uncertainty: Strategic Approaches for Revenue Leaders

In a business climate characterized by increasing volatility and unpredictability, revenue leaders face mounting pressure to maintain performance while navigating ambiguous market conditions. According to a recent Pavilion community pulse survey, a third of companies are now forecasting significant decreases in revenue, with confidence about the year's outcomes notably declining.

At a recent Pavilion "Leading Through Uncertainty" event, Kiva Kolstein, President and Chief Revenue Officer at AlphaSense, shared valuable insights on how revenue leaders can effectively manage through these challenging conditions. Drawing from his extensive experience spanning multiple economic cycles, including the 2008 mortgage crisis and COVID-19, Kolstein offered a framework for maintaining organizational stability and performance during turbulent times.

Separating Signal from Noise

Perhaps the most significant challenge unique to uncertain markets is distinguishing genuine market headwinds from performance issues. As Kolstein observed, "In uncertain markets, every single rep has an excuse or a reason why a deal is delayed or downsized, and some of it's real and some of it's not."

The key to navigating this challenge is staying sufficiently close to the field to discern reality from excuse while maintaining accountability without eroding trust. This requires:

1. Focusing on controllable inputs: Hold team members accountable for the activities and behaviors they can control throughout the sales cycle, regardless of market conditions.
   
   
2. Evaluating process quality: When deals stall or shrink, thoroughly examine whether proper sales processes were followed before attributing outcomes to market conditions.
   
   
3. Leveraging conversation intelligence: Tools like Gong or Fathom allow leaders to systematically review customer interactions, identify patterns, and verify market claims across segments.
   
   

Maintaining Strategic Balance

Another critical challenge is balancing immediate pressures with long-term business health. While market volatility creates urgent short-term demands, leaders must simultaneously preserve their organization's trajectory for future growth.

Rather than implementing across-the-board changes, Kolstein recommends a nuanced approach:

1. Differentiated planning by segment: "That doesn't mean my hiring plan changes, because I still need those reps... but maybe not in the Consulting [vertical]. Maybe we put them somewhere else." Adjust plans by vertical, sub-vertical, and geography based on specific market conditions rather than making sweeping changes.
   
   
2. Strategic discounting: When considering price concessions to create urgency, maintain value-to-cost integrity by either removing premium features or requesting additional value in return (such as referrals or case studies).
   
   
3. Value reframing: Train teams to position offerings as even more essential during uncertain times. "How do you reframe the conversation as like, that's exactly why... now is the time you need this thing more than ever."
   
   

Leadership Communication and Team Confidence

Maintaining team motivation during challenging periods requires authenticity combined with clear direction. Kolstein emphasizes that teams aren't looking for perfection—they expect honesty, transparency, and guidance.

Effective approaches include:

1. Regular structured communication: Implement consistent touchpoints like weekly company-wide updates that combine transparency about current challenges with motivation and inspiration.
   
   
2. Distributed problem-solving: Rather than shouldering all challenges personally, engage leadership teams in collaborative problem-solving. "Don't make it be a ‘you problem’ that you've got to solve... It's a ‘we’ problem."
   
   
3. Systematic business reviews: Conduct thorough quarterly reviews at every level of the organization that look backward briefly but focus primarily on forward planning.
   
   
4. Authentic confidence building: Address concerns directly by taking immediate action. "What brings me back to center and confident and therefore able to motivate and inspire the organization, is this idea that that is a problem that we've identified, that we're working on, and we have a plan to solve."
   
   

Leadership Development as Continuity

To maintain organizational resilience through uncertainty, Kolstein emphasized the importance of systematic leadership development. His organization implements a structured six-month leadership development program for anyone managing even one team member.

This approach ensures consistency in leadership practices regardless of external market conditions and creates a multiplier effect as managers become better equipped to guide their teams through challenging circumstances.

Looking Forward

The current economic uncertainty presents significant challenges, but also opportunities for revenue leaders to strengthen their organizations. By maintaining a disciplined focus on controllable elements, strategically adapting to market conditions without compromising long-term vision, and fostering authentic team confidence through transparent communication, leaders can navigate through uncertainty while positioning their organizations for future success.

As Kolstein notes, "This is what we all signed up for. And so this is the fun part. It's not just crossing the finish line. It's like waking up every day to work on it."

The leaders who will thrive in this environment are those who embrace uncertainty not as an obstacle, but as the context within which they demonstrate their true value to the organization—by leading.

This article draws from insights shared during Pavilion's "Leading Through Uncertainty" series, held every Friday at 11:00 AM ET. Previous guest speakers include Ian Koniak (ex-Salesforce), Kiva Kolstein (AlphaSense), and Ashley Grech (ex-Square).

This event is exclusive to Pavilion members. To attend, please register through the Member Hub.