The Adaptive Leader Program

Lead with Agility, Influence and Innovation

Develop the mindset and skills to navigate change and drive lasting impact.

The most effective leaders don’t just react to change – they anticipate, adapt, and lead through it. This immersive program equips you with the tools to think creatively, ask the right questions, and inspire change in a rapidly evolving business landscape. Learn how to influence key stakeholders, foster collaboration, and build a culture that thrives in uncertainty.

Dates: November 12-13, 2025
Schedule: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m
Cost: $1,895* covers all course materials and breakfast, lunch and refreshments.

Certificates will be awarded based on successful completion of the training.

* Enroll two or more employees and receive a 20% discount on registration.
* TCU alumni, faculty and staff receive a 30% discount as part of our community.
* U.S. veterans and non-profit employees are eligible for a 10% discount in recognition of their service.

Skills and Insights You Can Apply

Master adaptive leadership principles to lead in uncertain times.
Develop active listening skills and ask powerful questions.
Strengthen your ability to influence and drive organizational change.
Build innovative strategies to stay ahead of disruption.
Foster a culture of collaboration and agility within your teams.
Enhance cultural adaptability to lead across diverse environments.

Is This Course Right for You?

This course is designed for leaders who need to navigate complexity, drive innovation, and lead teams through change. Ideal participants include:

Senior and mid-level leaders managing transformation initiatives
Change agents seeking to influence and inspire others
Professionals who want to improve adaptability, collaboration, and innovation

Program Schedule - Fall

Date	Time	Topic	Instructor
Oct 17	8:30am - 12:00 pm	Adaptive Leadership	Jim Roach
	12:00pm	Lunch
	12:30-2:30pm	Listening and the Art of Asking Great Questions	Marc Istook
	2:30-4:30pm	Influence and Change	Abbie Shipp

Day 2	8:30am - 12:00pm	Leading Innovation	Michael Sherrod
	12:00pm	Lunch
	12:30-2:30pm	Building Collaborative Teams	Cindy James
	2:30-4:30pm	Cultural Adaptability	Cameron Potter

Faculty Leaders

Jim Roach

Executive Director
Executive Education

Mr. Roach has 25 years of experience in corporate human resources leading learning and development programs to build leadership capabilities, enhance organizational effectiveness and deliver improved business results. He spent more than 20 years at Verizon leading the organization effectiveness initiative and developing custom leadership and functional development programs. He also spent 15 years leading executive education leadership certificate programs at SMU and five years leading programs for L-3 Link Simulation & Training. He has been honored with several teaching excellence awards and has designed and delivered courses on subjects such as executive presence and communication, authenticity, presentation style, leading in today’s business environment, learning agility, creativity and leadership, retaining top talent, and building and managing the employment relationship. He holds a BA and MS in economics from the University of Illinois.

Michael Sherrod

Instructor III
Director, Innovative Teachers Guild
William M. Dickey Entrepreneur in Residence
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department

Michael Sherrod joined TCU Neeley in 2011 after a successful career of entrepreneurial thinking, innovation and creativity. He began his career in 1976 by starting a magazine publishing company right out of grad school. He transitioned from the print world into the online world in 1985 when he helped manage a video-text news service for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In his career Michael has founded or co-founded 15 companies, including Black Dove Media, DigitalCity.com, AOL Local and Examiner.com. Additionally, he has served in senior management roles and started new companies inside CapCities/ABC, AMR Information Services, AOL, Ancestry.com, and The Anschutz Companies. In 2010, he served as the first Publisher of The Texas Tribune (www.texastribune.org), a non-profit, non-partisan media site covering Texas government, politics, and public policy and is founding board member.

Michael is Chairman of the Board of the Urban Library Council, Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kinsey Institute, the world’s leading research institute for sex, gender and reproduction, and a former board member of the Craigslist Foundation. He also serves as board member and advisor to a number of online organizations around the world and is an active Angel investor. Michael is an author and frequent speaker on online, cultural and media issues. Michael holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied in the interdisciplinary Great Books Program, an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia and an MBA from The Neeley School of Business at TCU.

Abbie Shipp

Professor
M.J. Neeley Professor of Management
Management and Leadership Department

Dr. Abbie Shipp is the M. J. Neeley Professor and Department Chair of the Management & Leadership Department at TCU. She is an award-winning professor, working with undergraduate, graduate, and executive audiences on topics such as adaptive leadership, employee engagement, and leading change. Her research focuses on the psychological and subjective experience of time at work including: the perception of trajectories at work, how individuals react to change, how time is spent on work tasks, and how individuals think about the past/present/future. She has published a two-volume book (“Time and Work”) and is an Associate Editor at Academy of Management Review, the top conceptual journal in management. Prior to joining TCU, Dr. Shipp taught at Texas A&M University, the University of North Carolina, and Oklahoma State University and she was employed by The Boeing Company and TV Guide. Prior consulting engagements include Ernst & Young, Marriott International, AT&T, Halliburton, Texas Transportation Institute, Inspirus, and Working Solutions. She is also a member of the board of directors of United Way of Tarrant County and serves as chair of the strategic planning committee. Dr. Shipp holds an MBA from Oklahoma State University and a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cindy James

Instructor

Cindy has more than 25 years of leadership experience managing teams of 20 employees up to several hundred employees in size. Her experience is focused primarily as a senior human resources leader with additional expertise in operations and business management. Cindy is currently the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Employee Development for Elbit Systems of America in Fort Worth Texas. Prior to her role at Elbit, she was the Vice President of Human Resources at the Options Clearing Corporation and was previously a Senior Vice President at AmeriCredit. Her depth of expertise in the human resources function includes talent acquisition, employee relations, HR systems, organization development, culture, business partnerships, training, and total rewards. She has developed a multitude of learning and development programs targeted at individual, team, and organizational development. Cindy is also a partner in her family’s agricultural business based in the Fort Worth area.

She holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and Master’s in Human Resources Management from Dallas Baptist University. From the same university, she is currently a PhD candidate in Leadership Studies, basing her research on the confidence of women leaders who work in male-dominated organizations. She is certified in 360^o degree feedback from the Center for Creative Leadership, certified in Hogan Assessments, and is a certified coach from the International Coaching Federation.

Marc Istook

Morning Anchor at WFAA

Marc Istook is an Emmy-nominated broadcaster with more than 20 years of experience on local and national television and radio. He currently can be seen on air as the anchor of Daybreak, the morning news program for WFAA, the ABC affiliate in Dallas. He graduated from TCU with a B.S. in Radio/TV/Film and minor in journalism, and while as a student worked for ESPN running graphics for various sports broadcasts. His first job on-air was as weekend sports anchor for KTEN, the NBC affiliate in Denison, Texas. Since then, he's worked as a journalist and host for outlets like CNN, the BBC, DirecTV, NFL Network, Food Network, Speed Channel, Yahoo!, ABC.com and others. His work has been recognized by the Texas AP Broadcasters and the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, among others.

Cameron Potter

Manager of Employee Success, TCU

Dr. Cameron Potter is the Human Resources Manager of Employee Success at Texas Christian University (TCU). Cameron has also served as a Professor in the TCU Honors College, College of Education and Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences. At TCU, Cameron’s work is focused on the growth of Executives, Managers, and Supervisors – dynamically developing leaders to succeed through experiential coaching, creative problem-solving, influential decision-making, and implementation of meaningful feedback systems.

Cameron’s expertise lies in the intersection of values and action – an area of personal and leadership congruence he calls “Praxis”. He draws on his experience as a school principal, experiential educator, certified coach and trained facilitator to design leadership inflection points.

Prior to joining TCU Cameron served as a Senior Learning Partner for Carskadon & Associates (C&A). During his time with C&A Cameron partnered with local nonprofits, businesses, and private/public schools – including Los Angeles Unified School District – to train, develop and assess senior executives and administrators. In addition to facilitating training sessions, Cameron accomplished this through collaborative coaching, change navigation, transformational learning and formal accreditation reviews (e.g. Western Associated of Schools and Colleges/WASC).

He is credited with multiple publications and presentations including; Ethical and Moral-Meaning Making Through Intercultural Initiatives, Development of Situational Judgment, and The Promise of Systematic External Review for Professional Leadership Education Programs.