How to handle “double hatting”
I’ve long advocated for what I call tenable roles in the workplace. Roles – and their associated workloads – that aren’t too big, that don’t require you to spend all day, as well as nights and weekends, to cover everything.
In my latest editorial in NZ Management magazine, I explore the challenges of “double hatting” (sometimes, even “triple hatting”) - the act of doing two or more full-time jobs at the same time. Because even though I have long decried this approach for my colleagues, I am now doing just that.
Just a few weeks into double hatting, I am learning (sometimes the hard way) important strategies to help me try to manage everything – and, most importantly, to connect with a growing number of direct reports – now in my purview. It isn’t easy, and I am not perfect – but I am doing my best to heed the advice and actions of my more seasoned double-hatting colleagues from across various sectors.
Tips include remembering to keep things in perspective and being kind to yourself (read: clock off at a decent hour and get enough quality sleep), saying “Yes, thanks” when colleagues offer (when their own responsibilities allow) to share the load, and understanding that double hatting is a marathon not a sprint. It takes stamina, self-care, and the mental, physical, and emotional fuel that comes from having good people around you.