Communications Business Advisor
by Tara McDonagh
Episode 52: Raise the Tide 3 Years Later: For Women in Communications
About this podcast
Hosted by Tara McDonagh, a Corporate Communications expert with nearly 30 years of experience for some of the biggest brands around, the Communications Business Advisor Podcast addresses the misunderstood and oversimplified field of communications in the corporate world, and elevates the reputation of the field and the people in it as Critical Business Advisors, never order takers.
The Communications Business Advisor podcast is a place to share our vision for the field, discuss the challenges we face, and approaches to elevate our field and ourselves as critical advisors.
Episode topics include everything from teaching executives how to treat us, to measurement that matters, the differences between internal communications and public relations (and what's the same), to team organizational structures that work, building a business case for budget, and interviews with Chief Communications Officers in a series called "Path to CCO."
Join Tara McDonagh in the movement to prove that our value as a business area is not only helpful, it's imperative to a company's success.
Tara McDonagh is a PRSA Women of Impact finalist in the Industry Champion / Thought Leader category, recognized for her contributions to elevating communications professionals into strategic business advisors and advancing the communications profession.
Find more at www.taramcdonagh.com or follow Tara on LinkedIn where she writes about Communications topics for our field five days a week at: www.linkedin.com/in/taramurraymcdonagh
Episodes
The newest 20 of 53 episodes
- Episode 52: Raise the Tide 3 Years Later: For Women in Communications · 44 min · Season 1 Episode 54Women leaders in Communications navigate the flaming tightrope of advocacy in a misunderstood and oversimplified profession every day. Tara shares how walking that tightrope…
- Episode 51: Networking Without the Ick with Monique Kelley · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 51Networking doesn't have to feel transactional, uncomfortable, or like you're asking someone for a favor. In this episode of the Communications Business Advisor™ Podcast, Tara…
- Episode 50: Fifty Episodes In, Here's What I Got Wrong · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 50Fifty episodes in, Tara McDonagh is looking back at some of the things she's said on the Communications Business Advisor™ Podcast and admitting that she'd say a few of them…
- Episode 49: Yes AND ... ! What Gini Dietrich and I Learned From Each Other · 59 min · Season 1 Episode 49What happens when two communications leaders who have been circling each other's work for years finally sit down for a conversation? In this episode of the Communications…
- Episode 48: The False Summit: Don't Get Stuck Here · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 48Being invited to the decision-making table isn't the same as being required there. In this episode of the Communications Business Advisor™ Podcast, Tara McDonagh introduces the…
- Episode 47: Authority. What this Season was Really about. · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 47In this season finale of the Communications Business Advisor podcast, Tara McDonagh reflects on the themes that shaped the season and what they ultimately revealed about…
- Episode 46: The Strategy That Isn't Working · 19 min · Season 1 Episode 46In this third episode of the strategy series, Tara McDonagh tackles one of the most frustrating realities for communications leaders: you built the communications strategic plan…
- Episode 45: The Strategy That's Still in Your Head · 20 min · Season 1 Episode 41In this follow-up to the long-term planning conversation, Tara McDonagh tackles a common but critical gap for communications leaders: having a strategy… that only exists in your…
- Episode 44: Long-Term Planning Is Dead (No, It Isn't) · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 44Welcome back to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara tackles a narrative that's gaining traction in the field: that…
- Episode 43: Thinking Alone Has a Leadership Ceiling · 20 min · Season 1Welcome back to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara explores what happens when you're not in the right room — and how the…
- Episode 42: When Helpfulness Becomes a Career Ceiling · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 42Welcome back to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this solo episode, Tara explores a counterintuitive pattern she sees repeatedly in her…
- Episode 41: When Everything Feels Heavy, You Might Need More · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 41Welcome back to the Communications Business Advisor podcast. In this solo episode, Tara shares an update, perspective, and invitation. Because right now, if there's one way to…
- Episode 40: Path to CCO+ with Laura Duda · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 40Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host, Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara continues the Path to CCO+ series with Laura Duda, Senior Vice President…
- Episode 39: Path to CCO+ with Anthony Farina · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 39Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with Anthony Farina, a seasoned global communications leader…
- Episode 38: Communicators' Word for 2026 · 21 min · Season 1 Episode 38Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara opens the new season with a declaration — not a trend forecast or…
- Episode 37: Bonus Episode: Life Admin – with Amy Lockmiller and Jessica Onick · 48 min · Season 1 Episode 37Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this bonus episode, Tara sits down with Raise the Tide™ members (and life admin evangelists)…
- Episode 36: You Don't Suck at Networking (Plus Some News) · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 36Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host, Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara gets real about one of the biggest myths she hears from women regularly…
- Episode 35: What We've Learned from the Path to CCO+ Series · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 35Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara steps back to reflect on the biggest insights emerging from her ongoing…
- Episode 34: The Path to CCO+ with Bianca Olson · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 34Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with Bianca Olson, Chief Communications Officer at HMH (Houghton…
- Episode 33: The Path to CCO+ with Libby May · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 33Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with Libby May, Chief External Affairs and Communications Officer…







