Modern Mentor
Rachel Cooke is your guide to leadership and communication, helping you craft a workplace environment you can feel good about. She’ll share tips to help you balance your work and personal life, effectively invest your time, and be mindful about where you’re devoting your energy. Let Rachel help you navigate your path to success—however you define it.
Episodes
724. Being strategic at work is about focusing less on quantity—how much you can get done—and leaning instead on doing the right stuff in the wisest and most impactful ways. Here are three strategies to unlock that superpower.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
877. As we close the books on a heavy year, Rachel shares her top five work lessons from 2025 to carry into the new year. She looks at why uncertainty is here to stay, how to make AI amplify your humanity, and why the changing nature of workplace loyalty means you need to protect your own career. Start 2026 with a plan to move from worrying to preparing.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simpleca...
876. It's been a hard year. As we head into 2026, Rachel shares five practices to help you focus on what you can control and make your work better.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to the newsletter to get more tips to fuel your professi...
875. As we close out the year, Rachel explores why observation - not action - might be the key to unlocking what's already working. Learn how to find your bright spots and carry them into the new year.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to...
874. In a world defined by change, what are the human elements of work that remain constant? We look at this question with JP Elliot, founder of Future of HR Consulting. He identifies the three fundamental needs employees will always demand from their work experience: to get along, get ahead, and find meaning. Learn why anchoring your leadership strategy on these principles is the key to creating an engaged, high-performing team, r...
718. “Productivity” is the thing we’ve been chasing for years—more, better, faster. But is it really serving us? Or is it time for us to rethink how we measure what the increments of our success?
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to the n...
873. Employees are waiting for leaders to fix work. Leaders are drowning trying to fix everything. Rachel explains why both sides are stuck in an outdated model - and how to break free.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to the newsletter ...
872. Work used to be a place where connection happened naturally. Now it's not - and the impacts run deeper than we realize. Rachel explores why we've lost the "Second Place" and offers five practical strategies to rebuild belonging and connection at work.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
871. When there's no clear right answer, how do you move forward? Rachel shares insights from philosopher Ruth Chang and her own experience to help leaders break through analysis paralysis and make hard choices with confidence.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
870. Confidence isn't a character trait you're born with; it's a muscle you develop. In this episode, author and speaker Juan Bendaña shares his personal journey and introduces his Confidence Cycle framework. We look at the three small decisions that help you generate the necessary energy and courage to take action, ultimately building proof of your own competence at work. Learn how to transform self-doubt from a signal to stop int...
869. We gather constantly but feel more disconnected than ever. Rachel uses insights from Priya Parker's "The Art of Gathering" to show how intentional gathering can rebuild the connection we're all craving.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscr...
868. AI is everywhere. There’s not currently a right or wrong way to be using it. Many of us aren’t - largely because we’re not sure where to start. In this episode, let’s talk about some possible starting places for someone who just needs to boost.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
867. Are you struggling to articulate your value because you feel like a "jack of all trades"? This episode features Dr. Sarabeth Bickerton, who defines professional identity as the unique combination of your ethics, values, and skills that make you who you are in your work. We look at how clarifying your identity is the key to both feeling more empowered and communicating your value more effectively. Plus, learn the three fundamen...
866. When sales dip, profits stall, or the world throws curveballs, morale tends to suffer. But you do not need to wait for business to be perfect before tending to the human side. In this episode we explore moves that help morale and business at once.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
865. We all know trust matters at work—but too often, we’re unintentionally chipping away at it without even realizing. In this episode, we’ll explore some of the most common but overlooked ways we undermine trust, and what you can do to course-correct.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
864. Companies these days, amidst uncertain times, are shrinking their investments in wellness and engagement programs. But when well understood, wellbeing at work isn’t about perks or extras. It’s actually about building ways of working that strengthen results while enhancing the human experience. Today I share four strategies currently working well.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Jobs aren’t forever. But instead of disengaging when loyalty feels uncertain, we can use the work in front of us to grow stronger, smarter, and more ready for what’s next. In this episode, I share four strategies to make the way you work today an investment in your tomorrow.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips....
Are you and your team running on a treadmill that's going nowhere? Modern Mentor Rachel Cooke shares four real-world experiments that helped leaders in her lab ditch the burnout and get stronger results. Learn how small, unconventional shifts—like silent brainstorms and customer-led learning—can deliver better outcomes and a more engaged team.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Learning and development at work are essential - for expanding our skills, for being more innovative, and for keeping us engaged. But also, there’s so much work on our plates it can feel impossible to find the time for learning. So let’s talk about some ways to bake it right on into the work itself.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modern...
We’re not all friends at work. And we don’t have to be. But what you do do have to do is work well - effectively - together. In this week’s episode we’ll discuss a simple framework you can use with your team to define ways of working that suit all of your colleagues while driving your results.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmento...
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