02/06/2026
🚨 The Friendship Standard Most Leaders Set Too Low 🚨
Leaders set non-negotiables in business.
They know what they will and won't tolerate from clients, colleagues, and partners.
👆 Yet many have no non-negotiables in friendship.
That is why successful leaders often stay too long in one-sided friendships.
The fact is, very few people have non-negotiables in friendship.
👉 We'll walk away from a toxic client.
👉 We'll leave a bad partnership.
👉 We'll set boundaries with colleagues.
‼️ Yet somehow, we'll spend years maintaining friendships that leave us feeling unseen, undervalued, unsupported, or emotionally exhausted.
The older I get, the more I believe that healthy friendships aren't built on history alone.
This weekend I chose to end a friendship because there was no longer any mutuality or consistency.
Again and again, this friend would make initiate plans, then cancel at the last minute. This has been going on for 4 years now.
Eventually, I realized I wasn’t respecting myself or my time by continually rearranging my life and appointments for someone who wouldn’t show up.