Hannah Cusick - “Maloley Searches for Balance” [Ann Maloley

Maloley Searches For Balance

By J1 Reporter Hannah Cusick

Ann Maloley, an intelligent and confident business woman, looks around the board room in which she is presenting. Maloley is the only female there, but this is a typical sight for her. In her male-dominated profession, Maloley is faced with the constant struggle of having to prove her intelligence. She feels as if she has to “earn the right to get in there” unlike her male counterparts. Although she had to prove her value to the company she works for, Maloley quickly gained credibility from her coworkers and now lets only her imagination be the limit of her success.

Maloley was interested in pursuing a career in business and marketing because she did not want her ambitious and creative mind to be limited. In high school, she struggled in science and math, but began to feel comfortable in the marketing arena. She easily understands the concept of marketing; it was logical to her during her high school years, so it was an effortless decision to pursue a career in marketing when the time came. In business and marketing, Maloley said “the sky’s the limit” and is the perfect outlet of independence for an ambitious woman. To pursue her interest in business and marketing, Maloley went to the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Fresh out of college with her MBA, Maloley worked for the Multiple Sclerosis Society as the director of marketing at age 24. For about three years, Maloley planned all of their fundraisers to earn money for MS research and to support patients with multiple sclerosis, a disease that causes nerve damage to the brain and spinal cord. Before paving an independent career path with her own companies, she led all of the physician marketing for Creighton. Through her job at Creighton, Maloley was able to find her area of expertise in marketing: physician practice development.

While working at these jobs, Maloley felt that she was deprived of the privilege her male counterparts had. While they could walk into a room and already have the respect of their colleagues, she had to work for her credibility as a woman. Through these jobs, Maloley learned how to work effectively to succeed. She grew to be successful by finding her area of expertise and tirelessly working to find unique ideas to help her stand out amongst a crowd of competitors.

After gaining plenty of marketing experience through a variety of businesses, Maloley felt as if she could do it better on her own. Although creating a company from the ground up as a woman would be extremely difficult, Maloley was confident that she could reach her goal. Coming from a supportive family that was driven to be successful, Maloley said “I knew I had it in me, instinctively, to do it on my own.” Her personal goal while creating her own business was to become independent, to make something that she could call her own and be successful at it. As a high school student, Maloley had a dream of running her own business. After countless days of working late into the night, she finally made the childhood dream come true. In 2006, she launched her first company: Maloley Healthcare Marketing. Maloley was shocked by the early success of her business, as her new company gained numerous clients at a fast rate. Maloley Healthcare Marketing quickly became successful. She was pleased with how effectively she turned an idea into reality. Even though Maloley now had the professional success and self-sufficiency she desired, an uncomfortable feeling of discontent lingered.

Although she was gratified with her accomplishments, Maloley felt

“As long as you have peace of mind and a happy heart, you have everything.”

there was a part of her life that was missing. Many of her co-workers all had families and kids, but she had only ever indulged in her work. Even in her youth, she constantly focused primarily on work and school. Although her peers had a balance between their professional and personal lives, Maloley only prioritized her work life. She stated, “I poured everything I had into my professional life because I didn’t really have that other piece of it.” If she could go back before she found success in her profession, Maloley wishes she would’ve integrated more personal balance. Twenty years ago Maloley would have seen success as reaching some sort of professional goal. Maloley has a new perspective on this now, stating “when you have those kinds of hard goals, you lose sight of the process, you lose sight of being happy in that process.

Today, Maloley would define success as “being happy about what you do, feeling really content in your heart, contributing to society, and doing good in the world.” Maloley has realized that success is having a well-rounded life with people you love; whatever someone aspires to do or be in life, just be happy about it. She says,“You have to be happy in order for you to give happiness to the people that are around you.” She’s found the importance of treating people with kindness and fairness. Everyone has their own professional or personal struggles, and it’s important to have empathy towards everyone. Learning to become empathic to her employees makes her feel as if she’s become a better leader and manager.

These beliefs stem from Maloley’s role model and inspiration, her mother. Growing up, her mother always told her that she can do anything she puts her mind to, and if she’s good to people, then good things will come to her. While starting her company, Maloley’s mom gave her the confidence and support she needed to face the struggles she endured. She admires her mother’s strength and how she sees the goodness in everyone. Through her mom’s words of wisdom, Maloley has learned one of her most important morals in life; “As long as you have peace of mind and a happy heart, you have everything.”

In Maloley’s past years, she has found success through the importance of hard work and perseverance. Now, she is finding success through the importance of family, friends and kindness. Maloley has not found the perfect balance between the two, but she’s closer than she’s ever been by living day-to-day focusing on both her work life and her personal relationships.

Now knowing the significance of creating a balance between work and relationships, Maloley has become a symbol of success in the professional world and personal world. She learned how to thrive in a male-dominated work environment, boosted her confidence in her abilities, and became an independent business woman. She utilizes her creativity in her company and shows her peers how to think outside the box. She pushes her employees to work hard, but also understands how to empathize with her employees’ need for personal relationships and the importance of kindness. Maloley is a role model for determined leaders; she shows that being a successful businesswoman does not mean that empathy and a personal life must be set aside. Her story sets an example for young girls by demonstrating how creating a balance between work and personal lives can be accomplished, even for the most ambitious and successful women.

Ann Maloley celebrating with her mom at her wedding shower on Saturday, Nov. 27.