There’s this concept/framework of ‘switching hats’ that I’ve learned by observing a few people who use it.

We all play different roles in our lives.

I’m a son, a friend, a boss, a brother, a partner, an employee, and many more.

The framework of ‘switching hats’ gives you the lenses that allow you to look at yourself as having more than one persona.

Being a mother who’s nurturing and supportive might mentally make you feel like you shouldn’t be disagreeable and stern on a business matter at work. But why not?

Those are different hats. You can wear the mother hat at times, and you can wear the boss hat at others.

Not switching hats could often mean that you’re in a compromised position.

It doesn’t allow you to go all in on one role, scenario, or persona.

The person who’s looking at you as a boss might not really know much about your other ‘hats’. You can also very rarely wear multiple hats with the same people at the same time. It will confuse them (and yourself).

Unfortunately, you cannot be someone’s great friend and their boss at the same time. You cannot be someone’s son and their coach (although an independent coach saying the exact words you say may have success, but you won’t).

In some cases, you may even play 2 roles that pose some conflict with each other.

An example I’ve recently experienced: I’m both an executive and a board member (context: the board of a company is meant to keep the executives accountable to ensure the best results to the shareholders).

Saying “taking off the CEO hat and putting on the board member hat,…” helped me immensely. I separated the 2 roles, and gave myself the confidence of talking as a board member as if I wasn’t a CEO.

This can be presented in many simpler scenarios: you’re playing the friend role (supportive), but you also want to tell your friend that they’re wrong about an issue in their relationship (coaching/accountability). “Taking off the friend hat and putting on the relationship counselor hat on” (<silly example, don’t take it too seriously)

I believe this ‘switching hats’ framework can help greatly with imposter syndrome where people might not feel like they belong in the ‘role’ they’re playing.

How can I be this ‘boss role’ when I was a loser in high school?

How can I be this great athlete when I was fat just a few years ago?

How can I act like I have my life together when at times I feel like I’m about to collapse?

Just switch hats.

Don’t nondimensionalize yourself (fancy word alert: unidimensional = having a single dimension/objective/role)

Another useful hack that I’ve seen and since used a couple of times:

I’m gonna take off the humility hat for a minute

This works really well for people who struggle talking about what they’re good at. People who are humble or self-conscious. These often fail to communicate good things they’ve done, leaving lots of things unsaid because they don’t want to be deemed as arrogant, and they’re often filled with self doubt to begin with.

It’s almost like the magical words: “no offense, but…” that somehow give you the permission to say something that may be deemed offensive without sounding as offensive. You prefaced the offense with those magical words. You’re all good now.

Try this if you struggle with imposter syndrome: “if I may take off the humility hat for a minute,…” then say what’s on your mind that you’re afraid may sound arrogant (I’m good at X, I did Y, I believe I deserve Z).

Hope it works for you!