The 5T’s of Teams

An OnGuard Leadership Decision Framework

1. Trust → 2. Train → 3. Transfer

→ 4. Tolerate → 5. Terminate

Great leaders do not react first. They seek truth first.

The 5T’s of Teams is a leadership framework for helping managers decide how to respond when a team member is struggling, underperforming, misaligned, or creating concern.

The goal is not to be harsh.
The goal is to be truthful, fair, courageous, and clear.

Truth and Triple W are not separate steps. They are filters over every step. We seek truth in Trust, Train, Transfer, Tolerate, and Terminate. We also ask whether each decision creates the best honest win for the customer, the team member, and the company.

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Simple Version

1. Trust first. Verify second.
2. Train the willing and aligned.
3. Transfer the misplaced.
4. Tolerate varied preferences — never repeated violations of principles.
5. Terminate the harmful (last and hopefully least)

Seek Truth and Triple Win in all

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The Triple W Filter

After seeking truth, but before deciding what action to take, run the situation through the Triple W:

Win for the Customer
Win for the Team Member
Win for the Company

Great leadership decisions should pursue all three whenever truth and principles allow.

Think Win, Win, Win.
If all three win, do it.
If one does not win, pause and ask.

Ask:

Is this good for the customer?
Is this good for the team member?
Is this good for the company?
Does this protect the mission, the culture, and the standard?
Am I forcing one party to lose because I am avoiding a hard decision?

The Triple W does not mean every decision feels easy or pleasant. Sometimes a hard conversation, correction, transfer, or termination may still be the most honest win available.

A true win is not always comfort.
A true win is what best serves truth, people, principles, and the mission.

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Truth in all

Start with truth before action.

Before deciding what to do with a team member, seek the truth of the situation. Do not assume. Do not react. Do not avoid. Diagnose reality.

Truth requires extreme ownership from the leader. Before judging the team member, the leader must first ask:

Have I tested my own perception?
Have I verified the facts?
Have I listened fairly?
Have I considered my own bias, frustration, assumptions, or blind spots?
Have I looked at patterns instead of one isolated moment?
Have I asked whether this is partly a leadership, training, communication, or system issue?

When the issue is not 100% clear and evident, get another set of eyes. Ask a trusted leader, manager, peer, mentor, or advisor to help confirm or challenge your view. Use AI as a thinking partner to organize the facts, test assumptions, identify missing questions, and clarify possible next steps.

Truth should be tested and verified as needed.

Ask:

Is this a skill issue?
A will issue?
A trust issue?
A role-fit issue?
A communication issue?
A leadership issue?
A system/process issue?
A temporary life circumstance?

Self-awareness and reality are essential. A leader who cannot tell the truth about himself will struggle to tell the truth about the team.

Leadership question:
What is actually true here — and have I tested my perception before acting?

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1. Trust

Start with trust before action.

Healthy leadership begins by trusting people, not suspecting them. Leaders should assume positive intent where appropriate, believe in the value of the person, and treat team members with respect, dignity, and fairness.

Trust does not mean being naïve. Trust does not mean ignoring facts. Trust means we lead with respect while still verifying reality.

At OnGuard, we want leaders to create an environment where people know they are valued, heard, and treated fairly. Team members should know that leadership has their back, wants them to succeed, and will not jump to conclusions without first seeking the truth.

Trust includes:

Believing the best where possible.
Respecting the person, even when addressing a problem.
Creating psychological safety for honest conversation.
Listening before judging.
Testing our own perception.
Verifying the facts.
Looking for patterns, not just isolated moments.
Practicing extreme ownership as leaders.
Checking our own bias, frustration, assumptions, and blind spots.
Getting a second set of eyes when the issue is not fully clear.
Using AI or another thinking partner to organize facts, test assumptions, and clarify next steps.
Making decisions with truth, courage, self-awareness, and reality.

Trust should be paired with verification.

We trust our people, and we verify facts.
We assume positive intent, and we test perception.
We care about the person, and we protect the team.
We seek truth, and we act with courage.

Trust is not weakness. Trust is the foundation that allows training, transfer, tolerance, and termination to be handled with fairness and integrity.

Without trust, leadership becomes suspicion.
Without verification, leadership becomes blind.
Without truth, leadership becomes opinion.
Without courage, leadership becomes avoidance.

Leadership question:
Do I trust this person enough to treat them fairly — and have I verified the facts enough to lead them wisely?

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2. Train

Train when the person is the right kind of person, but not yet fully capable.

Before investing deeper training, first ask:

Are they the right person on the plane?
Do they have decent character?
Do they have a good attitude?
Do they show good intent?
Are they willing, teachable, honest, and aligned with our mission and values?

If the answer is yes, then lack of skill, clarity, confidence, or experience is usually a training issue.

Training requires clear expectations, coaching, practice, feedback, accountability, and follow-up. The goal is not merely to correct mistakes, but to help a willing person become more competent, confident, and valuable to the team.

But if the person lacks character, humility, honesty, effort, or willingness, more training may not solve the real problem.

Skill can often be trained.
Character and attitude must already be present or sincerely developing.

Leadership question:
Is this a good person with a skill gap — or the wrong person with a character, attitude, or alignment problem?

Triple W check:
Would training create a win for the customer, the team member, and the company?

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3. Transfer

Transfer when the person may be valuable, but is in the wrong seat.

Sometimes a person is not failing because they are bad, lazy, or unwilling. They may simply be mismatched to the role, schedule, team, manager, responsibility level, or type of work.

A transfer may involve changing:

Role
Department
Schedule
Manager
Responsibility level
Type of work
Customer-facing expectations
Field vs. office duties
Leadership vs. support responsibilities

Transfer should not be used to avoid hard conversations. It should be used when there is a reasonable belief that the person can succeed in a better-fitting seat.

Leadership question:
Would this person succeed in a different role, seat, schedule, or structure?

Triple W check:
Would transferring them better serve the customer, the team member, and the company?

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4. Tolerate

Tolerate only what should be tolerated.

Healthy teams allow room for different personalities, communication styles, work styles, opinions, methods, and preferences. Leaders should not demand sameness where flexibility is appropriate.

But leaders must not tolerate repeated violations of principles.

Preferences can vary.
Principles must be protected.

We may tolerate:

Different personalities
Different communication styles
Different work styles
Different methods
Different opinions
Reasonable disagreements
Temporary life pressures
Growth curves
Human imperfections

But we do not tolerate repeated violations of:

Truth
Integrity
Respect
Safety
Customer care
Team standards
Accountability
Mission alignment
Company values
Proper procedures
Basic work ethic

We do not tolerate repeated dishonesty, disrespect, laziness, blame-shifting, divisiveness, unsafe work, poor customer care, refusal to follow agreed standards, or behavior that damages the mission.

Tolerance is only healthy when it allows room for growth, grace, patience, and human difference. Tolerance becomes harmful when it excuses behavior that violates principles and weakens the team.

Toleration should be a conscious leadership decision, not passive avoidance.

Patience has a plan.
Tolerance has terms.
Avoidance has excuses.

Leadership question:
Am I tolerating a harmless preference — or permitting a repeated violation of principle?

Triple W check:
Does tolerating this create a real win for the customer, the team member, and the company — or am I calling avoidance a win?

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5. Terminate

Terminate when the person is unwilling, unsafe, dishonest, divisive, chronically unreliable, harmful to the team, or repeatedly out of alignment with the mission, values, and standards.

Termination is not the first response, but it must remain an honest option.

If the truth has been tested, training has been considered, transfer is not appropriate, and toleration would violate principles or harm the team, termination may be the right decision.

Termination should be:

Respectful
Legal
Documented
Clear
Timely
Professional
Aligned with company values

When termination is clearly the right decision, delaying usually damages the team, the customer, the culture, and the leader’s credibility.

Keeping the wrong person too long often punishes the right people.

Leadership question:
Is keeping this person hurting the team, customers, culture, company, or mission?

Triple W check:
Could termination, though difficult, be the most truthful win available for the customer, the team member, and the company?

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The 5T Decision Flow

Start with Truth:

What is actually true here?

Then apply the Triple W:

Is this a win for the customer?
Is this a win for the team member?
Is this a win for the company?

Then ask:

Can they be trained?
Should they be transferred?
Is this something we should temporarily tolerate?
Or is this something we must terminate?

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Core Principle

We tolerate varied preferences.

We do not tolerate repeated violations of principles.

A healthy team has flexibility in preferences and firmness in principles.

The best leadership decision is usually the one that is truthful and creates the greatest honest win for the customer, the team member, and the company.

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Manager Self-Check

Before taking action, ask:

Have I verified the facts?
Have I tested my perception?
Have I checked my own attitude?
Have I looked for patterns, not just one event?
Have I considered whether I contributed to the issue?
Have I clearly communicated expectations?
Have I given the person a fair opportunity to respond?
Have I sought wise input if the situation is unclear?
Have I used AI or another thinking tool to organize the situation and test my assumptions?
Have I considered the Triple W: customer, team member, and company?
Am I acting from truth, wisdom, and courage — or frustration, fear, and avoidance?

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Final Summary

Trust first yet verify
Train the willing and aligned.
Transfer the misplaced.
Tolerate varied preferences — never repeated violations of principles.
Terminate the harmful.

Think Win, Win, Win.

Use truth to diagnose.
Use Triple W to filter.
Use wisdom to decide.
Use courage to act.

Winning Teams 5T’s

Song Listen here

Lyrics Here

Verse 1
Before we point a finger,
Before we make the call,
We slow down the reaction,
And seek the truth in all.

We test what we are seeing,
We verify what’s real,
With ownership and courage,
Not just the way we feel.

Pre-Chorus
Second set of eyes,
Facts brought to the light,
Self-aware and steady,
Ready to do right.

Chorus
These are the 5 T’s of a winning team:
Trust verified is how we lead,
Train the willing heart in need.
Transfer when the seat is wrong,
Tolerate where grace belongs.

Our core values must stand,
We protect the trust at hand.
If harm remains, we won’t pretend,
Terminate timely and make it end.

Truth first, trust and verify,
Live the Golden Rule.
Win the client, team, and company,
Triple W is how we school.

Verse 2
Do we possess the process?
Is our attitude upbeat?
Are we training the willing?
Is the right one in the seat?

Do they carry character?
Good intent and honest light?
Skill can grow with coaching,
Clarity, and time.

But attitude and honesty
Must already be aligned.
A willing heart can rise and learn,
When truth and training combine.

Pre-Chorus
If they’re on our airplane,
But stuck in the wrong seat,
Move them where they best can serve,
And help the team be complete.

Chorus
These are the 5 T’s of a winning team:
Trust verified is how we lead,
Train the willing heart in need.
Transfer when the seat is wrong,
Tolerate where grace belongs.

The core principles must stand,
We protect the trust at hand.
If harm remains, we won’t pretend,
Terminate timely and make it end.

Truth first, trust and verify,
Live the Golden Rule.
Win the client, team, and company,
Triple W is how we school.

Bridge
Preferences can vary,
Personalities too,
Different styles and methods
Can still pull the mission through.

But repeated violations
Of safety, trust, and care
Cannot be excused away;
We guard what’s good and fair.

Patience has a plan,
Tolerance has terms,
Avoidance makes excuses,
While the whole team churns..

Breakdown / Spoken Chant
Truth.
Train.
Transfer.
Tolerate.
Terminate.

These are the 5 T’s.

Think Win, Win, Win every time.
If all three win, don’t waste time.
If one is wrong, pause and think.
Don’t force the deal and cause a stink.

Win for the customer.
Win for the team.
Win for the company.

Final Chorus
Trust verified is how we lead,
Train the willing heart in need.
Transfer when the seat is wrong,
Tolerate where grace belongs.

The core principles must stand,
We protect the trust at hand.
If harm remains, we won’t pretend,
Terminate timely and make it end.

Truth first, strong and true,
Win for them and win for you.
Win the customer, team, company too,
That’s the Triple W.

Outro
Test to diagnose,
Wisdom to decide,
Courage in the action,
With purpose and process as our guide.

Truth first.
Win, Win, Win.
All for one, one for all —
That’s the OnGuard way.