LEADERSHIP

The Billionaire Mechanic, Engr. Ndubuisi Chidomere MNSE is the founder and CEO of Pamtech GROUP said: When PAMTECH started it was just me and a few people. A small team with big dreams. I led with energy, passion, and my presence. I knew everyone personally, and honestly, I believed that was enough. And for a while, it really was. If someone made a mistake, I would step in and fix it. If morale was down, I would do TGIF or Suya-night and be the one cheering everyone up.

I was involved in everything, and it worked because the team was small. But then we started to grow, from 3 to 10 people, then 30, then 100, then 250 and then more. That was when I realised something had to change. I couldn’t be everywhere anymore. I couldn’t know everything anymore. And I definitely couldn’t fix everything myself. The same leadership style that helped me build the foundation of Pamtech was now holding the growth back.

That’s when I realised that most leaders stop growing because they refuse to upgrade their leadership. They stick with what worked at the beginning, forgetting that every new level of business needs a new kind of leader. I was still trying to lead with personality, showing up, talking to everyone, solving everything. But as the business grew, I had to switch. I had to stop leading with presence and started leading with principles. That was when we began to build systems, I mean real systems that didn’t need me to be around to function.

We defined our values and principles clearly so that everyone in the team could make smart decisions even without waiting for my approval. And guess what? That was when true leadership started for me. Another big shift I made was learning to stop being the “problem solver.” Before, whenever a challenge came up, I jumped in. I felt like it was my job. But after a while, I realised that if I am solving every problem, then who am I really building? So I started asking myself different questions. And so, I wasn’t asking “How do I fix this?” but “Who in the team can own this?” Not “What’s the solution?” but “What system can we build for this?

I started building problem-solvers, not followers. I was more intentional about building leaders and not workers. Pamtech started running better. It was not because I was doing more, but because I was doing less of the wrong things and more of the right ones. Now, if you are a founder, a manager, a team lead, or someone just building something, you might be going through this too.

Maybe your business is growing, but you still feel like you are carrying the whole thing on your back. Or your team is expanding, but you are still the one everyone runs to for every decision. Then learn from my experience that if your leadership doesn’t evolve, your business will outgrow you. Leadership is not about doing everything yourself. You don’t have to be everywhere and being the smartest in the room. You just have to focus on building something that works with or without you. You don’t scale by doing more rather you scale by building people who can do more.