Ep 328 Bold Women in Business: Take the Leap & Make the Ask with Maria Doughty, CEO of The Chicago Network; Chicago, IL, USA

What separates successful women leaders from the rest often comes down to curiosity, courage, and the willingness to use their voice.

In this special episode honoring International Women’s Month, I had the pleasure of speaking with Maria Doughty, CEO of The Chicago Network, an organization made up of some of the most influential women leaders across Chicago’s business, nonprofit, healthcare, and government sectors. Maria shares the key traits she sees in extraordinary women leaders, including intellectual curiosity, humility, and a deep commitment to civic engagement.

We explore the importance of advocacy, making the ask, and building authentic professional relationships that create opportunities over time. Maria also discusses why women should pursue board service earlier in their careers, how advisory boards can be powerful leadership training grounds, and why executive presence and personal brand play a critical role in professional success.

Above all, Maria reminds us that women supporting women remains one of the most powerful forces for creating opportunity and lasting change.

Here are the highlights:

● Traits of Exceptional Leaders: The most successful women leaders share intellectual curiosity, humility, and a strong commitment to civic engagement.
● The Power of the Ask: Women must confidently articulate what they need and clearly make the ask in professional conversations.

● Why Civic Engagement Matters: Involvement in community and civic organizations often leads to powerful relationships and new opportunities.

● The Value of Board Experience: Serving on advisory or corporate boards helps women build leadership, governance, and strategic decision-making skills.

● Executive Presence & Personal Brand: How leaders show up, communicate, and present themselves shapes their influence and career trajectory.

About the guest:

Maria Doughty is the CEO of The Chicago Network, the premier organization of Chicagoland’s most influential women leaders. Since joining in 2020, she has guided the organization through the global pandemic while strengthening its strategic vision, modernizing operations, and deepening member engagement. Maria brings extensive experience in insurance, financial services, public policy, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk management, with a career that includes senior leadership roles at Allstate Insurance Company. She currently serves on several boards and advisory bodies, including The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Roosevelt University, and the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession. The daughter of Italian immigrants, Maria is passionate about servant leadership, civic engagement, and advancing opportunities for the next generation of women leaders. She lives in Chicago with her husband and has two grown sons.

Connect with Maria:

Website: thechicagonetwork.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-doughty/

Connect with Allison:

Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsummerschicago/

Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/ 

#CEO #leadership #startup #founder #business #businesspodcast 

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