WE ARE AMERICA’S JOBS TEAM.

America’s future relies on people like you to foster a dynamic economy. It’s a big responsibility, but you are not alone in shouldering the weight. You are part of America’s Jobs Team!

You know—as do we—that the business of creating jobs is hard work, requiring more than just a little bit of elbow grease. You’ve got to have: deep industry knowledge; community and workforce familiarity; an ability to form deep relationships and create unity; perseverance; and the drive to keep growing both your community and within your leadership capabilities.

Over the years, the Consultant Connect team has seen many amazing economic development heroes reach incredible goals, and we know these winning moments happen because of continuous learning, evolving and innovation. Join us each week for in-depth interviews and relevant leadership development topics to help economic developers grow. We firmly believe that when leaders get better, communities thrive!

Listen to the America’s Jobs Team podcast below, or find it on Apple Podcasts.

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Episode 183: Leadership Conundrums: Are Collaboration and Competition Mutually Exclusive in a Relationship?
Episode 183: Leadership Conundrums: Are Collaboration and Competition Mutually Exclusive in a Relationship? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Competition makes us faster, collaboration makes us better.” –Unknown Economic development is a fiercely competitive industry. When we battle it out against other communities to win more and better jobs for our communities, it’s easy to get sucked into fighting mode. Yet, at the same time, collaboration is key to driving the work forward and…

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Episode 182: How to Overcome Fear of the Unknown to Seize Your Next Opportunity | Mitchel Allen, Greater Richmond Partnership
Episode 182: How to Overcome Fear of the Unknown to Seize Your Next Opportunity | Mitchel Allen, Greater Richmond Partnership 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“It was a tough decision to move; in Phoenix I was able to drive around  and see the impact of my years invested first-hand. But I was ready for a new challenge.” –Mitchel Allen With a huge move under his belt in 2021, Mitchel Allen is ready for 2022 and all it has in store.…

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Episode 181: Leadership Conundrums: Making Decisions When Everything Feels Like a Priority
Episode 181: Leadership Conundrums: Making Decisions When Everything Feels Like a Priority 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make every day, and those decisions are determined by our priorities.” –Myles Munroe We’ve all been there. You get to the end of the day and feel you put out a lot of fires but you haven’t done any work that makes an impact,…

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Episode 180: Leadership Conundrums: How to Navigate Emergent Leadership Qualities
Episode 180: Leadership Conundrums: How to Navigate Emergent Leadership Qualities 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“The more, and earlier, that companies can give up control, the more you develop the right kind of self-correcting culture where employees will be your biggest advocate.” –Katy Shields Today kicks off the first episode in a three-part series exploring several leadership conundrums. Over the next three weeks we will discuss how to make decisions…

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Episode 179: Why Preparation for Success Is Key to Meeting Goals
Episode 179: Why Preparation for Success Is Key to Meeting Goals 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” –Abraham Lincoln As 2022 has already taken us by storm, there’s no better time than now to evaluate our strategies for the year. Just like chef’s use “mise en place” to gather all their ingredients and…

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Episode 178: 4 Simple Yet Non-negotiable Rules to Lead Your Team Well | Charles Wood, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
Episode 178: 4 Simple Yet Non-negotiable Rules to Lead Your Team Well | Charles Wood, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“For me, maximum flexibility is key. The ability to transition as things change is really important, as is the ability to relate to people that are coming from different circumstances and places.” –Charles Wood What better way to launch into the new year than by learning from an economic developer truly moving the needle on…

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Episode 177: Are You Intentionally Taking Care of Your Body Like a Natural Resource?
Episode 177: Are You Intentionally Taking Care of Your Body Like a Natural Resource? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” –Alan Cohen Coming out of 2020, we thought there couldn’t be a wilder year. Coming to the close of 2021, we might have been wrong! All signs point to a busy year leading to another busy year. How are…

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Episode 176: Are You Building Up the Attributes That Make You A Great Team Player?
Episode 176: Are You Building Up the Attributes That Make You A Great Team Player? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” –Steve Jobs We all know that one coworker that you can count on for anything. As soon as you need help you automatically think of them. But what is it that makes that person such a team player?…

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Episode 175: Do You Use Your Tools in Non-Traditional Ways? You Might Want To! | Joe Agostinelli, Grand Rapids Area Revitalization
Episode 175: Do You Use Your Tools in Non-Traditional Ways? You Might Want To! | Joe Agostinelli, Grand Rapids Area Revitalization 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“If you can think of the project through a different lens, there is often a way you can leverage a non-traditional tool to fit the project you’re working on.” –Joe Agostinelli The cost of materials and goods for projects is a topic we are all too familiar with right now. It often seems that incentive…

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Episode 174: How Can You Continue Leveling Up Your Leadership Skills?
Episode 174: How Can You Continue Leveling Up Your Leadership Skills? 150 150 America's Jobs Team

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” –Barack Obama As this year comes to a close and a new year looms, lots of people are thinking about new year’s resolutions, setting goals for next year, and working on strategies…

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