When people ask me, “What do you do?” the question still gives me pause. For over two decades at Christie’s, I could easily answer by handing out a business card with my title clearly stated: global managing director. It had a nice ring. But the longer I stayed in corporate life, the more I realized I wanted more titles under my name, not fewer.
Over those years, I led many teams and eventually became global head of strategic partnerships, a division I launched in my second decade at the company. But my true passion began at 24, when I volunteered as a charity auctioneer for nonprofit galas after work. That passion grew into a career that took me to more than a thousand stages over 20 years, and ultimately became what I was most recognized for outside the company.
In 2019, I published my first book, The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You, based on lessons I learned in the corporate world while excelling in a role traditionally dominated by men. While my Christie’s card still read global managing director, I preferred the titles auctioneer and now author. In the years that followed, I pursued the “white space” those titles opened, ultimately leaving Christie’s to launch the Lydia Fenet Agency, representing charity auctioneers.
The years I spent honing my skills onstage prepared me to fully embrace life as a multi-hyphenate. Today, I hold the titles of CEO, auctioneer, author, keynote speaker, retreat host, social media influencer, and mom of three. This November, I’ll host my first summit at Rockefeller Center, The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Summit. I’ve built a career and a life that are not only lucrative, but also more fulfilling and exciting, because I answer only to myself.
Here are three lessons I’ve learned that helped me build a thriving multi-hyphenate career:
1) Become an expert in one thing—and look for the white space
To succeed as a multi-hyphenate, you must drill down on what makes you unique and become an expert. Once you’ve defined your expertise, you can build from there. My foundation is auctioneering, but that skill opened doors into public speaking, consulting, teaching, and storytelling. Identify the adjacent skills you’ve developed and move into that white space.
2) Say yes to what gives you energy
In corporate life, I said yes to everything, even when it wasted time and drained me. Now, as an entrepreneur, I say yes only when I want to. If I don’t, I pass along the opportunity to someone in my network and stay connected. Saying yes with intention creates energy instead of depleting it.
3) Have fun with failure
The faster you learn to fail, the more successful you’ll become. I usually juggle five or six projects at once, knowing half won’t work out. If you tie your happiness to one outcome, failure feels devastating. But when you diversify, you learn, adapt, and keep moving forward. Success comes and goes, so swing big, and remember: You’re the only one who defines what success looks like.