An aspiring superintendent learns to lead with heart

On Sunday mornings at church, Lisa Adams is in her element. She greets everyone with a warm smile, a heartfelt hug and a genuine “How are you?”  

“You treat people like family,” her husband once told her. That simple observation became a turning point in her leadership journey. 

Dr. Lisa Adams is deputy superintendent of academics and leadership in Temple ISD, a district between Austin and Waco with 8,700 students. She’s also a graduate of The Holdsworth Center’s Aspiring Superintendent Accelerator, where she spent 18 months learning and practicing the skills and mindsets she’ll need to succeed in the superintendency.  

An effective superintendent influences the success of every teacher, staff member and student in a district. But in recent years, the high-stakes nature of the role has started driving people away.  

To ensure there’s a great superintendent at the helm of every district in Texas, Holdsworth helps prepare leaders like Adams through hands-on learning and coaching, plus supports superintendents once they are in the seat.  

“No one really understands what being a superintendent is until they become a superintendent,” Adams said. “If you don’t have the opportunity to practice, you can’t be as prepared to lead a community and a school district.”

Superintendents are civic leaders

Over the past couple of decades, the superintendency has changed – from the district’s Teacher-in-Chief to something more like the mayor of a small town.  

In this new paradigm, earning trust within the community – and especially among board members – is critical for any superintendent to effectively advocate for students, explains Dr. Lindsay Whorton, president of The Holdsworth Center, in Beyond Impossible: Making the Shifts Necessary to Thrive in the Superintendent Role:  

“As local civic leaders, superintendents have a unique opportunity to unify their communities around a vision that prioritizes what’s right for all kids. As they do so, they get to repair some of the tears in community relationships, to mend the social fabric, to rebuild trust.”  

One of the best ways to earn trust is through skillful communication – listening, storytelling and building relationships.   

“Simply presenting content at a community or board meeting doesn’t mean you care. It doesn’t mean you can be trusted, and it doesn’t mean you can help,” said Dr. Bobby Ott, Superintendent at Temple ISD and Adam’s mentor in the program. “So how do you show that? You have to connect with people personally.”

Communicating with authenticity

Like many aspiring superintendents, Adams struggled with this skill. For years, she believed professionalism meant keeping a certain distance.  

“I thought I had to create a partition,” she said. “That’s not the way I was as a teacher, but somewhere along the way, I became guarded.”  

It was tough feedback to hear that when she went into “administrator mode” and used professional jargon that it could be perceived as uncaring.   

I realized I needed to treat people in the district like they’re my family walking into church,” she said. “It’s not about being the expert—it’s about showing people you care.

Adams does care – a great deal. She’s worked in Temple ISD for 28 years and loves her community.  Why was she having a hard time showing it?  

During a Holdsworth session on authentic connection, she had an epiphany. While reflecting on when people see her at her best, her husband’s words echoed in her mind. 

‘It’s been invaluable’

As a way to apply what they are learning in sessions, all aspiring superintendents in Holdsworth’s program take on an enterprise leadership project that gives them a chance to do superintendent-level work.  

Adams focused on long-range facilities planning and future bond development, a project that’s given her a broader view of district operations and deepened her understanding of how to lead at the systems level.  

“Holdsworth helped me flip the switch in my brain and overcome the belief that professionalism means putting up barriers,” she said.  

“I’ve had the chance to work with finance and operations and engage with the community in ways I never had before,” she said. “It’s been invaluable.” 

It also gave her the opportunity to practice listening, connecting with people and showing she cares.   

The program’s structure—10% classroom learning, and 20% mentorship and 70% on-the-job application—was unlike anything Adams had experienced.  

“I’ve been in other leadership programs, but this one was different,” she said. “It wasn’t just theory. I got to practice what I was learning in real time.”

Seeing behind the veil

Her superintendent, Dr. Bobby Ott, played a key role in that growth.  

“I’ve seen Lisa grow exponentially in the last year and a half,” Ott said.  “She won’t just be a superintendent someday – she’ll be a really good one.”  

Ott has provided honest feedback and opportunities for Adams to stretch. He invited her into high-level conversations, encouraged her to lead major initiatives, and gave her space to test her evolving leadership style.  

“He really shifted his approach,” Adams said. “He showed me the behind-the-scenes, lifted the veil a bit. That’s not something I’d experienced before.” 

As she looks ahead to the superintendency, Adams feels more prepared than ever.  

“I’ve grown so much—not just in skill, but in confidence and clarity,” she said. “I know that being my real self as a leader is not only OK—it’s essential.”