There’s a moment in this episode where Victor drops a line that lands like a boot on the ground.
“Excuses never build excellence.”
And honestly, I felt my whole nervous system go, yes. Because whether you’re leading a platoon or a product team, excuses are the first weeds that creep into the field when trust, clarity, and ownership start slipping.
In this conversation with Victor Martinez, President and Founder of Elite Life Coaching, we explored what it takes to build teams that perform under pressure, create trust that holds, and ditch the “I don’t have time” story that keeps people stuck.
This one is packed with sharp truth, and a few uncomfortable mirrors. Let’s get into the key learnings and takeaways, with actions you can apply immediately.
Key Lesson 1: The most common excuse is a lie we’ve normalised
Victor says the number one excuse he hears from clients is:
“I don’t have time.”
And he’s not wrong.
It’s the socially acceptable way to say:
- I’m overwhelmed
- I’m avoiding discomfort
- I’m not prioritising this
- I don’t believe it will work
- I’m scared I’ll fail
Victor’s lived experience makes this hit harder. He talks about being blown up in Iraq, and how it rewired his relationship with time.
Time isn’t money. You can’t earn it back.
That’s not motivational poster stuff. That’s reality.
Takeaway for leaders
If your team keeps saying “no time”, you’re not dealing with a scheduling problem.
You’re dealing with a priorities and energy problem.
Actions to apply this week
- Ask your team: “What are we pretending is urgent that isn’t?”
- Create a “stop doing” list (yes, literally write it down)
- Replace “I don’t have time” with: “It’s not a priority right now because…”
That one sentence will clean up a lot of self-deception.
Key Lesson 2: The military is a “team of teams” (and so is your business)
Victor describes the military as a system of teams nested inside other teams.
Platoon. Company. Battalion. Brigade. Division.
Everything works when the teams know their role, know how they connect, and move toward a shared mission.
This is where I wanted to stand up and cheer, because business leaders forget this all the time.
They optimise individual departments, then wonder why the whole organism is limping.
Takeaway for leaders
A high-performing business isn’t a collection of high-performing individuals.
It’s a connected ecosystem with clear handovers, shared purpose, and mutual reliance.
Actions to apply this week
- Map your “team of teams” on one page:
- Who relies on who?
- Where do handovers break?
- Where are you duplicating effort?
- Run a 30-minute cross-team sync:
- “Here’s what we’re doing”
- “Here’s what we need”
- “Here’s what we’re changing”
The goal is coordination, not control.
Key Lesson 3: Know who is on your team, and what they bring to the fight
Victor makes it plain.
You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of the people around you.
On the battlefield, this is survival.
In business, it’s performance, speed, and morale.
When people are in the wrong roles, the cost is massive:
- delays
- friction
- miscommunication
- blame
- burnout
Takeaway for leaders
Stop expecting every person to be brilliant at everything.
Build a team like a herd, each member has a role in the system.
Actions to apply this week
- Ask each team member:
- “What work gives you energy?”
- “What drains you?”
- “Where do you do your best thinking?”
- Reassign one responsibility based on strength (even small shifts matter)
- Watch what happens to energy and ownership
Key Lesson 4: Trust is built by example, not speeches
Victor’s answer to “how do you build trust?” is beautifully simple:
Be the example.
Not lip service.
Not “do as I say”.
Not leadership slogans.
In horse herds, trust is built through congruence. The leader’s body says what their energy says. No mixed signals.
Humans? We can fake words. We can’t fake patterns.
Takeaway for leaders
Your team trusts your behaviour, not your intentions.
Actions to apply this week
- Identify one standard you expect from others (punctuality, communication, accountability)
- Audit yourself first:
- Are you modelling it consistently?
- Are you breaking it and excusing it?
- Repair one trust wobble quickly:
- “I said X”
- “I did Y”
- “Here’s what I’ll do differently”
Trust doesn’t collapse in one dramatic moment, it erodes in tiny contradictions.
Key Lesson 5: Rogue team members require courageous conversations
This part was gold because it’s what so many leaders avoid.
Victor calls it out:
Leaders often don’t want to have difficult conversations because they don’t want to “stir the boat” or hurt feelings.
But avoiding it hurts everyone.
And he’s blunt about the military reality:
There’s no room for lone wolves when lives are at stake.
In business, it’s not life-or-death, but it can still destroy momentum and culture.
Takeaway for leaders
Protect the team, not the comfort of avoidance.
Actions to apply this week
- Have the conversation you’ve been dodging
- private
- clear
- anchored in impact on the team and mission
- Use this framework:
- Behaviour: “Here’s what I’m seeing”
- Impact: “Here’s what it’s causing”
- Expectation: “Here’s what needs to change”
- Support: “Here’s what I’ll provide”
- Consequence: “If it doesn’t change, here’s what happens next”
Kindness without clarity isn’t kindness, it’s chaos.
Key Lesson 6: Loyalty and camaraderie are performance multipliers
This was a standout theme I don’t hear enough in business.
Victor speaks about loyalty to:
- the mission
- the team
- the organisation
- the brand
And he shares the idea of building a climate where people are proud to belong.
In nature, belonging is safety. Safety creates calm. Calm creates performance.
Takeaway for leaders
People don’t commit to companies, they commit to cultures where they feel proud, safe, and seen.
Actions to apply this week
- Define 3 “pillars” for how your team behaves (not fluffy values, real behaviours)
- e.g. candour, ownership, collaboration
- Make them visible in team meetings
- Reward what you want repeated:
- sharing ideas across silos
- owning mistakes early
- supporting others under pressure
Key Lesson 7: The fastest path to success is a coach or mentor
Victor was asked on another podcast: what’s the fastest path to success?
His answer:
Get a coach. Get a mentor.
Someone who knows where the potholes are.
Someone who can see your blind spots.
Someone who tells you the truth when you’re bargaining with excuses.
And I couldn’t agree more.
If you want your team to elevate, leaders need to elevate first.
Actions to apply this week
- If you’re a leader without support, ask:
- “Who challenges me with care?”
- “Who sees what I can’t see?”
- Build coaching into your leadership rhythm:
- weekly 1:1s that focus on thinking, not tasks
- questions that build ownership, not dependence
Final Reflection: Excellence is a choice, then a habit
This episode is a call to stop drifting.
To stop tolerating:
- excuses disguised as busyness
- silos disguised as autonomy
- avoidance disguised as kindness
- mediocrity disguised as realism
The real work is building a team culture that can handle pressure without fracture.
A herd that moves together.
A business ecosystem that doesn’t rely on one exhausted leader pulling the cart uphill.
Show Notes
00:00 Introduction to Impactful Teamwork
00:58 Meet Victor Martines: From Battlefield to Boardroom
01:52 No Excuses: Building Excellence in Business
02:59 Time Management and Energy Management
04:08 Lessons from the Battlefield: Teamwork and Leadership
05:51 Building Trust in Teams
14:59 The Importance of Loyalty in Teams
23:54 The Power of Mentorship and Coaching
25:14 Upcoming Books and Resources
27:38 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
You can connect with Victor Martinez here
