How I Build High-Performing Teams Across 4 Markets

People ask me all the time how I manage teams spread across four different markets in the Upper Midwest. The honest answer is that it took years of trial and error to figure it out. But there are principles I’ve learned that work regardless of geography, industry, or team size.

At Roofed Right America, I scaled operations to over $35M in annual revenue with 180 employees across four markets. That didn’t happen because I hired the right people and hoped for the best. It happened because I built systems that turned good individuals into great teams.

TL;DR: High-performing teams aren’t built on talent alone. Companies high in psychological safety report 50% higher productivity and 76% more engagement (Niagara Institute, 2025). Google’s Project Aristotle confirmed psychological safety is the #1 factor in team performance. Hire for character, set clear expectations, build accountability without fear, communicate like a human, and develop leaders at every level.

Why Should You Hire for Character Over Skill?

Companies that prioritize internal talent development are 33% more likely to be industry leaders (Deloitte, 2025 Talent Survey). That tracks with what I’ve seen over three decades. But it starts with who you bring in the door. I’ve hired technically gifted people who couldn’t work with others, and I’ve hired people with raw potential who became stars because they had the right attitude. If I had to choose one over the other every time, I’d pick character.

Skills can be taught. Work ethic can’t. Integrity can’t. The willingness to be coached, to admit when you’re wrong, to put the team ahead of yourself. Those things are either there or they’re not.

When I started Penebaker Enterprises in 2002, I made the mistake of hiring for resume credentials alone. Some of those hires looked great on paper but couldn’t collaborate, couldn’t adapt, and ultimately couldn’t grow with the company. That lesson stuck with me through every hiring decision since. What’s the last hire you made where attitude mattered more than the resume?

What Happens When You Set Clear Expectations and Step Back?

According to LinkedIn’s 2025 data, companies with strong internal mobility programs see a 2x increase in employee retention. Clear expectations are what make that mobility possible. Micromanagement kills high-performing teams faster than anything else. If you hire the right people and give them clear goals, they don’t need you hovering over every decision. They need you to remove obstacles and provide resources.

In a multi-market operation, micromanagement isn’t even possible. I can’t be in four places at once. So I had to learn early how to set expectations clearly enough that my market leaders could make decisions without calling me first.

That means being specific about what success looks like. Not “grow revenue” but “increase residential sales by 15% in Q2 through referral programs and community partnerships.” Clear targets create autonomous decision-makers. Vague directions create people who need constant approval.

How Do You Build Accountability Without Creating Fear?

Companies high in psychological safety report 50% higher productivity and 76% more engagement (Niagara Institute, 2025). Yet only 24% of employees feel psychologically safe at work (Achievers Workforce Institute, 2025). There’s a massive gap between knowing this matters and actually creating it. I’ve seen companies implode because leaders confused intimidation with leadership.

Accountability means everyone, including me, owns their results. When a market underperforms, we look at the data together. We figure out what happened. We adjust the plan. Nobody gets publicly humiliated. Nobody gets thrown under the bus.

Google’s Project Aristotle research confirmed what I learned the hard way: psychological safety is the number one factor in high-performing teams. When people feel safe to speak up, to challenge ideas, and to admit when something isn’t working, the whole team gets better. I wrote about this more in my post on building a $35M operation. Are your people safe enough to tell you what’s really going on?

Why Does Authentic Communication Matter More Than Corporate Scripts?

Managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement (Gallup, 2025), and employees who get 6+ hours of leader communication per week are 29% more inspired and 30% more engaged. When you’re leading teams across multiple locations, communication is everything. But not the kind of communication you learn in corporate training. I’m talking about being real with people.

I do regular check-ins with every market leader. Not scripted performance reviews, but actual conversations. How’s your family? What’s keeping you up at night? What do you need from me that you’re not getting? Those conversations surface problems months before they show up in the numbers.

I also make a point to visit each market in person on a regular basis. Video calls are fine for updates, but nothing replaces walking a job site with your team or having lunch with a crew that just finished a tough project. People need to see that you care enough to show up.

Are You Developing Leaders or Just Managing Employees?

Only 30% of managers worldwide are engaged (Gallup, 2025), which means most teams are being led by people who are checked out themselves. The biggest constraint on growth isn’t capital or market demand. It’s leadership capacity. You can only scale as fast as you can develop leaders who can run things without you.

At Roofed Right America, I invested heavily in developing market leaders who could operate independently. That meant giving them real authority, letting them make mistakes, and coaching them through the aftermath. It was uncomfortable at times, but it was the only way to build the kind of distributed leadership that a multi-market operation requires.

Now at Great Day Improvements, I continue that same philosophy. Every person on my team should be developing the skills to do my job. If I’m the only one who can make a decision, I’ve failed as a leader.

The Bottom Line

Building high-performing teams isn’t a mystery. It’s a discipline. Hire for character. Set clear expectations. Build accountability without fear. Communicate authentically. Develop leaders at every level. And celebrate the wins while learning from the losses. Teams with high psychological safety see 27% lower turnover risk and organizations with 70%+ of employees engaged see transformational results in profits, productivity, and well-being.

I’ve been doing this across nearly 30 years in the construction and home improvement industry, and these principles have held up at every scale, from a small crew to 180 employees across four markets.

Want to connect on leadership topics? Find me on LinkedIn or check out my advocacy work to see how I apply the same principles outside of business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a high-performing team?

High-performing teams share psychological safety, clear expectations, accountability without fear, and strong communication. Google’s Project Aristotle found psychological safety is the #1 factor, and companies high in it report 50% higher productivity and 76% more engagement (Niagara Institute, 2025). Character-based hiring and leader development sustain these results long-term.

How do you manage teams across multiple locations?

Set specific, measurable goals for each market leader so they can make decisions independently. Visit each location regularly because in-person presence matters more than video calls. Do real check-ins, not scripted reviews. Companies with strong internal mobility see 2x employee retention (LinkedIn, 2025), and that starts with trusting your people.

Why is psychological safety important for team performance?

Only 24% of employees feel psychologically safe at work (Achievers Workforce Institute, 2025), yet teams with high psychological safety see 76% more engagement and 27% lower turnover. When people feel safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and admit mistakes, the whole team performs at a higher level. Fear-based cultures hide problems until they’re too big to fix.

Last updated: March 11, 2026