Should Your Team Wear Multiple Hats? Maybe, but Be Careful.
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You know that saying about people who “wear multiple hats” in a small business?
Sometimes, it’s said with an undertone of pride. This is a team that pitches in to get things done.
Other times, it’s said—usually by business consultants—as a reminder that your company still has some growing to do.
Because most advisors preach that the ideal situation is to have one role per team member.
The classic example of NOT working this way is the CEO, who I have found can often end up doing any number of the following - all at the same time…
- Leading the company (CEO)
- Running the business operations (COO/President)
- Managing sales and marketing
- Maybe even part of delivery, HR, or finance and admin
I’m overwhelmed just looking at that list of responsibilities.
Your head only needs one hat.
But.
Those other coaches and consultants aren’t always willing to acknowledge reality.
Reality looks like this:
- You know you need to hire a new role but can’t afford to yet
- You’re trying to hire a new role but are struggling to find the right person
- You have someone wearing multiple hats but aren’t sure how to divide up their role
These things take time. Change takes time.
And during the transitions between today and your future state, you’re forced to do what’s practical to keep the company going.
This, my friend, is the balancing act of actually running a business. It’s a real Eric Crews special.
But I’ll warn you…it might also be bullsh**.
***
“Why not both?”
That’s the question an entrepreneur is going to ask me. Here’s the situation:
We’ve got two roles on the team that need to be filled. Neither role is a full-time position just yet.
We’ve got one good-to-great team member available.
The solution is obvious, right? Have this team member take on both roles for now, and in the long run, move them into whichever seat is the better fit full-time.
That’s not NOT the solution.
I’ve done it myself many times. Combined finance leadership with HR responsibilities.
Spread admin support across multiple companies.
Assigned delivery people to sell their own deals. Or assigned sales people to deliver their own jobs. (However you want to look at it.)
This is one solution for the cash and resource constraints that small businesses face.
Is it the best solution?
Ehhhhhhhhh.
***
Double-dipping with your employees can work for a limited period of time.
But you have to approach it carefully. If someone is taking on two roles, they need two clear sets of accountabilities so they can compartmentalize their activities.
Be wary, though. That person’s performance may suffer. With their time, attention, and even goals divided, a great employee may start acting more like an okay one.
Your team member will be better at one job function, there’s no doubt about it.
The question is: can they do both functions with enough competency to keep you going until you hit the next revenue level?
Or is there a time when stretching your team too thin starts to hold the company back?
***
Look, I get it. Entrepreneurship is about finding ways to get things done.
So as you grew your business, you probably learned to do a bit of everything.
Now you’d like your team to show the same resourcefulness and ability to wear all those hats.
Thing is: frontline employees aren’t entrepreneurs. Senior leaders aren’t entrepreneurs. More than likely, they don’t want to be.
Holding employees to the same standard you have for yourself is never going to work.
Not to mention—you probably aren’t as good at doing everything as you think you are. You just HAD to do it all out of necessity.
So, ask your employees to double up on their hats if you must. That might be where the business is today.
But make your plan—now—for rebalancing the company and putting each employee in a single role where they can excel.
One head, one hat.
PS - The best tool for planning current and future states in your business? The Role Map. Check out our webinar on the Role Map, or contact our consulting team for help mapping out your team’s roles.
