How to build a high-performing team by developing people

Executive overview

Most leaders focus on getting tasks done. The better path is building people who can solve problems without you.

Dan Martell distils three leadership principles he learned at 21 from a mentor named Darcy — principles he still applies leading 100+ people today.

Leaders build people, and people build the business.

Making problems their solution

• Don't assign tasks — state the problem, then ask how they'd solve it.
• Darcy used deliberate fumbling on the whiteboard to force Dan to take the marker and own the idea.
• Ownership comes from authorship: when someone sells you on the solution, they're committed to it.
• Lead through questions: What do you think? What's the timeline? Who do you need?
• Focus on outcomes, not instructions.

Having fun at work

• People stay on teams where they genuinely enjoy the people around them.
• Levity isn't a distraction — it makes you memorable to vendors, contractors, and reports alike.
• When clients or teammates enjoy their interactions with you, they think about your problems off the clock.
• Small things matter: birthday celebrations, jokes, spontaneous moments of play.

Teaching people how to solve problems

• Don't just solve the problem — teach the thinking process behind it.
• Darcy invested in formal root cause analysis (RCA) training for the whole team.
• A repeatable problem-solving methodology outlasts any single solution.
• Every leader has a unique approach to problem-solving they take for granted — make it explicit.
• Teaching people to fish compounds: they carry the skill to every future role and team.