Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. And today I've got a great one for you. We'll talk about some simple ways you can truly stand out at work. Innovation, agility, some other sexy buzzwords may sparkle, but sometimes the real magic is in the essentials. Let's talk about what those are and how a focus on them will really make you

shine. I once worked for a true genius. He was an ideas man, an innovator. He could see things

in ways no one else could, envisioning products, partnerships, and solutions that wowed people.

In theory. But his ultimate downfall, because, spoiler

alert, he did fall down, was his inability to master the basics of the job. Words like

innovation, agility, digital, they often make a hiring leader's mouthwater, but the best ideas

in the world are worthless if you can't execute them. I often talk to

leaders who are frustrated by things like team members missing deadlines or being unreliable,

and it leaves me wondering if we've started to overindex on the sexy and lost sight of the basics.

If you're striving to be a superstar at work, before you start innovating in an agile and

digital manner, take a moment to take stock of how you're landing the basics, because if you're

not getting the essentials done, you're not adding your truest value. No one wants to hire an

idea maker who doesn't deliver on the promise. Here are four of the essentials that will help shoot you

to the top. First, be reliable. A former boss once told me, Rachel, when I ask you to take

something on, getting a project finished, a question answered, a memo written, I know that as soon

as you put it on your list, I can cross it off

mine. As compliments go, that one was pretty unsexy. But over time, I came to realize that she

tended to give me the juiciest assignments, the important, the most visible. Because I was her

most reliable team member. Once I said I would do something,

she never had to worry or chase it down. And that was incredibly valuable to her as a busy leader.

Don't underestimate the power of being someone who does what you've said you'll do. It builds trust,

credibility, and it may earn you access to the work that matters most. Next, as a general rule,

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