#78- Chris Mader on Fixing What Most Staffing Leaders Miss

EPISODE SUMMARY What do you get when you combine a former pro athlete, a corporate leader turned author, and 30+ years of recruiting wisdom? You get Chris Mader, someone who’s coached hundreds of recruiters, sold millions in staffing services, and still makes cold calls for fun. In this episode, Chris joins host Clark Wilcox to unpack the power of emotional intelligence, long-game selling, and the habits that separate average recruiters from six-figure pros. Chris shares how he went from playing minor league baseball with Michael Jordan and against Derek Jeter to leading sales teams at Randstad, where he learned that success isn’t about shouting louder, it’s about slowing down and listening better. From building trust without pitching, to coaching under pressure, to creating scalable training systems for firms doing $10–50M in revenue, this episode is packed with gold. Chris also opens up about the layoffs that sparked his book Make the Adjustment, and why doing the hard thing, especially when no one’s watching, is the key to lasting success in staffing and beyond.

CHRIS’ BIO Chris Mader is a leadership coach, executive trainer, and author of Make the Adjustment, a book about embracing change with courage and self-awareness. A former professional baseball player, Chris transitioned into staffing in the 90s, eventually rising through the ranks at Ronstadt to lead regional sales and talent operations. Today, through his firm MTA Consultancy, he partners with 10–100M staffing firms to scale through better systems, training, and leadership alignment.

Beyond staffing, Chris is known for his incredible sports stories, he played against Derek Jeter, suited up with Michael Jordan, and still brings a competitor’s mindset to every room he enters. 

You can connect with him on LinkedIn or at MTAConsultancy.com  Stop wasting money on lead-gen tools that don’t work. Learn how top recruiters are winning on LinkedIn with content, messaging, and automation—without spamming.  Get live coaching, ongoing support, and a proven system to drive revenue inside Digital Recruiter Bootcamp. Join now: DigitalRecruiter.io/bootcamp

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