How well connected do you stay with people from your school years (high school, university, advanced degree)?

Our reader poll today asks: How well connected do you stay with people from your school years (high school, university, advanced degree)?

• Very: We’re in touch all the time 7.01%
• Somewhat: We’ll get together occasionally, but it’s sporadic 22.32%
• Not very: I’ll see them at a 5-year scheduled reunion interval 19.05%
• Not at all: I am totally out of touch with them 51.62%

Missed connections. The vast majority of you hardly stay in touch with people from your school days (if at all). Consider these missed opportunities on a few levels. First, they’ve advanced their careers just like you have. They may be your next great employee, business partner, employer, or customer. These school relationships can quickly turn into business relationships because you already have a shared set of experiences and are somewhat known quantities to one another. They can also be powerful forces of social support. We all need friends to talk to, get support from, and support in return. Those relationships reduce stress and can boost enjoyment in life. There’s no shortage of ways to stay in touch (LinkedIn, Facebook, email, etc.). Reach out sometime. You might be surprised at how fulfilling those old relationships can be.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post?  If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog.  It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!).  SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.