This article is part of the series “When Dreams Need Builders” – exploring how visionaries and builders must work together to transform ideas into lasting impact.
Why leaders must protect their own space as though the survival of the vision depends on it.
I’ve watched it happen too many times in my own business and in companies across Africa. The CEO lays out the vision. The team leaves the boardroom energized. Heads nod, notebooks fill with action items. But weeks later, when pressure mounts, something breaks down. A supplier is demanding immediate payment, staff morale dips after a difficult client interaction, a key partnership starts wobbling.
And instead of my managers stepping into the gap, solving the crisis in their domain, they become messengers. They relay the problem back to me like postmasters carrying urgent letters up the chain: “Finance is asking what to do about the supplier… Operations is saying the client is threatening to leave… HR is reporting that the team is frustrated…”
That’s when I realized a painful truth: that is not leadership. That is not building. That is abandoning your post when the vision needs you most.
Each Leader Has a Line to Hold
Over the years at Yati Group, I’ve learned that every GM, every manager, has a defined space: Finance, Operations, HR, Business Development. But I’ve also learned the hard way that these spaces are not mailboxes for collecting problems to send upward. They are frontlines.
What I need from my finance head is someone who treats their role as the last defence against cash flow collapse and supplier relationship breakdown. When a payment crisis hits, I need them to hold that fort—not forward the problem to my desk.
What I need from operations is someone who sees system failures and process breakdowns as their personal battle to win. When pressure threatens to collapse our delivery promises, I need them to stand their ground and adapt—not escalate every operational challenge as if it’s a strategy decision.
What I need from HR is someone who guards our culture and team morale like their life depends on it. When team dynamics start fracturing, I need them to step in and heal the breaks—not simply report the symptoms and wait for my intervention.
I’ve realized that when leaders see themselves as the last defence in their area, something powerful happens. They stop sending problems upward like memos. They solve, they adapt, they stand their ground. They only come to me when the issue truly requires a strategic shift—not for every gust of wind that hits their domain.
A Lesson from Ancient Governance
I couldn’t help thinking of this in biblical terms. During the time of Jesus, Judea was under the governorship of Pontius Pilate. When unrest grew around Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, it was Pilate who had to manage the crisis locally. Meanwhile, the wider Roman Empire, under Emperor Tiberius, carried on with imperial business. Rome didn’t stop to micromanage every disturbance in Judea. It expected its governors to handle their regions, report when necessary, and only escalate matters that threatened the empire itself.
That’s exactly what holding the line looks like in business. Each of my managers is like a governor of their domain. I cannot—and should not—be dragged into every disturbance in their “province.”
The Postmaster Problem I’ve Faced
I’ve experienced this postmaster problem firsthand, and it nearly killed my ability to think strategically. Too many of my builders were acting as postmasters rather than governors. They weren’t making decisions or protecting their space. They were simply relaying: “This department is asking… That team is saying… This client is unhappy…”
Some would disappear from the equation entirely, leaving me to deal directly with their teams on operational issues. I found myself in finance meetings that my CFO should have been handling, in operations discussions that my GM should have been leading, in HR conversations that had no business reaching my desk.
That’s when I realized this was the fastest way to weaken the entire organization—because when I’m forced to manage in the trenches, no one is truly governing the regions. No one is thinking about where we should be heading while we’re all fighting the immediate fires.
Learning from Global Companies
I’ve studied how companies like MTN and Standard Bank operate across Africa, and here’s what I’ve observed: the Group sets the vision and strategy, but the magic happens when local leaders own their space completely.
When the CEO of MTN Eswatini speaks about mobile money innovations, you’d swear the idea was born in Mbabane. When Standard Bank’s country head in Kenya discusses customer service improvements, it sounds like a locally-driven initiative. That’s because these leaders carry the Group’s vision as if it were their own, but more importantly, they defend and build within their territories without calling Johannesburg or London for every decision.
They hold the line in their regions, ensuring the dream survives local pressures while only escalating when they need empire-level direction.
The Questions I Ask My Team
I’ve started asking my managers some tough questions, and I encourage every builder to ask themselves:
• Are you guarding your space like a governor, or just relaying messages like a postmaster? • Do you take ownership of your domain’s challenges, or do you step aside and let me deal with the ground-level issues? • Do you solve and safeguard within your area, or do you escalate everything upward as if it’s all strategic? • If I disappeared for six months, would your region not only survive but thrive under your governance?
What I’ve Learned About Building
The truth I’ve discovered through trial and error is this: I may cast the dream, but my builders decide whether it survives. Every manager has a space to defend. When they truly guard it, own it, and hold their line, the vision becomes unstoppable.
But when they abandon their posts and turn into messengers, the dream drowns in operational quicksand while everyone waits for the visionary to rescue it.
I’m still learning how to build this culture at Yati Group. Some days my managers step up and govern their domains brilliantly. Other days I find myself back in the operational weeds, fighting fires that should never have reached my desk.
But I know this: the companies that will scale in Africa are those where builders understand they’re not just employees—they’re governors of crucial territories in the kingdom of the vision.
Guard your space. Own your domain. Hold the line. The dream depends on it.