Jo Anne Gabbert | BICKNELL FAMILY HOLDINGS

Kansas City, says Jo Anne Gabbert, is blessed with a giving business community, a resource that can help business owners knock down barriers to success. The wiser among them draw on that blend of talent, competency and Midwestern hospitality—just as Gabbert did when launching her own business in 1999. “I had never run a large organization or been involved in the financial and operational oversight of an entire organization,” before she formed the Adams-Gabbert consulting firm. The mentors she found in business, legal, banking and tax industries, she said, were early keys to success.

And therein lies a lesson. That experience, she says, “taught me not to be afraid to ask for help or admit when you do not know the answers. Trying to figure it out on your own is costly and can cause a lot of sleepless nights.” Eight years after forming Adams-Gabbert, she sold it to Bicknell Family Holding Co. Her work with the company sufficiently impressed the Bicknell family that she was hired to lead the holding company as its president, overseeing a portfolio well into nine figures.

As a senior executive, Gabbert sees the value of a work force that is bringing more women up to her level. “I believe that women bring a unique perspective and skill set to the work force,” she said, particularly with their desire to collaborate to solve complex business issues. And more businesses, she says, are catching on to that: “Companies that have at least three women on their board, as well as women on the executive team, realize a much higher return on equity.”

Tami Schademann | BATS GLOBAL MARKETS

Success, says Tami Schademann, is all about balance: “Balancing career and family will help you maintain a sense of what is truly important in life,” says Schademann, chief regulatory officer for BATS Global Markets. “As a proud mother of three, family has always been my top priority and I’m thankful to be part of a company that allows me to be challenged every day, yet understands and values a healthy work-life balance so I can spend quality time with my family.”

A company offering such flexibility is not something every working woman enjoys. But it’s hard to argue with BATS’ brand of success: In less than five years, it’s become the world’s third-largest securities exchange, behind only the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Earlier this year, it was No. 1 on Ingram’s list of the 100 fastest-growing companies in the Kansas City region for 2009.

A founding employee of BATS when it launched in 2005, Schademann implemented its regulatory and compliance operations, and three years later was named chief regulatory officer and senior vice president. Those early duties made her a key figure in helping the company navigate its application with both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers (now known as FINRA) to become a broker dealer. The fit has worked both ways, Schademann says: “Businesses that want to retain and promote talented women will also need to offer them flexibility as well as career paths.”

Melissa Cather-Thiede | PROACTIVE SOLUTIONS

Melissa Cather-Thiede has a message to women who are contemplating leadership positions in business. It is not Happy Talk.

“You have to be prepared to sacrifice and to push yourself beyond your comfort zone,” says Cather-Theide, who has done just that in building ProActive Solutions into one of the three dozen fastest-growing U.S. companies led by women. “Stay focused, work hard and remain optimistic that you are on the right track,” she said. “It is so important to surround yourself with people you have faith in.”

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal listed ProActive No. 36 on the Women’s Presidents Organization list of 50 high-growth firms guided by women. Getting the company there involved some personal discovery. “I have a tendency to try to do things myself, and my fear of making mistakes can get me bogged down in over-analysis and inaction,” Cather-Thiede said. So she learned to delegate effectively, letting people better-suited for certain aspects of the business do their job. “Because honestly,” she says, “there are many parts of our business I am simply unqualified for.”

Give her high marks for candid self-assessment and for knowing what she’s best-suited for: Growing the information-technology company she owns with her husband, Dean. The company’s success, she said, isn’t her own, or the couple’s: “ProActive Solutions is a collaborative team of talented, dedicated people who are the backbone of the business,” Cather-Thiede said. “They get the credit.”