The Next Next Common Sense
1. Visualize Your Multiple Roles
You are not a many-headed Hydra, but a different version of you is needed for various situations. They are all you, but acknowledge and re- spect their differences. Whenever possible, you want to embody Janus. (And no, we do not mean go to a spa and pretend to be a Roman god.) The notion of a holon tries to capture this many facetedness of you. After you have visualized this about yourself, try to remember that it applies to everyone else as well. This visualization can be facilitated through reflective practices like journaling, role mapping, or professional coaching. Many effective leaders maintain "role portfolios" that explicitly document their various profes- sional, community, and personal roles, along with the expectations, prior- ities, and success criteria for each. This explicit acknowledgment makes it easier to navigate role transitions and manage potential conflicts.
2. Think About Those Multitudes as Alterations of Foreground and Background
Your visualization should not be separate selves in separate settings. There is only one you. But you have many facets that you can call on as the situation demands. The facet up front is foreground, the others recede into the background, but they are still there. Contemporary role management tools support this perspec- tive through digital interfaces that allow for rapid context switching. Applications like RescueTime or Toggl help individuals track how they're allocating attention across different roles, while communication platforms like Slack enable explicit role signaling through status updates and chan- nel memberships. Rather than attempting to maintain rigid boundaries between roles, these tools support fluid transitions between different fore- ground/background configurations.
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