Alison Moore on multi-hyphenate careers and the future of women's leadership

Executive overview

Senior women leaders are redefining career success — not abandoning ambition but redesigning it. A Chief/Harris poll of 1,000+ senior women found they feel more ambitious now than ever, energised by greater control over their own career paths.

The old "ladder" model is over. Women are building, partnering, and holding multiple professional identities simultaneously — what Alison Moore calls the multi-hyphenate career. Chief, the membership network for senior women leaders, exists to provide community, coaching, and strategic support at this inflection point.

Networks are the new power source — and community is the strategic asset women are building around.

What the Chief/Harris survey found

• 93% of women surveyed believe they have collective power to build new centres of influence
• 94% say being around other ambitious women fuels their own ambition
• Women cited more optionality and greater control over career design as key drivers of confidence
• Over 80% of executives cited market disruption as a motivator — not a deterrent
• Respondents described themselves as more ambitious now than ever

The multi-hyphenate career

• Senior women routinely hold two to three professional identities at once — corporate executive, board member, investor, founder
• The multi-hyphenate framing resonated widely because women have long had to justify non-linear career paths
• Industry consolidation, media disruption, and AI are all accelerating the break from single-track careers
• The ladder metaphor — rung to rung, stay the course — no longer reflects how careers actually unfold

Chief's model and membership approach

• Chief is intentional, not exclusive — entry requires demonstrated leadership experience, not a single profile
• Membership now spans corporate executives, founders, solopreneurs, and those in career transition
• Value is delivered across three modes: intimate small-group experiences (virtual and in-person), one-to-one coaching, and large in-person rallies
• Moore has hosted nine "Chief Exes" across the US in her first nine months — described as high-energy rallies focused on peer connection
• Digital experience and the Chief App are the next priority: networking, connection, and member companion tools

What members are actually talking about

• Common topics: AI adoption, return-to-office management, tariffs, Gen Z workforce dynamics
• Deeper thread: how to fortify personal resilience in a high-volatility environment
• Human intelligence vs. artificial intelligence — members are actively seeking human conversation as AI reshapes work
• Community is being valued more, not less, as business complexity increases

How Moore is applying past experience to Chief

• HBO model applied: build anticipatory value so members stay through quiet periods, not just peak moments
• Game of Thrones launch strategy — start building six months early so audiences don't churn between seasons
• Cable packaging mindset: members should feel value regularly, not only when using premium features
• Moore sees her career across TV, music, publishing, digital startups, and social impact as a direct asset — each prior role a thread in a usable tapestry

The "both and" principle

• Women-only spaces are additive, not separatist — Moore explicitly endorses mixed-gender communities too
• Women's career journeys carry a 360-degree life context (family, caregiving, personal expectations) that shapes the conversation — but does not make those conversations superior, just different
• DEI framing is contested; Moore sidesteps the label and focuses on leadership quality and outcomes
• Chief's value proposition holds regardless of political climate: supporting leaders through high-velocity change is always beneficial