Episode 9: The Next Dirty "P" Word...Prioritizing
Communications Business Advisor
Release Date: 04/29/2024
Episode 29: Raise the Tide – The Women Communications Leadership Community and More
Communications Business Advisor
Episode 29 of the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host, Tara McDonagh, dives into Raise the Tide™, a program for women leaders and emerging leaders in the communications field working in a corporate (or related) environment. Tara unpacks exactly what Raise the Tide™ is, why it was created, and how it works. Raise the Tide™ is a complete program for women in the Communications field that involves community, coaching, mentorship, counsel, and professional development specifically for women in corporate communications roles. Unlike other programs,, Raise the Tide™is...
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Episode 28: How Can You Even Plan Right Now?
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to Episode 28 of the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with Tara McDonagh. Today, Tara tackles a big question for communications leaders: how do you create a long-term plan in uncertain, volatile times like right now? She shares practical strategies to help Communications Leaders make it happen, even during chaos. Start from the (Ever-Changing) Business Strategy Tara explains how to align communications plans with business plans even as they evolve to adjust to the current environment. She shares how to identify key business goals and develop or adapt long-term...
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Episode 27: More in a Time of Less
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to this week’s episode of the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with Tara McDonagh. Today, Tara dives into one of the most critical challenges communication leaders face in uncertain times—advocating for more resources, influence, and investment when the natural reaction right now is to contract. If you’ve been questioning how to maintain your role as an advisor and resist slipping into order-taking in the face of budget cuts and chaos, this episode provides the insights and strategies you need to thrive. Escaping the Scarcity Mindset Tara invites listeners...
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Episode 26: Risk Alert!: Our Field Could Slip Backwards
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with Tara McDonagh. This week, Tara dives into a timely and scary issue—corporate communications is at risk of losing ground after years of progress. From earning a seat at the table to influencing decisions, these gains of being heard and respected are now under threat in today’s economic and corporate environment. What can we do to maintain (and grow) in our gains, defend out space and NOT slip backwards? Listen in. Risks Facing Communications Professionals Today Internal Communications at Risk: Respect for roles in...
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Episode 25: Comms and Moms, Part 2
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with Tara McDonagh, your go-to platform for corporate communications professionals who elevate their work, build influence, and solidify their role as critical advisors at the decision-making table. In this episode, we continue our discussion on Moms in Comms, and we tackle it a bit differently this time. We hear YOUR voices … YOUR stories … many of them. We start with an interview with a Communications leader in the Corporate environment working at a billions-of-dollars, known brand in North America and we end with...
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Episode 24: Comms and Moms, Part 1
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with Tara McDonagh. This week, we kick off a two-part series on navigating communications leadership through the lens of motherhood, bias, and systemic challenges. Tara shares her personal experiences navigating being in this field both as a mom - and as a child free woman for quite a long period of her career. And she ties it all to why we deal with it and what to do about it. In this episode of the Communication Business Advisor Podcast, Tara McDonagh explains: The Motherhood Penalty & Gender Bias – Women face pay gaps, earning...
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Episode 23: What About the Women? Revisited
Communications Business Advisor
This one was first released last year and listening to it again, I was struck by how relevant it still is. If you’re a woman in this field, or just interested in learning more about the unique challenges women in this field face … maybe you manage them or are managed by one, or collaborate with them … this is the episode for you. Listen in and let me know what you think. Women dominate the Communications field in numbers, but not in leadership roles. Why? Couple gender bias together with our misunderstood and oversimplified field and we have a fight on our hands. In this...
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Episode 22: Love (& Hate) for Communications
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to Episode 22 of the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with your host, Tara McDonagh. This week, Tara explores the love and frustration many communications professionals feel for their field. She candidly discusses challenges like small teams, underfunded departments, and underappreciation, while also talking about the emotional highs of getting that seat at the decision-making table as an underdog and knowing we made a difference. The Trials and Triumphs of Communications Leadership Tara dives into how ambitious overachievers are drawn to this field. Not because...
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Episode 21: "How Important Is It?"
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome back to the Communications Business Advisor Podcast! This episode dives into a fundamental question every communications leader should ask: "How Important Is It?" Tara McDonagh shares insights from a recent strategic planning session with a comms team, where the question revealed surprising opportunities for efficiency, clarity, and advocacy. If you're a communications leader juggling endless priorities, struggling with resource constraints, or looking for ways to focus on what truly matters, this episode is for you. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Rethinking Prioritization as a...
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Episode 20: New Year. New Mindset.
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome back to the Communications Business Advisor Podcast! It’s 2025, and with a new year comes the chance to adopt a new mindset - because mindset can change everything. Today, Tara McDonagh challenges communications leaders to rethink the way they prioritize their time and energy in their organizations. If you’ve ever struggled with justifying your workload, advocating for resources, or redefining your leadership role, this episode is for you. Why “Because I Get Paid Too Much” Matters: Tara challenges the misconception that strategic leaders recognizing their value is...
info_outline“It became really clear what we could do and do well with the resources that we had, and those were limited resources. And I never stopped talking about what we could do with more.”
--Jessica Onick
The dirty word on this episode of the podcast is “prioritization.” Host, Tara McDonagh has invited Jessica Onick, Senior Director of Internal and External Communications at GitHub to share how prioritizing and setting boundaries ended up doubling the size of her team in just over a year.
In this episode of the Communications Business Advisor Podcast, Tara and Jesscia talk about:
- Jessica’s experience losing staff and being required to prioritize
- How to go about the prioritization process and be intentional, NOT ruthless
- The art of telling others, “No, it’s not a priority”
- Determining where you’re really needed to do it all, where to guide, and where to empower self-service
- Using up-front prioritization as a framework for the day-to-day
- Growing your team and budget as a result of the prioritization process
Links & Resources:
Jessica Onick on LinkedIn –– www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaonick
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If the topic of today’s episode of the Communications Business Advisor Podcast resonated with you, please take a moment to share this episode with someone, drop a rating, or leave a review. We can ignite a movement when we share the message.
Visit taramcdonagh.com to learn more about how to work with Tara. Or follow her content on LinkedIn at: Tara McDonagh where she posts five days a week on comms.-focused topics.
The Communications Business Advisor Podcast is brought to you by Raise the Tide, the unique coaching, community and professional development program that elevates corporate women communications leaders and emerging leaders in the communications field.