Shanice Singh

A few years ago, I got rejected for a job I really wanted.

Most people probably process that news in a healthy, balanced way.

I, on the other hand, got in my car, drove to Mugg & Bean and started mapping out an entire brand.

I know I should be mature and professional about it but I was livid. I knew I could do the role. I was doing the exact same role daily.

I’m an emotional spender and all the time I really wanted to channel my frustration into a purchase. But I was on a no-buy.

Determined for some sort of resolution, I took a notebook and my Vitality points to buy a very tasty limited edition coffee.

That afternoon, I started sketching out what would eventually become The Digital Unicorn.

The name came partially from the notebook I used (see below) and partially from a phrase I kept seeing in job descriptions. Companies wanted a “marketing unicorn” who could do a little bit of everything. As someone with experience across content, copywriting, email marketing and paid media, the concept felt very familiar.

What started as a way to channel disappointment became the brand I would later freelance under.

The funny part?

Years later, I ended up working with the same company in a different capacity. And I finally learnt why that role would have been wrong for me.

We’ve all heard “rejection is just redirection” but seeing it myself was humbling.

If you’re sitting with a rejection right now, give yourself permission to be disappointed.

Then ask yourself:

What can I build with this energy instead?

Because you never know what might start with a coffee, a notebook and a bruised ego.

I’ve been playing with Canva for a while and I recently made a little mini guide to LinkedIn. It’s completely free so if you want to grab it, you can get it here.

The real skill in Digital Marketing is knowing what NOT to do. Surprise!

Not every trend needs to be followed. Not every social platform needs to have you there and no, you do not need to do everything your competitor does.

Just because another brand is posting five times a day, running three different ad sets and jumping on every trending audio does not mean that’s your blueprint. They have a different budget, team structure and probably different goals.

There is no need for you to keep up. You just need to stay relevant. Relevant to YOUR audience and YOUR brand. And I guess, budget too.

Know what actually makes a difference in your business and what accomplishes the goals that you have. What actually shifts consumer behaviour?

Sometimes you might have to say no to content that is pointless, cut back on your channels and focus on a fewer campaigns but as they say in Copywriting 101: Clarity First.

You don’t need a full Culture/Engagement department for your company.

You literally just need someone- or ideally, multiple someones- to care.

A little while back, I ran into a former colleague and it honestly felt like running into an old friend. We stood there chatting about work and life and I realised it felt like no time had passed even though in actual fact it had been YEARS since we worked together.

Leaving that conversation reminded me that company culture isn’t built by branded notebooks, pizza Fridays or a motivational quote slapped onto a boardroom wall.

It’s built in the small things.

The manager who checks in when you seem overwhelmed.
The teammate who notices you’re drowning and helps without making it a whole thing.
The person who remembers your birthday.
The colleague who says “good luck” before a big presentation.
The person who makes the office feel a little lighter on hard days.

That’s the stuff people actually remember when they leave.

Not the corporate values PDF nobody opened after onboarding.

You don’t need a title to create that kind of environment.

You don’t need to be Head of Culture.
You don’t need to be in HR.
You don’t need manager seniority.

You just need to care.

Some of the people who shaped my work experience the most weren’t executives or department heads. They were coworkers who chose to be kind. People who shared knowledge without gatekeeping. People who made time to help. People who treated others like humans instead of productivity machines.

Culture gets treated like this massive corporate strategy when sometimes it’s as simple as:

• acknowledging people
• communicating properly
• showing appreciation
• being dependable
• making people feel safe to ask questions
• not making work harder than it already is

One person caring creates ripple effects. Then another person starts doing the same. Then eventually the team feels different.

Because culture isn’t created in one big launch announcement.

It’s built quietly every day by people who decide that how they treat others at work actually matters.

Being a team player is a wonderfully noble thing. It’s helpful. It builds relationships. It makes you that person everyone relies on in a crisis.

Until one day you realise… you’re not just being a team player anymore.

You’re quietly absorbing work that has nothing to do with your actual job description while smiling through WhatsApp messages like “happy to help”.

Somewhere along the way, “collaboration” turned into:
“Hey, you’re good with computers right? Can you just quickly fix this code thing?”

Quickly.

Right.

Because nothing says “quick” like being roped into debugging something you didn’t build, don’t own AND were never trained for.

It rarely starts dramatically.

It’s usually something small like:

• “Can you just take a look at this?”
• “You’re so good at figuring things out”
• “It’ll only take a minute”

And because you’re competent and helpful, you say yes.

Then suddenly you’re:

• Balancing your own workload
• Managing deadlines that were never yours
• Trying to decode systems you were not introduced to
• And somewhere in there… accidentally becoming unofficial IT support

Not your job. Not your department.

But somehow, here you are.

There’s a big difference between:

• “I can help you with this once”
  and
• “This is now also your responsibility”

And when that line disappears, your actual work doesn’t shrink.

It just… waits for you.

Patiently.

Judging you.

There’s nothing wrong with being helpful.

But there’s a difference between being a team player…

And becoming the unofficial solution to everything that breaks, glitches or confuses someone else.

One builds a career.

The other builds burnout with a smile.

And if you’ve ever found yourself coding something that was absolutely not in your job description while thinking “how did I get here?”…

Yeah.

You’re not alone.

Before asking why your team isn’t performing, ask whether they feel safe enough to perform.

Psychological safety isn’t about being “nice.”

It’s about creating an environment where people can:

• Ask questions without feeling incompetent
• Raise concerns without fear
• Clarify expectations without being labelled difficult
• Make mistakes without being shamed

When psychological safety is missing, you don’t always see dramatic conflict.

You see:

• Delayed questions
• Silent confusion
• Overworking to avoid criticism
• Talent shrinking instead of stretching

High performance doesn’t come from pressure alone.
It comes from clarity + consistency + trust.

If people are constantly bracing for feedback instead of growing from it, something in the system needs attention.

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers.
It’s about creating the conditions where others can do their best work.

And that starts with safety.

It’s a Saturday morning and while I would LOVE to be playing Pokopia, I am hunched over my laptop working on something I do not get paid for.

My neck hurts. My back hurts. But I am so pleased with myself because this is something that has been on my list for a while and it is FINALLY DONE!

This made me think of the importance of showing up for yourself. IDK about you but I fall into the habit of putting aside my wants and needs. I can be there for family and friends but when I need to do something for me, I always seem to have an excuse as to why I can’t do it or why I’ll do it later.

It feels good to show up for myself. I made me a promise. I drew me a list of things to do today and the list is finally done.

(It didn’t even take that long so I’m kinda disappointed in myself for procrastinating).

And honestly? That feeling of crossing it off my list… priceless. It’s a reminder that showing up for yourself doesn’t have to be dramatic or time-consuming- it just has to happen. So here’s to keeping promises to ourselves, even the small ones. Now… maybe I’ll reward myself with a little Pokopia time.

Culture Isn’t What You Say in Onboarding

Culture is not:

• your values slide

• your mission statement

• the branded hoodie

Culture is what happens when:

– something breaks

– someone makes a mistake

– a deadline is missed

If people are scared to ask questions, your culture isn’t “high-performance.”

It’s high-anxiety.

And no amount of pizza Fridays can fix that.