Create and maintain your troop of friends

Establish your troop
Look at all your close friends and think carefully about who is in your troop. List the members of your troop and identify those individuals who are reliable and unreliable. Be balanced in your selection and look for people who have qualities such as integrity, remorse, a sense of humor, and selflessness. You can also identify people who aren’t in your troop but may be valuable to you.

Clarify the roles of each member of your troop
Write down what every person in your troop is offering and what you are offering them. For example, who’s playing the role of the leader? Who’s your mentor? Also, recognize those moments when you’re asking a troop member to fulfill a role that’s unsuitable for them. For example, are you imposing the role of a father figure on your boss? Avoid mixing up roles as this can create conflict in the troop.

Invest in your troop
Once you’ve identified your troop members, take the time to engage with them regularly. Look after your friends so that they don’t feel that they are giving you more than you’re reciprocating. This may cause them to leave the troop. Therefore, ask yourself what you’ve done recently for each member of your troop.