Different Hats

I don't know of anyone lately who isn't wearing more than one hat in their job. Part of growth in an organization is to take on new challenges, so that you can become a more integral part of the overall team.

One good thing about wearing different hats is that you may get to be someone's back-up, and you yourself might get a back-up should you be out of the office or just too swamped to get to everything. Safety in numbers, so to speak.

Another good thing about being diverse is that you get to experience a bit of someone else's job, and that can either make you thankful for what you get to do or make you rethink why you chose the position you did.

Since social media is new to many organizations, it's typical to have other duties aside from the day-to-day social media strategy tasks. This can work to a social media strategist's advantage in that social media touches, and is touched by, so many other areas within an organization. Traditional and online marketing, intranet, publications and the website are just of few.

So, I embrace the many-hat approach. No reason to fight it - first, it's inevitable, and second, it's an opportunity. And with opportunity brings growth, learning, and newfound insight.