Maria Doughty has spent nearly five decades' worth of institutional wisdom at her fingertips — and she uses every bit of it to do one thing: bring people together who never would have found each other otherwise. As President & CEO of The Chicago Network, a 50-year-old invitation-only community of the city's most powerful senior executive women, Maria has turned the art of connection into a leadership philosophy.In this warm and wonderfully candid episode, Maria shares how a leap of faith (signed in February 2020, with an April start date — yes, that April) led her to the role she was meant for, and what she's learned about building community that actually holds — across industries, decades, and more than 70 events a year.✨ Highlights from this episode:Why the most powerful communities are built on threads, not topics — and what that difference means for how you connectThe two founding rules of The Chicago Network that have held for nearly 50 years (no guilt + the 24-hour rule)How Maria plays the role of connector-in-chief — and why stepping away is often the most important move she makesWhat high-achieving women get wrong about giving — and the one question that stopped a member in her tracksWhy Maria believes there's no such thing as a coincidence when it comes to connectionWhether you lead a community, build one, or simply want to show up better in the ones you belong to — this one will stay with you.👉 What connection in your life is quietly waiting to become something more — if only someone nudged it forward?SHOW LINKS:The Chicago Network: https://www.thechicagonetwork.org/Maria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-doughty/