Rainbow Unicorns: The Secret to Helping Your Team Shine
Finding the Good - How Successful Managers Encourage and Communicate With Their Teams (Pictures Below)
Historically, the role of the manager has been to correct people’s mistakes. Even today, some supervisors relish catching employees in the act of committing an error, making a show of how important their own presence is to the successful operation of the company. This was often the full extent of their feedback with their team members.
This is certainly an element of the role. If an inaccurate report is about to go out to a client, point out what needs to be updated before it’s sent. If a team member isn’t communicating effectively, bring that to their attention and help them do better. But these corrections are only a single facet of your position.
Equally, if not more importantly, a good leader will actively look for the positive things their people are doing. If a team member did well putting an internal presentation together in short order, say so. If a group came up with a creative solution to a client escalation, let them know what a great job they did and how it’s appreciated by all concerned. An important and often overlooked aspect here is the telling.
I’ll let you in on a little secret, something I can guarantee with 100% certainty — no one on your team is a mind reader. So tell them.
Say something, write an email, draw a picture, send a carrier pigeon, whatever you have to do. Tell them early and tell them often.
It’s like the story of the old couple. The wife says, “You never say you love me.” The husband says, “Yes, I do. I told you 20 years ago.” Don’t be that guy. Encourage, challenge and follow up with your team.
Here’s a personal example. In a previous role, I was running the deployment team. We would onboard new customers and set them up on the platform. Time to revenue and configuration accuracy were our benchmarks for success. Our sales pipeline was strong, and one particular month, we needed to complete a big push of deployments.
I told the team, “Hey, sales have been kicking butt, and we’re about to get a lot of new accounts, which is a good problem for the business. We need to run our leg of the race and make sure these get deployed quickly and accurately. I’m betting we can not only meet our normal benchmarks, but exceed them if we rally together, focus and drive hard for the next 30 days. It’s lucky they have us, too — we’re the best deployment team out there.” And for some extra oomph, I added, “Everyone here is an exceptional talent, amazing at what they do. You’re the gold standard. You are the rainbow unicorns!”
The vast majority of the team was onboard. Excited murmurs started circulating the room, but I could sense a slight hesitation from a few holdouts. So to seal the deal, I shared one final detail. “After you pull this off, at the next team meeting, I’ll dress up as a rainbow unicorn.” They were all fully onboard.
Of course, my team was amazing. They stepped up when needed and knocked it out of the park. I was a woman of my word, which is why these pictures now exist:
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About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.