Why multi-hyphenate leaders are the future

"What looked "nonlinear" was simply a different kind of training ground, one that creates resilience, adaptability, and perspective. Today's multi-hyphenates are entrepreneurs-executives-authors, CEOs-board members-storytellers, and founders-volunteers-mentors. They've pivoted across industries, re-entered the workforce after pauses, and taken lateral moves to gain new skills or flexibility. Those shifts and gaps aren't liabilities, they're evidence of courage, perspective, and the kind of agility various lived experiences produce."

"Lattice, not ladder Instead of advancing only upward, these women have built careers in multiple directions. A "lattice" (or jungle gym) career is about growing wider, deeper, and smarter, not just higher. For generations, women's professionalambition has been constrained and conditional: don't pause, don't deviate, don't improvise. Today, women are rejecting those outdated rules and designing careers on their own terms."

Many women have built multi-hyphenate careers combining roles such as mother, manager, founder, caregiver, mentor, and innovator, gaining resilience, adaptability, and perspective. These leaders pivot across industries, re-enter the workforce after pauses, and take lateral moves to acquire skills and flexibility; such shifts and gaps signal courage and agility rather than liability. A lattice or jungle-gym career emphasizes growing wider, deeper, and smarter instead of only moving upward. Success is redefined by influence, impact, and the capacity to bring others along. Mentorship, collaboration, and shared experience among women produce a multiplier effect that accelerates leadership and organizational impact.

Read at Fast Company