Author: Rachel Cooke
Rachel Cooke
Rachel Cooke is a leadership and workplace expert who holds her M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. Founder of Lead Above Noise, she has been named a top 100 Leadership Speaker by Inc. Magazine and has been featured in Fast Company, The Huffington Post, and many more.
Know how many Google search results there are for the phrase “manage burnout?” Over 39 million! It seems the struggle is still so real for so many. Luckily, there’s no shortage of tips on how to manage your own burnout at work. But what if yours is feeling managed…and now it seems your boss may be the one who’s struggling? Like second-hand smoke, your boss’s burnout may still present risks to your own sense of wellbeing. If you suspect your boss may be suffering from burnout (and you, in turn, are feeling the pain) then let’s talk about what you…
I’ve been fortunate in recent weeks to take some amazing time off. I traveled with my family, saw new parts of the world, rested deeply, and I’m feeling super recharged. Before we headed out, I knew how badly I needed a break. But candidly—given I’m my own boss—I have no one to blame but myself for the toll I let these last few months take. Is Everyone Overwhelmed at Work? Now, in this state of refresh and recharge, I’m noting how many people around me (some aware and some not so aware) seem equally overwhelmed. Overworked, overburdened, and kind of afraid…
I really do think one of the best ways to enhance the employee experience and your workplace is to ensure we’re also prioritizing life experiences—the good stuff that happens outside of work—and letting those moments really inform and inspire us. And I had the amazing fortune recently, speaking of incredible experiences, of seeing Taylor Swift live. All the eras. And it truly was unforgettable. She’s a tremendous performer. Kind of stays with you for days. And I’ve been noticing my brain has started thinking about my work through the lens—and the wisdom—of her songs. Today, I’d love to share some…
I’m excited to share with you a conversation I had recently with leadership and coaching expert Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael Bungay Stanier helps people be a force for change. He’s best known for his book The Coaching Habit which has sold close to a million copies and has thousands of 5-star reviews online. His last book The Advice Trap focuses on what it takes to tame your Advice Monster. And his latest book, How to Work With (Almost) Anyone is hitting shelves right about now. Michael was a Rhodes Scholar and plays the ukulele badly [his words, not mine!]. Hear…
Construct a Thriving Employee Experience I use a framework to help companies understand the employee experience. It’s got these four pillars you may have heard me yammer on about before but at its core, it’s about creating the conditions in which our teams can deliver, develop, connect, and thrive. What’s been so interesting to me over the last few years is how the lens of these pillars has helped me make sense of what’s been happening in the world of work. Like early in 2020 when the corporate world went remote overnight, companies, understandably, were focused on that “Deliver” pillar.…
It’s time to rethink your “productivity” “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 the increments of our success? Years ago, Saturday Night Live aired a spoof commercial of a new razor called the Gillette Mach 3. And then some years later, they did another spoof for the Schick Quattro which—as you may have surmised—had 4 blades, beating its predecessor, the Mach 3. The commercials were funny because in real life, the razor companies kept adding more blades to their…
I’m excited to bring you this interview with Emily Crookston who has schooled me—and will soon do the same to you—on the what, why, and how to use LinkedIn to achieve your professional goals, no matter what they are. Marketer and ghost writer extraordinaire, Emily believes in the power of LinkedIn to tell your story, build your brand, and share a point of view. In this interview, she explains why it’s a critical platform for anyone to use professionally, not just job seekers or business owners. And she’ll dish on her favorite strategies. You can find Emily at ThePocketPhD.com to…
I’m excited to bring you this interview with Ryan Jenkins, one of the authors Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated to All In. Ryan Jenkins is one of the cofounders of LessLonely.com, the world’s #1 resource for addressing workplace loneliness and creating more belonging at work. He’s helped organizations like FedEx, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Salesforce, Wells Fargo, State Farm, John Deere, and Delta Air Lines improve their teams. And in today’s interview, he’ll be sharing some fascinating data on the real impacts of loneliness, and some practical ways we can all rediscover and amplify our feeling of…
Does anyone else feel like the loudest thing on the internet these days is the debate about quiet quitting? Something in its alliterative brevity has struck a chord. Like, with everyone! We continue to spin in the debate over whether it’s good (we’re finally boundary-setting) or bad (people have gotten lazy), whether it’s old (disengagement rebranded) or new (Gen-Z and millennials’ pandemic response). And I feel like we’re missing the bigger points. If this is a new term for you, let’s start with a basic definition. Like all things relevant today, quiet quitting gained its fame on TikTok. According to…
Driving Inclusion and Belonging at Work – a Conversation with Bain’s Chief Diversity Officer
By Rachel Cooke
There’s a lot of buzz these days around the concepts of Inclusion and Belonging. We know they are important drivers of employee engagement and retention. We all want to experience inclusion and belonging – and to help create that same experience for colleagues and team members around us. But how to make that happen can sometimes feel mysterious. I had the opportunity to speak with Bain & Company’s  Julie Coffman and Nishma Gosrani. Julie is Bain’s Chief Diversity Officer and the leader of their Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practice. Nishma is a partner in Bain’s Financial Services practice whose…