Advisor I Mentor

Sparring partner

Piotr

Kania

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you became a “jack of all trades” – taking over tasks after a colleague left, taking on an additional project, or managing two teams simultaneously? This is often referred to as “multi-hatting,” where multiple roles and responsibilities are assigned to one person.

It sounds like a real opportunity – a chance for growth, recognition, or perhaps even a faster promotion. What could be more rewarding than proving that you are capable of handling more than one role?

But what happens when the new responsibilities no longer fit within a typical workday? Suddenly, you notice that your free time is shrinking while stress and expectations are growing. Instead of developing, you feel like you’re walking a tightrope as your new role demands the same – the highest quality, speed of action, and full commitment. You begin to wonder whether this additional “hat” is truly an opportunity or an overwhelming challenge that jeopardizes your health and job satisfaction.

“Multi-hatting” certainly promotes growth, teaches flexibility, and broadens skills, but sometimes the cost can be quite high. Therefore, before taking on another role, it’s worth considering: do you have the necessary support, the right tools, and most importantly – can you rely on a strong team? In the following article, you’ll find several suggestions to consider before deciding to embrace a dual role – so that you gain, not lose, from this “growth opportunity.”

Seize the Opportunity of Multi-Role Participation in the Organization!

Taking on extra responsibilities can undoubtedly change the trajectory of your career, equip you with new skills, and provide invaluable experience. It’s definitely worth seizing such opportunities. The list of benefits seems long. Here are a few:

Expanding Horizons and Developing Competencies

Taking on multiple roles simultaneously offers a unique opportunity to develop a broad range of skills. Juggling several positions requires acquiring knowledge from different areas and mastering a variety of tools and methods. This makes you more versatile and better prepared to work in a fast-changing environment, where competency flexibility is the key to success. The ability to develop in multiple directions also leads to a better understanding of organizational processes as a whole, offering a broader perspective and making decision-making more effective with consideration of various aspects of the organization. Such experience can be invaluable when you're being considered for higher positions within the company.

Flexibility and Adaptability to Diverse Tasks

Working in multi-roles builds flexibility and develops the ability to quickly switch between tasks of varying complexity. Adaptability is highly valuable in today’s dynamic business environment, where your needs and priorities can often change. As you take on additional responsibilities, you’ll develop skills in emotional control and faster responses to a variety of challenges. In the end, you’ll have no choice but to adapt quickly to new projects, smoothly transition between tasks, and manage time effectively, even when your workload increases. High adaptability is particularly sought after in today’s business world.

Short-Term Effectiveness and Quick Results

Multi-hatting is especially useful when you need to complete a series of smaller tasks in a short amount of time. These tasks are meant to deliver quick results and boost productivity in the tasks or projects you're handling. The skill of working simultaneously in multiple areas allows you to supervise various processes in parallel without needing to engage mentally in each one. These kinds of skills are particularly valuable for short-term projects, where speed and immediate results matter most.

Each of these benefits makes multi-role participation not just a challenge but a great opportunity to enhance your competencies and increase your professional value. Your dedication and career development will certainly be noticed by your superiors and could significantly bring you closer to that anticipated promotion or improve your bargaining position during the next pay raise process.

Remember, Multi-Role Work Won’t Be Cost-Free! Quality, Progress, and Stress

Unfortunately, a broader scope of duties comes with more than just benefits. Greater responsibility, larger teams, additional tasks, and projects all come at a price. This form of work carries the risk of overloading and negatively impacting your work comfort. Therefore, it’s important to be aware of the potential consequences before taking this step.

Decreased Work Quality and Increased Risk of Errors

Taking on multiple roles simultaneously can significantly impact the quality of the tasks you perform. Multitasking, although it appears to be an efficient time-management strategy, doesn’t allow the mind the space to fully focus on one subject. Studies show that switching between tasks requires the brain to re-find the context and recall the details of each task, which increases cognitive load. As a result, you’ll be at higher risk of making mistakes, overlooking details, and producing lower quality work. Being in multi-roles exposes you to frequent interruptions in concentration, which often leads to inaccuracy and loss of details. Additionally, if the multi-role nature of your work continues, it could negatively affect your decision-making ability, leading to worse results and lower overall performance.

Slower Progress in the Long Term

While working in multiple roles may help improve short-term efficiency, over time, it may slow down your development and achievement of strategic goals. Multitasking tends to foster shallow engagement with tasks, meaning you often won’t have the space for deep analysis, creativity, or innovative approaches. As a result, larger projects that require long-term commitment and focus may progress much more slowly. Switching between tasks will scatter your attention and prevent you from achieving the “flow state” – that moment when work becomes effective, satisfying, and progress is visible. Ultimately, over the long term, employees working in several roles may experience frustration from a sense of stagnation in their professional growth.

Stress and Burnout

Undoubtedly, the biggest risk of working in multiple roles is escalating stress and the threat of burnout. Multitasking involves overloading the brain, which must constantly process large amounts of information, leading to faster fatigue and reduced performance. When you work multiple roles, you’re likely to feel increased time pressure to meet the demands of each function, which results in a constant sense of urgency and a loss of control. This is particularly unpleasant for those who are naturally well-organized and enjoy having things “under control.” The ongoing rush and stress from trying to meet your duties will require significant energy. Chronic fatigue from intense work and the need to meet various obligations leads to overwork and increases the risk of burnout. In extreme cases, you may struggle to recover after work, negatively affecting your mental and even physical health. As a result, your work becomes a source of frustration and anxiety, which only deepens the effect of burnout.

The dark side of multitasking raises doubts about the effectiveness of holding multiple roles simultaneously, especially over the long term, when quality, professional growth, and employee well-being may be seriously threatened.

So What Should You Do? Seize the Opportunity of Multi-Hatting or Stay with Your Current Scope of Responsibilities? How to Balance the Pros and Cons? How to Increase Your Chances of Success and Minimize the Risk of Failure and Burnout?

A Responsible Approach to Taking on Multiple Roles in an Organization

If you are considering taking on a second or third role within an organization, it is crucial to properly prepare before making a decision. Multitasking at work can be a great opportunity for professional growth and career advancement, but it comes with many challenges that need to be managed effectively to avoid undermining the benefits of such an experience. Before committing to additional responsibilities, ensure that you have the necessary resources and support to perform these roles effectively. It is essential to remain focused on new tasks without compromising the quality and efficiency of your primary role.

What to Consider When Taking on Another Role

1. Building Strong Teams and Delegating Responsibility

Before deciding to take on an additional role, it is important to ensure that your team is prepared to make decisions and solve problems independently. Investing time in developing the skills of your colleagues and increasing their responsibilities will allow you to delegate some of your tasks, enabling you to focus on new challenges. This will help prevent burnout from too many responsibilities and give you the space to concentrate on new tasks.

2. Coordination and Communication – The Key to Success

When taking on additional responsibilities, effective communication becomes even more crucial. You will have more people to collaborate with, and tasks across different areas of the organization will require you to stay well-informed, coordinate team efforts, and understand where your involvement is most needed. It is essential to establish clear communication guidelines, set priorities, and precisely define the scope of responsibilities within the team. Additionally, consider implementing a regular meeting agenda to systematically discuss key issues. Periodic reviews of ongoing projects will allow you to detect potential problems early and ensure that actions are aligned with the plan. It is also helpful to set clear guidelines for reporting risks, enabling a quick response to emerging threats. Often, this will involve providing brief but specific updates to ensure clear messaging and smooth workflow.

3. Creating Support and Automation Systems

When taking on multiple roles, it is necessary to invest in support systems. If this is outside your decision-making domain, try to convince your superiors to consider such a step. Technologies that automate repetitive tasks can help alleviate administrative burdens, allowing you to focus more on strategic responsibilities. Implementing systems such as project management tools, workflow management, or document handling can minimize the time spent on repetitive tasks. This is crucial for allowing you to effectively fulfill new roles without compromising the quality of your existing duties.

4. Delegating Responsibility and Strengthening the Team

Identify key people who can take on larger areas of responsibility and manage them independently. Delegate authority and allow space for decision-making—this will enhance the engagement and autonomy of your colleagues while freeing you from an overload of tasks. This approach will lead to faster decision-making in the organization and ensure that critical processes run smoothly, supporting the company’s long-term goals. However, before delegating responsibility, verify whether your team and individual employees have the capacity for such a change. Ensure that they will not become the collateral damage of your new role and do not end up bearing the entire burden of increased responsibilities due to your promotion.

Summary

Taking on multiple roles within an organization is an excellent way to grow professionally, expand your skill set, and accelerate your career. However, this requires a thoughtful decision, proper preparation, adequate support systems, and an understanding of the potential negative consequences, both professionally and personally. Key to success is securing resources, delegating tasks, and ensuring effective communication and coordination. If you take the right steps to prepare for fulfilling multiple roles, you can reap significant rewards by developing your skills and increasing your impact on the organization. However, it is important that this decision is made with care to avoid reducing the quality of your work or leading to burnout.