Coaching practices for Getting Back in Touch with an Ex Colleague

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Getting Back in Touch with an Ex Colleague, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• There are people I used to be close with who’ve moved into whole new worlds since, and I’d love to reach out
• There’s someone I really admire and want to reach out to, and the thought of sending a cold "can we connect?" makes me cringe because it screams stranger-with-an-ask
• My partner told me something they were excited about and I totally brushed it off, and now I feel bad about it
• I meet good people and then completely lose touch because keeping up feels like it takes more than I have to give
• There’s so much I never got to say to them, and so much happening now I wish I could tell them

Practices that may help

1. Reactivate dormant ties
   Reach out to people you’ve lost touch with — they carry bridging value and low social cost.
   The Strength of Weak Ties
2. Turn cold calls into warm calls
   Research the person and find a genuine point of connection before any outreach.
   Never Eat Alone: Building a Real Network
3. Repair a poor response
   When you respond badly to good news, circle back and give the engaged response you missed.
   Active-Constructive Responding, Made Practical
4. Weak-tie maintenance rituals
   Build small, consistent touchpoints to keep acquaintances warm without heavy investment.
   The Strength of Weak Ties
5. Speak or write to the person directly
   Address the deceased in letters, journal entries, or internal dialogue as a form of active continuing connection.
   Continuing Bonds in Grief, Made Practical
6. Send a meaningful thank-you note
   Write a follow-up that references something specific and reports back on how you used their advice.
   Informational Interviews: Career Research That Builds Your Network
7. Schedule deliberate investment in your important friendships
   Identify your most important friendships and make a concrete plan to reach out this week — not when conditions are easier.
   The Regret of the Dying
8. Repairing rifts before they harden
   Reach out to mend strained or drifted relationships rather than letting them calcify.
   The Good Life: Lessons from the Harvard Study
9. Use a small ask to repair a strained relationship
   In a cool or conflicted relationship, asking for a small favor can reset the dynamic more effectively than doing one.
   The Ben Franklin Effect, Made Practical
10. Follow up every meaningful interaction
    Send a specific, timely follow-up after every conversation that matters.
    Never Eat Alone: Building a Real Network

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.