Taking diverse paths to leadership roles

The Top 25 Women in Healthcare have battled through a lot to get to this moment: navigating their organizations through the biggest changes in the history of healthcare, emerging from the greatest economic maelstrom since the Depression, and shaking off the gashes, cuts and scrapes from the shards of the glass ceiling.

They didn't ask for the honors bestowed on them; they just wanted to lead. It has not always come without discomforting challenges. Gender inequities remain in opportunities, compensation and societal/family expectations. And strong opinions about work/life balance among prominent female leaders are parsed and examined closely to see if they should apply to every woman.

One example is how the Lean In urgings of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's current bestseller are pitted against the musings of former Obama administration official Anne-Marie Slaughter, who stepped down from her post and penned “Why women still can't have it all,” for the Atlantic. The truth is, we can learn from both of them.

The realities of today's women executives do not fit so easily into sound bites or any one bestseller. If you asked the leaders profiled here, you would probably find 25 different career paths and opinions. Leadership is not one-size-fits-all. And that is fortunate for all of us. It gives us, in this case, 25 opportunities to learn. Join us Aug. 6 at the awards gala in Nashville for the Top 25 Women in Healthcare to do just that.

Bob Clarke is CEO and Sherrie Barch is president of Furst Group, a Rockford, Ill.-based healthcare executive search firm.