Another clarification: Wearing-Different-Hats (WDH) is not the same as multi-tasking. The latter refers to the fact that a person can SIMULANTEOUSLY doing more than one task effectively (or adequately at a minimum). For example, it was pointed out to me that I had the “talent” of carrying on a conversation with 3 different people in high school. To be exact, they were 2 classmates sitting on both my sides and one in the front. I guess if I was willing to turn my head to my back, I could have handled 4 different people at one time!
Back to the subject of WDH, a recent example is my relationship with my 13-year old niece Cameron. During the summer, she helped me with some marketing research and I paid her pocket money by hour (undisclosed amount). For work-related matters, I was her boss and she was my personal assistant. I could be (believe me – I was on a few occasions) quite tough (yet reasonable) towards her. But outside of work, I remain her uncle who profoundly adores her. I needed to make sure that I walked that “fine line” cautiously without crossing it. I found it useful to remind myself and the other party (in this case Cameron) of the “different hats” lying on that “fine line”.
