The Foxhole Test: A Simple Framework for Building High-Performance Teams

In the military, there’s a simple but powerful test for assessing trust, reliability, and competence: the Foxhole Test.

Soldiers ask themselves, “Would I trust this person to have my back in a life-or-death situation?”

It’s a binary answer: Yes or No.

The term "foxhole" comes from World War I and World War II, where soldiers dug small defensive positions (literally holes in the ground) to protect themselves from enemy fire.

My grandfather was one of these soldiers who served in Anzio during the Italian campaign of WW2.

When he first landed on the beaches, the Germans were waiting for them.

I’ll never forget the story he told me about that moment.

The foxholes literally saved his life, unlike most of his comrades who didn’t even make it to the beach on that fateful day.

In these extreme conditions, survival depended on the person next to you.

If they panicked, hesitated, or abandoned their post, it could mean death.

Veterans often say that war reveals character in a way nothing else can.

The strongest units weren’t the ones with just the best fighters, they were the ones where every soldier trusted the person beside them completely.

This level of trust was forged through hardship, accountability, and shared sacrifice.

In a study by the U.S. Army War College, researchers found that the two biggest factors in determining battlefield success, are not just technical skill or firepower - they were:

1. Unit cohesion 

2. Trust in leadership 

The same principles apply to business: your team’s ability to function under pressure depends on trust, ownership, and commitment.

Why the Foxhole Test Matters in Business

Your company isn’t fighting a war, but you are competing.

You’re facing challenges, market shifts, and high-pressure moments where trust and execution determine whether you win or lose.

• If you wouldn’t trust someone in a foxhole, why trust them with key initiatives?

• Why trust them with your customers?

• Why trust them with your time?

The best teams (whether in business, sports, or the military) are built on trust, accountability, and shared commitment.

You don’t need people who are just good when things are easy.

You need people who show up, take ownership, and fight for the mission when things get tough.

Who’s in your foxhole?

A Mental Model For Your Leadership Toolbox

Use this mental model when evaluating your team.

Ask yourself:

• When things go wrong, does this person step up or disappear?

• Do they take ownership, or do they make excuses?

• Would I be confident tackling a high-stakes problem with them by my side?

If the answer is “No” too often, you have a problem.

What to do next?

1. Audit Your Team: Take 10 minutes today and apply the Foxhole Test to your direct reports. Who are your foxhole people? Who isn’t?

2. Have Hard Conversations: If someone doesn’t pass, don’t ignore it. Give clear feedback, set expectations, and decide whether they can step up or need to step out.

3. Recruit with the Test in Mind: When hiring, don’t just assess skills - look for character, resilience, and reliability.

The Foxhole Drill: Run This Exercise With Your Team

This is a simple but revealing exercise you can lead with your leadership team to assess trust, accountability, and reliability within your team.

Step 1: Set the Scene Gather your team and explain the concept of a foxhole.

Let them know that this exercise is about trust and performance under pressure, not personal friendships or job titles.

Step 2: Draw the Foxhole Map Have each team member take a blank sheet of paper and follow these steps:

1. Draw a small circle in the centre - this is their foxhole.

2. Write their name at the front of the foxhole.

3. Draw three lines extending outward

   1. one to the rear

   2. one to the left

   3. one to the right

4. On each of those lines, they write the names of teammates they would want in their foxhole if they were fighting a life-and-death battle.

Here is the scoring matrix:

• Rear Position (3 Points): The most trusted, toughest, most reliable teammate.

• Left Position (2 Points): The second most trusted person - still highly dependable but not the primary choice.

• Right Position (1 Point): The third most trusted person - valuable but not at the same level as the first two.

There are plenty of people you’d enjoy having a pint with at the pub or cheering alongside at a Six Nations match, but deep down, you know you’d be doomed if they were standing beside you in a high-pressure moment at work.

This test cuts through all the friendships and cliques and is the truest measure of what employees truly think of their coworkers.

Step 3: Reflect & Discuss Once everyone has filled in their foxholes, facilitate a discussion:

• What patterns do you see?

• Are the same names appearing in multiple foxholes?

• Are there key leaders who are missing from too many lists?

• What does this reveal about trust and performance within the team?

Encourage honesty but keep the discussion constructive.

The goal is to highlight where trust exists and where it needs to be strengthened.

MY TOP FINDS OF THE WEEK 🏆

For Your Performance

• Michael Phelps 🏊 discloses the one thing that separated him from the other world-class swimmers in the field (Watch)

For Your Team

• I got goosebumps watching this incredible team talk from Newcastle United’s leader Dan Burn before their Cup Final victory on the weekend (Watch)

For Your Health

• New research about why “fresh” fruit might not always be the best for you (Read)

Hope you enjoyed this week’s tactics. I’ll be back next Sunday with a new lineup 👋 - Alex 

P.S. Did you get something useful from this email?

Do me a solid by sharing this link with 1 pal… plus you will also get your hands on several pre-built templates and resources for building elite team performance👇