EP282 Building Better Leaders: Jane Sidebottom on Mentorship, Workforce, and the Future of HVACR (July 2026)

Quotes from the episode: 

"It's not just about features and benefits anymore. It's about the impact your products have on your customer's business." 

"Training teaches skills. Mentorship builds confidence." 

"Someone somewhere saw that we were good at something and helped us channel it." 

"Words matter." 

The HVACR industry has talked about the workforce shortage for decades—but are we finally making progress? 

In this episode, Bill sits down with Jane Sidebottom, President of Women in HVACR and founder of AMK, a strategic consulting firm that has helped more than 60 HVAC manufacturers grow through customer insight and product development. 

Jane shares how an unexpected phone call launched her career with Trane, why she eventually founded her own consulting business, and what nearly two decades of advising manufacturers has taught her about creating products customers truly value. 

The conversation explores why leadership development matters as much as technical training, how mentorship accelerates careers, why product design should reduce installation complexity, and what the industry can do to attract—and retain—the next generation of talent. 

Whether you're a contractor, manufacturer, distributor, educator, or industry leader, this discussion offers practical ideas for building stronger businesses by investing in people. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-sidebottom/ 

 
Jane's Business Website: https://www.amk-llc.com/ 

 
Women In HVACR: https://www.womeninhvacr.org/ 
 
This Year's conference: https://www.womeninhvacr.org/built-for-speed 

This episode was recorded in July 2026.