What if it all burned down tomorrow?

In the last month alone, three women in my inner circle (some were clients) were unexpectedly laid off. This came as a shock to talented, done-everything-right women who were supposed to be safe in the corporate hierarchy.

One of the most important articles I've written in years was published with Fast Company recently. It highlights what I call a "multidimensional career," which is one where your skills, purpose, and income streams extend beyond a single corporate role. 

Here's what that actually looks like: It's the VP of Product Development who also owns a farm and hosts events on it. The CMO who's also a keynote speaker. The product manager who owns and places vending machines on the side. And yes, back in 2008, it was me, a corporate training director who taught undergraduate management courses at the University to help pay my daughter's daycare bill. None of us quit our day job, we just added a dimension that used our best skills.

I've been sitting with this concept more than usual lately, because over the course of the past year, I've been working with more leaders who are redefining their success metrics as they've seen more uncertainty in the workplace. 

The allure of a certain title and salary has waned and the desires taking their place are autonomy, purpose and my personal goal - high net freedom. Yes, career success and advancement deeply matters, but not at the cost of their life and wellbeing. 

Recent data is capturing this shift:

• Today, HBR published its replication of its 1965 executive survey (193 senior U.S. leaders) finds men and women now diverge sharply on whether women advance through genuinely meritocratic systems; the researchers call the barrier “underground bias.”

  • Only 40% of women believe their company is a meritocracy compared to 76% of men.

  • On standards: 83% of women now believe they must be more exceptional than men to succeed, versus 28% of men, up sharply from 68% and 32% in 2006.

• Women started nearly half of all new U.S. businesses in 2024, up from 29% in 2019 — a 69% jump in five years. — Empower, 2026

• Women now own over 40% of U.S. businesses, generating $2.8 trillion in revenue; new business applications rose nearly 37% year over year in January. — Forbes, March 2026

For years, I've taught women how to advance to and make impact in the rooms where decisions are made. This is my core mission and I'll never stop doing it.

As I've been working with hundreds of women, organizations and watching the landscape change for nearly a decade, I realize now that there's a second half to that promise, and it's the one that's been on my heart and mind in recent months. 

I want women to advance to the rooms, yes, and also know they'd be fine if it burned down. (Whether they decide to light the match or someone else does.)

That's what a multidimensional career gives you. It's how women power their careers for the long game that no one can take away.

My speaking business crashed in 2020 when in-person events disappeared overnight. My corporate training line took a hit in 2026 as the conversation shifts around dedicated investments in women's leadership. I'm still standing because I'd spent years quietly building a career that didn't depend on any single source of income.

In 2025 alone, 1.1 million Americans were laid off, 54% more than the year before. The World Economic Forum projects that 22% of all jobs will be structurally disrupted by 2030. If your expertise, your income, and your identity all live inside one organization, your future is contingent on that organization's survival. 

To be clear, this is not about grinding yourself into the ground “side hustling” or adding a fifth job to an already impossible calendar. No amount of money is worth your wellbeing. This is about diversification as protection and guess what? It benefits your employer, too. Many of my “entreprecurious” clients who are building multidimensional careers become more valuable to their organization through the skills they bring back (which I also detail in the FastCo article linked above). 

🔥 Before you assume a multidimensional career is for "other people," ask yourself one honest question, If your organization changed tomorrow, would you have the skills, systems and confidence to thrive in spite of it?

PUT THIS IDEA INTO ACTION

A multidimensional career doesn't mean quitting tomorrow to start a business. It means noticing that your value doesn't have to be held in one place. One of the strategies I work on with clients is to build the confidence that your value does not live inside your employer's org chart. Your value is transferrable. So if your company was sold or re-org'd tomorrow, it would be challenging, but you'd have the power and freedom to thrive in spite of it.

Here are the first steps to begin building the foundation of a multidimensional career:

1: Take inventory of what you already know.

• Make a list of the skills you use every day that other people would pay to learn from (you'd be surprised who would pay for your excel pivot table skills ;) )

• Notice what colleagues and friends already come to you for.

• Write down the topics you find yourself talking about long after the meeting ends.

2: Look around at who's already doing it.

• Back in 2008, I noticed my coworkers teaching and consulting, some owning side businesses. Who has a side income, a speaking gig, a small practice, a board seat?

• Is anyone using a strategy that feels aligned to what you wan to create?

3: Start one small dimension, not five.

• Teach one course. Take one consulting client. Say yes to one speaking ask.

• The goal is not to build a full business. Instead, practice testing and experimenting with your skills in the market.

4: Name what you're really after.

• Is it more income? More creative energy? More security if the company changes its mind about you?

• Get clear on the why, because that's what will carry you through the awkward early steps.

TRY THIS NEXT: This week, write down three skills you have that live outside your job description. Then ask yourself, who already values these, and what would it look like to build one small dimension around them?

Kelli Thompson is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and executive coach who specializes in helping high achievers advance to influential leaders in their organizations. She is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Closing The Confidence Gap: Boost Your Peace, Your Potential & Your Paycheck.

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