Leading Nashville’s Next Chapter: Collaboration, Character, and Community
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Stephanie Coleman reflects on her journey, the city’s unique leadership culture, and the power of collaboration that continues to define and drive Nashville’s growth.
Key Takeaways:
- Evolving Through Every Role: Stephanie Coleman’s leadership is rooted in experience — having worn many hats at the Nashville Chamber, she champions growth through adaptability, curiosity, and embracing new challenges, even when the path isn’t linear.
- Collaboration as Nashville’s Superpower: Stephanie sees this as a defining moment for the region — where public, private, and nonprofit leaders can unite with a bias toward action to shape the next decade of progress together.
- Cultivating Future Leaders: From mentorship and service leadership to investing in personal development, Stephanie underscores the importance of building networks, developing soft skills, and preparing the next generation to lead with purpose.
Host Suzanne Reed joins Stephanie Coleman, President and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, to explore her remarkable 17-year journey with the Chamber — from PR beginnings to leading one of the most influential organizations in Middle Tennessee. Together, they discuss the leadership lessons, collaborative spirit, and future vision that make Nashville truly one of a kind.
Evolving Through Every Role
Stephanie Coleman’s story is a testament to growth through experience. Beginning her career in public relations and communications at the Chamber, she quickly learned the power of perspective — understanding the diverse challenges and triumphs across departments.
“I started in 2008 in the PR and communications role,” she recalls. “Because I’ve worn so many hats in so many roles, I really understand what the team is dealing with on a day-to-day basis — both what’s fulfilling and joyful, but also what’s challenging — a unique position to be able to see how all of those pieces fit together.”
Her approach to leadership emphasizes that professional growth doesn’t always move in a straight line. “Sometimes you have to take a lateral move to get a new challenge, to get new skill sets,” she suggests. “That will help you at the end of the day to build your own career pathway.”
Reflecting back on her own history with the Chamber, Stephanie offers advice to those who may be just starting out. “I can look back over the many roles I’ve had and some of them I really loved, and some of them I didn’t love as much,” a lesson she says helped her learn more about herself. “By going through those challenges, I can truly say that I’m better for it. I can say that the organization is better for it.”
This mindset has guided her rise to the top of the Chamber, reminding emerging leaders that success is built on resilience, learning, and the willingness to embrace the unknown.
Collaboration as Nashville’s Superpower
For Stephanie, Nashville’s greatest strength lies in its people — and their commitment to collective progress.
“This is a unique moment in time for Nashville and the region,” she says. “So many organizations, not just the Chamber, have new leadership at the helm, and it’s such an incredible opportunity for those new leaders to come together and say we’re going to do what Nashville is known for, which is to collaborate.”
Her vision for the city’s future includes tackling major challenges like housing, mobility, and regional growth through unified effort.
“We need to do that together collaboratively, and that’s across the public and private sector,” Stephanie adds. “It’s business, community, nonprofit, government. There’s so much that we can do together that we cannot do alone.”
Stephanie also highlights the Chamber’s new Partnership 2030 plan, which focuses on community vitality, mobility, and character. These priorities aim to sustain Nashville’s economic success while ensuring it remains a place where creativity, inclusivity, and innovation thrive.
“When you go to other communities, many of them are successful, but they may not have that creative Music City brand that we have here that’s driven so much of our entrepreneurship,” she says. “You don’t see the same level of corporate commitment that you see here in Nashville, and that’s something we have the benefit of tapping into, both in terms of resources, expertise, and individuals that want to get involved, roll up their sleeves and really help make an impact on these issues that affect the community at large.”
Cultivating Future Leaders
Stephanie’s leadership philosophy extends beyond policy and into people development. Her advice for emerging professionals: never stop learning, stay curious, and nurture your relationships.
“Employers can teach technical skills,” she notes, “but it’s really the soft skills” — things like communication, showing up prepared, building connections — that new hires often struggle with early in their careers.
“I would tell young people, think about how you communicate, and to the extent that you can pick up the phone or have face-to-face communication, that’s great,” she suggests. “Be open to learning, open to what that connection might bring you.”
Stephanie also recommends finding the value in networking. “Think about who’s in your network that you may not even consider part of your social capital, whether it’s family or church or friend groups or your neighborhood,” she says. “Tap into those relationships to find opportunities where you may not have realized they were there before.”
She also champions mentorship and self-investment. “Early on, I had great mentors,” she shares. “I deliberately identified four or five individuals who I could speak to on a regular basis who I really admired, who had been in CEO roles to help me think about what I needed to work on and give me some real direct feedback on things I could improve upon.”
After all, true leadership for Stephanie means lifting others while continually growing herself. “I invested a lot in my own development. I read every single leadership book out there on the market, and some of them really helped me think about how I would approach a job like this.”
Looking Ahead
As for her future, Stephanie laughs that retirement “is not really in my vocabulary.” Her passion for leadership, community, and purpose remains as strong as ever.
“The next chapter, I would say, would include an opportunity to lead something that is really meaningful, that has purpose, fulfillment, and whether that’s a volunteer role or something else, I’m open and I will keep that door wide open for opportunities when the time is right,” she says, “which won’t be for a very, very long time, by the way.”
Her advice to young leaders — and a fitting reflection of her own journey — is simple yet powerful: Stay open to growth, say yes to new challenges, and lead with a heart for service.
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