Women leaders in Communications navigate the flaming tightrope of advocacy in a misunderstood and oversimplified profession every day. Tara shares how walking that tightrope becomes more secure, and how you can continue to advance your career, respect for your team and our profession, in this episode. "Be more assertive." "Soften your delivery." "Speak up more." "Listen more." For women leading Communications teams in-house, contradictory feedback is consistent and exhausting. And as you advance, you finally reach a place where no one understands your responsibilities, your challenges, and there is no one to advocate for you and your team anymore, aside from you. The realities of being a woman in a frequently misunderstood profession becomes harder, and you need something different to navigate it successfully. In this episode of the Communications Business Advisor™ Podcast, Tara McDonagh shares why she created Raise the Tide™'s flagship program, Surge, what she's learned from three years of supporting women leaders working in-house in the Communications profession through this program, and what makes it so very different from traditional networking, community, coaching, and professional development programs. Tara takes you inside Raise the Tide's Surge program, a small-group coaching, mentorship, executive development, and peer community for women working in-house in Communications at the Senior Manager through VP levels. She explains why the groups are intentionally small, how members support one another, and what it's like to have Tara, an experienced Communications leader, in your corner. She also shares the results women have achieved in the program, from multiple promotions for multiple women (sometimes multiple in a year for individual women), raises of 10 to 40 percent, expanded budgets, additional headcount, greater executive influence, and renewed love for this profession. In this episode, you'll hear: How contradictory leadership feedback creates a double bind for women in Communications. Why senior Communications leaders working in-house lack mentors who truly understand their work, and how that can stall their career. How Raise the Tide Surge's small, confidential peer groups work, and why. What Tara's coaching, mentorship, goal-setting, and real-time support look like. Results of Raise the Tide Surge, including promotions, increased compensation, additional headcount, greater authority, friendships, and reclaimed love for the profession Why Raise the Tide Surge is designed specifically for in-house women in Communications, and how to request an invitation. Raise the Tide™ Surge Raise the Tide's flagship program, Surge, is a 12-month coaching, mentorship, community, and professional/leadership development experience for women in-house in Communications at the Senior Manager, Director, Senior Director, and VP levels. If you're ready for support from women who understand your work and a mentor who's been in your seat, learn more about Raise the Tide Surge, and request an invitation. To learn more about the program, explore Raise the Tide™ Surge. You can also sign up for Raise the Tide™ emails for ongoing insights, resources, and updates for women in Communications. About Tara McDonagh Tara McDonagh is a Communications Business Advisor™ activist, founder of Tara McDonagh Communications, Inc., and Founder of Raise the Tide™ for women in Communications. She advises Chief Communications Officers, Vice Presidents, and Senior Directors at Fortune 500 and other large organizations on advancing their function as critical business advisors. Recognized by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in 2026 as an industry champion and thought leader, Tara helps Communications teams elevate their reputations as critical advisors while elevating our profession and the people in it. Tara McDonagh Communications' clients span industries including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, automotive, manufacturing, food and beverage, financial services, and higher education. Tara McDonagh's clients typically range from about $1 billion to more than $180 billion in annual revenue and from about 2,000 to more than 150,000 employees. With nearly 30 years of experience leading communications at some of the nation's largest, most complex, and most highly regulated brands, Tara's counsel comes from experience across communications disciplines: public relations, public affairs, internal communications, executive communications, and crisis communications. She quite literally knows what it's like to do the role and helps those she advises elevate their team's expertise and their own reputations. Resources: Work with Tara: Learn more about working with Tara. https://www.taramcdonagh.com Communications Team Authority Index™: Take the ten-question, five-minute diagnostic that shows where your team really sits on the path to being viewed and treated as critical Communications Business Advisors™. https://www.taramcdonagh.com/authority-index/ Raise the Tide™: Explore Raise the Tide™ and sign up for insights for women in Communications. https://www.raisethetide.com Newsletter: Get Tara's newsletter on advancing as a Communications Business Advisor™, Level Up: Be Extra. https://www.taramcdonagh.com/levelup/ This episode is sponsored by Raise the Tide™, a professional development ecosystem for women in communications, helping them grow, connect, and lead with confidence through mentorship, coaching, professional development, and community. If you found this episode valuable, please rate and review. It helps more communicators find the show and strengthens our collective voice. Until next time, keep advising. Always keep advising.
