Two heads are better than one. But what about two hats?
The pros and cons of double hatting
If you have been in the workplace for a while, chances are that at some point you have been asked to take on a second role or assignment in addition to your day job.
Be we ‘volunteering’ for a pet or stretch project or being ‘voluntold’ by an already overstretched boss, this can be a fantastic opportunity for professional growth, networking, and visibility.
Yet, like most things, it comes with its challenges.
So, time to dive into the increasingly common workplace phenomenon of double hatting.
Double hatting’s pain points
Taking on a new role, in addition to the one you were hired to do, can feel like a circus act, especially when other peoples’ expectations don’t adjust. Doing it well while maintaining your sanity and health, requires a whole lot of skills: prioritisation, learning when (and more importantly how) to say no, letting go of perfectionism, balancing different agendas, delegation (download our free delegation resource sheet here), managing expectations, and communicating clearly, all while keeping your day job going.
So, if you are finding yourself stretched across a number of roles or projects, here are three strategies to help you thrive, rather than just survive.
3 strategies to improve your effectiveness when double hatting
1. Remember your ‘why’
Whether you’ve volunteered to double hat or been voluntold, remember the value you bring and the benefits you stand to gain from this opportunity.
Especially when things feel hectic, zoom out and remind yourself of the big picture: How are you contributing to the organisation’s success? And how can you personally grow during this time? It'll help you to re-gain perspective and maintain motivated.
2. Ditch Perfectionism
While at first glance the pursuit of perfection might seem commendable, it almost never is.
“Waiting for perfect is never as smart as making progress.”
Seth Godin, marketing guru
But you don’t simply let go of perfectionism at the drop of a hat! So, how do you shake off a perfectionist mentality? Here are our top tips:
Understand what ‘good enough’ looks like. How perfect something has to be varies. If you work as a chef and a guest has just told you that they are allergic to nuts there is no room for errors in the kitchen. However, spending an extra 30 minutes adjusting spreadsheet column widths for an internal report is likely unnecessary.
Time box. According to Parkinson’s Law, a task expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. Be deliberate with your time allocation. And stick to it.
Consider the cost of perfectionism. A day has 24-hours – our time is finite. In her book, “The Future of Time” Helen Beedham convincingly argues that despite being largely ignored, time is an organisation’s most valuable asset. She wants us to ask ourselves:
How do we use our time at work?
What choices and trade-offs do we make?
What impact do these have?
These, rarely addressed, big questions matter to both, performance and wellbeing.
3. Prioritise, prioritise, prioritise
Not all tasks are created equal. Prioritising means investing your time where it adds the most value.
As negotiation expert, William Ury, says: “Behind every yes lies a thousand no’s.”
In this short clip, Ury shares a story about meeting billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Over breakfast Buffett tells Ury that he can’t understand the premise of Ury’s first book titled ‘Getting to Yes’. Instead, Buffett explains, his success comes from exactly the opposite: saying no.
There is no way you can do everything. So we must remember that whenever we say yes to something, insignificant and small as it may seem, we are automatically saying no to something else. The day has 24 hours and doesn’t magically expand when we say yes, yet again.
***
The reality of the modern workplace demands that we regularly juggle several roles. Torn between competing priorities this can feel frustrating, exhausting, or both. But wearing two hats shouldn’t become so cumbersome it leaves us with a headache. And it doesn’t have to.
September 2023
To help people in organisations navigate the challenges of dealing with multiple responsibilities Liebfrog has developed a training workshop.
During this workshop we
delve deeper into what lies behind double hatting’s frustrations
explore the benefits for individuals and their organisations, and critically
offer participants practical frameworks and strategies for saying no, delegation, taking accountability and managing their wellbeing.
If this is relevant to your organisation we’d love to chat and explore how we can help you.
If you’ve enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss future reflections and resources then do sign up for our monthly newsletter.