This is the first article of a three-part series.

How do you stay organized, current and compliant while handling administrative, tactical and strategic issues when you are the only one in your department?

Over 95 percent of businesses have fewer than 100 employees. Within those companies, it is inevitable that many employees will wear many hats. In this miniseries, we will look at this challenge from both the employee and the manager perspective.

We will start with the employee. (If you are your own department or manage several different departments of one person each, feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and challenges here.)

Vigilante or superhero?

Being the entire department, regardless of which department it may be, can easily become overwhelming. Employees become overworked, stressed and reactive. As a result, to protect both themselves and the company, these "Solos" set up barriers and minefields. If one is breached or tripped, they spring into action. It is a defensive place to be and hard to get out of because Solos have to spend so much time maintaining their perimeter.

Yet working harder or longer hours is not the way to get out of this unsustainable cycle. Instead, it requires a slightly counterintuitive approach: letting go.

First, while Solos often admit to themselves and others around them that they cannot get everything done, they for some reason continue to try. This has to stop. To break out of the vigilante role and spring into the superhero role, Solos have to let go of this way of working.

Second, Solos have to take the time to really understand the organization and industry, get in sync with the leadership, and define what is truly important based on their business. The reason so many Solos get frustrated is they start with what they know they need to do based on their skillset and get stuck fighting an uphill battle trying to convince everyone else how important it is.

Third, Solos should take the information learned from interviewing, researching, observing and listening to the leadership and employees and incorporate it into the priorities of the function. The business needs must drive the focus of the department.

For example: At a shipping company, the IT professional had set migrating to the cloud and data security as priorities based on his assessment of the systems and technology standards. However, when he took time to understand the business, he learned about a high percentage of off-site employees whose productivity directly impacted the bottom line.

Instead of trying to upgrade internal systems, he took the time to understand what the remote employees needed and optimized their work environment. It was easier for him to get support for his projects and ultimately made a bigger, more positive impact on the organization.

Next steps

Solos are often justified in their concerns, and their drive to protect the business is admirable. These concerns should be captured and added to a wish list that is then compared to a list of the business priorities. With both lists in hand, the Solo is better able to understand where he or she can directly impact the business while managing any perceived risks.