Napa Onwusah, a business leader and tech industry expert, has cautioned revenue leaders against the common habit of driving their teams blindly through economic turbulence, calling instead for grounded, data-informed decision-making.

Speaking at a recent business webinar focused on leading through uncertainty, the Managing Partner at PlacidCode Labs spotlighted how poor leadership practices derail performance when the business environment becomes unpredictable.

Addressing a question on leadership pitfalls in volatile markets, the seasoned strategist criticised the habit of setting arbitrary sales goals without backing them with data. She pointed to scenarios where managers increase targets mid-quarter or demand actions such as thirty cold calls per day without evaluating conversion outcomes. According to her, this approach often overwhelms teams and produces vanity metrics rather than tangible results.

In her words, organisations that fail to anchor their decisions in data end up putting undue pressure on their revenue teams without securing measurable growth. She highlighted the misleading reliance on metrics like social media likes or the volume of leads generated, noting that such numbers can be hollow if they do not translate to sales. Instead, she urged for closer monitoring of conversion rates and the quality of leads delivered by marketing, which she described as critical in revenue operations.

Onwusah used vivid metaphors to bring her message home, likening ineffective leadership during a crisis to a pilot abandoning the cockpit during turbulence. She argued that in times of disruption, what unsettles teams the most is not the change itself but the absence of clear communication from leadership. The analogy of a pilot failing to reassure passengers during a rough flight resonated strongly with the audience, driving home the need for leaders to remain composed and visible.

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Drawing on historical business challenges, she recalled the uncertainty during the COVID-19 lockdowns and the inflation spikes of 2015 in Nigeria. In both periods, she noted that clarity, direction, and trust were in short supply—yet they were the very pillars that teams needed to stay productive and focused. The speaker emphasised that sales performance in Nigeria today is constrained by economic pressure, slower customer decision cycles, and diminishing trust in value propositions, all of which demand a more empathetic and evidence-based leadership style.

She outlined signs of turbulence in a business environment, including constantly shifting sales goals, confusion about success benchmarks, erratic customer buying patterns, pipeline unpredictability, and internal discontent among staff. According to her, leaders who frequently change compensation structures or shift market focus without explanation also contribute to low morale and burnout. She noted that when top performers begin to exit, it is often a sign of poor communication and lack of strategy coherence at the top.

To counter this, Onwusah recommended four practical actions leaders can take: communicate honestly and frequently, remain calm and visible, make informed decisions rooted in data, and actively prioritise team morale and wellbeing. She urged leaders to test new strategies within smaller environments before rolling them out broadly. She advised using frameworks to distinguish between reversible and irreversible decisions, thereby avoiding knee-jerk changes that can disorient teams.

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She also encouraged sales and marketing executives to define personal or team rituals to sustain energy and motivation during difficult times. Simple rewards or shared team recognitions, she said, can go a long way in reinforcing resilience. As an example from her own company, she mentioned a flexible work initiative called Flexi Days that allows staff to recharge during high-pressure business cycles.

Throughout her presentation, the technology and revenue growth expert reinforced the importance of presence over perfection. “Your team does not need a perfect leader,” she said. “They need a present one.”