Getting Turned Down for CEO Three Times: What It Taught Me About Myself and the Healthcare Career Ladder
FEB 2025 / by Dr Dena van den Bergh / Leading Healthcare Change
"Despite what they say about 'climbing the corporate ladder' or the healthcare professional ladder, progress in our career is seldom linear and you will have setbacks." - Dr Dena van den Bergh
I was turned down for a CEO position in healthcare three times.
Embracing the Upskilling
ON THE FIRST TIME, I was 29 years old.
I had earned my Master’s Degree, was on the management team of the healthcare organisation and I was part of the project team that had grown that business substantially.
I was told I needed more financial knowledge and the position was filled by the then financial manager.
So I enrolled for a Finance for non-Financial Managers course and later found a brilliant mentor that helped me understand business financials and learn much more about leadership.
Your Career Isn't A Ladder, It's Often A Chessboard
THE SECOND TIME, they said there was someone more experienced in another division and yes, he was also an accountant.
I could have left the arena. Instead I put my hand up for a new project.
In some ways this was a lateral move, but it gave me direct access to the executive decision makers in the organisation.
The project also led to us launching a new chronic medicines business that was a disrupter in the industry and I gained the opportunity to build experience with starting and running that organisation.
The Dark Side Of Being Indispensable
THE THIRD TIME the position was open, I was told “We need you where you are”. Which seemed positive but it hit me hard.
I had no idea that becoming “indispensable” (read: doing too much by myself!) would hold me back from the position I had dreamed of since my internship.
I faced the hard truth that I needed to grow a successor to be able to free myself for the next opportunity.
The Non-Linear Career Path
That opportunity arrived two years later. I was 35 at the time and I was overjoyed to finally be appointed into the role. FOURTH time lucky!
Despite what they say about “climbing the corporate ladder” or the healthcare professional ladder, progress in our career is seldom linear and you will have setbacks.
It also isn’t about only racking up the skills and experiences needed.
You also need to:
✨ Keep your dreams alive
🏄♀️ Learn how you navigate setbacks
👐 Adopt an open mindset
🤸♂️ Be flexible and agile when carving your career path
👉 (Super important!) Make your work visible to decision makers
All of these play a role!
Have you had career setbacks as a professional in healthcare or healthtech? How did you manage them?
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Hi, I'm Dr Dena
van den Bergh.
I'm an award-winning healthcare change leader, global researcher and large scale change maker.
With a career spanning over 30 years as an executive in healthcare, I am an authority in change leadership and health systems innovation with experience on the hospital front lines to the boardroom, international conference stage, and beyond.
I have worked with South Africa's largest healthcare groups and funders in the public and private sector and collaborated with global change leaders in large scale health systems improvement.
My Doctorate in Engineering from Warwick University gave me a love for systems thinking which I integrated with my clinical expertise to create a unique approach to healthcare change leadership.
I now work independently with leaders, teams and organisations to successfully implement health systems improvement co-designed with stakeholders.
My goal is to empower accomplished and emerging leaders to thrive in their lives and their careers and inspire them to make a powerful impact in shaping the future of health systems globally.
I am an industry leader in change leadership and implementation of health systems improvement as well as a passionate advocate for value-based care and addressing the gap of vital employee and public input into designing better health systems for all.
In 2015 I was awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership in Quality Improvement in South Africa by Discovery Health for my change leadership work across the public and private sector.
A world citizen at heart, I frequently collaborate internationally and present and publish my work at the global level in order to expand my contribution and exchange knowledge to better my own work.
I am an honorary research associate at UCT Dept. of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV and a senior editor for the peer reviewed international journal JAC-AMR.
I am also an internationally certified leadership coach, an IHI trained Healthcare Improvement Advisor, an advanced Presencing and Theory U facilitator for social change and certified in Leadership Mastery with the Institute of Woman-Centered Coaching, Training and Leadership.
I am a committed yoga, meditation and wellness practitioner and love spending time in nature with my friends and family.
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