From Top Producer to Team Leader: The Identity Shift That Changes Everything with Steve Castle

What if the ceiling preventing your growth isn't the market, your systems, or your skills—but your own identity?

Steve Castle spent two years knowing he needed to transition from top producer to team leader before he actually made the leap. The barrier wasn't knowledge or capability. It was the internal work of letting go of who he'd been to become who he needed to be next.

In this conversation, Steve breaks down the messy, uncomfortable, and ultimately transformative process of growing his Scottsdale team from 3 agents to 9 (with a goal of 20) and targeting 250 transactions next year.

Key Themes Covered:

• Why the work that lights you up most should become your primary job (and how to know when it's time to make that shift)
• The financial and psychological barriers that kept Steve stuck for two years—and the specific decision that finally gave him permission to leap
• How to recruit agents using the exact same process as prospecting for listings (daily calls, rigorous follow-up, handling rejection)
• The culture-first approach to team building: why Steve only hires people he genuinely likes and how that changes everything
• The onboarding process that treats new agents like business partners from day one (PLLC setup, QuickBooks training, financial planning)
• Why "people aren't attached to you—they're attached to service quality" is the truth that sets team leaders free
• How big goals with short timelines eliminate distractions and force you to become the person capable of achieving them
• The mindset shifts that matter more than tactics: margin for error, accountability culture, and the death of "buyers are liars"

The Bottom Line:

Not everyone should build a team. If you don't genuinely light up when others succeed more than when you close your own deals, stay in production. You'll make more money and experience less frustration.

But if you're wired to coach, develop, and find fulfillment in watching others grow? Team leadership isn't just profitable—it's the path to doing work that makes you actually want to show up.

The trick is being brutally honest with yourself about which category you're in.

Ready to explore what building something bigger looks like for your business? Learn more about joining a community of agents making bold moves at nextlevelagents.com/exp.

Resources Mentioned:

"The Science of Scaling" by Ben Hardy

Traction (EOS methodology)

Ben Kinney (recruiting and team building approach)

Ready to build your next-level team? Learn more about creating systematic success at⁠ nextlevelagents.com/exp