A Promotion and a Personal life?

"I want a promotion, but I don't want to sacrifice even more of my personal life. Is it even possible to claim more of a personal life while also advancing my career?"

I hear varieties of this near daily. Other variations include statements like:

• I need to spend more time with my kids. It's all too much right now and my family is suffering. I can't possibly take on MORE.
• The only women I see in leadership positions don't have young kids. I don't know if I can reasonably expect to be promoted right now. Maybe when my kids are older.
• I need more of a life! I spend so much time at work and I'm constantly doing more, with less and less resources. I'm burnt out and need more personal time, not less(the implication is that with a promotion comes less personal time).

The concern people in our field have, ESPECIALLY women, about how they can continue to grow their careers when they are already stretched far beyond thin is .... very real.

A promotion may feel like it's deserving, but not reasonable given the additional responsibility (and more demands?) at work.

I hear you. In fact, I left corporate, pre-pandemic, before everyone else worked remotely, because I didn't want to sacrifice even more time with my own kiddo that my husband and I worked exceptionally hard to have (thank you IVF!).

I had reached a certain stage in leadership within the corporate world where being in-person literally all the time, traveling consistently (even when it was for show, not meaningful work), and being on-demand at all times was expected.

I could take a lower-level job with less demands (which I did for a year and it was the worst for an ambitious overachiever like me!) or start my own business.

So, I started my own business and I'm grateful I've found a perfect fit for this stage of my career, life, and personality. But, it's not for everyone. And I don't women to be forced to freelance, consult or start a business - it's not for everyone - and it shouldn't have to be.

So after some time working on the consulting side of my business, I noticed continuous conversations with the women I worked with both in consulting and coaching. And they all dealt with the intersection of gender bias and our misunderstood and oversimplified field.

Taking my knowledge of Communications coupled with my knowledge of gender bias, I started a program focused on elevating our field and the women in it. And it's working!

Raise the Tide? (RTT) members claim multiple promotions, massive salary increases, bonuses that are exceptional, and expanded scope of roles - all in a small group container program with many members seeing results in under six months. These women in RTT point to this program as the meaningful difference-maker for them in advancing their careers. They're raising the tide for all of us in this field, and it's maybe the most meaningful thing I've been a part of in my career.

But before we got to these members' massive growth and progress, I regularly heard about this perpetual challenge they shared between concern over working more if they're promoted and being deserving of a promotion. So, I invited in Megan Witherspoon to talk with the women about possibilities. I knew Megan's story and I knew it would be powerful for women of RTT.

A woman in our field who grew her career and also grew in her personal life! What?! It is possible!

After rave reviews following that call, I invited her to talk with all of you on my podcast. Listen in to hear about her experience, know that the way she did it isn't the only way, and take what you like from it - hopefully inspiration and expanding the possibilities for yourself, even while navigating your own unique realities.

Then, go follow Raise the Tide? for more content on women in this field and go thank Megan for her time sharing her experience on the podcast. I'm sure grateful for it!

Episode Six Career Growth Without EVEN MORE Personal Life Sacrifice

Can you truly grow your career without working EVEN more? This is a key question host, Tara McDonagh, is asked regularly by ambitious, exceptional, overachieving women. The assumptive answer is always - no. What most of us have always seen and assumed is that when you continue to rise in your career, company demands on your time will grow. Most women are eager and ready for growth, but don’t want to sacrifice even more time with family and friends. Is there another way??

Host Tara McDonagh, invites Megan Witherspoon, VP of Communications at Altria, to discuss how she’s both grown her career, and embraced a new level of personal fulfillment through remote work.

Megan not only works remotely, she moved her family across the country and continues to take on more responsibility in her role at Altria, while enjoying more time for family and hobbies as well.?

In this episode of Communications Business Advisor? Podcast, Tara and Megan discuss:

• How Megan was able to move across the country while advancing responsibilities in her company.
• Using data to measure if there are differences in remote vs in-person worker performance - make the case with data.?
• Proximity bias. It is a thing. Will it ever die??
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion implications tied to remote work.

Listen to episode 6: Six Career Growth Without EVEN MORE Personal Life Sacrifice

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Links & Resources:

Follow Megan Witherspoon on LinkedIn -- linkedin.com/in/megan-witherspoon-8b315958/

Harvard Business Review article -- Why Many Women of Color Don't Want to Return to the Office

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Tara's LinkedIn - sometimes provocative, sometimes inspiring, often interesting Comms.-focused messages five days a week. People tell me it's illuminating and inspiring (and by people ... I don't mean my Mom). Ring the bell in the top right to be alerted to new posts.

Raise the Tide ? LinkedIn - content for women in the field, connected to the program designed for women leaders and emerging leaders in the Communications field working in a corporate environment. The program is part community, part coaching, part professional development, and part mentoring, with massive impact. Elevating our field and the women in it.

Taramcdonagh.com - for insight on my approach, services, background, how to work with me, and more.

Tara McDonagh is a Communications as Business Advisor? activist, advisor to Fortune 500 communications leaders and their teams, and Founder of Raise the Tide? for women in Comms. She helps Comms. teams elevate their reputations as critical advisors while elevating our profession and the people in it. Visit: www.taramcdonagh.com