b'PEOPLE-POWERED LEADERSHIPIN A NOISY WORLD, CAN QUIET LEADERSHIP WIN? Real influence empowers othersand we could all use more of that.BACK IN THEearly 1980s in a small town east oftown, but theyve always moved through life as Winnipeg, Man., I learned some of my first les- if the whole world were just another part of their sons about influence. It wasnt the loud kind thatcommunity. When I look back, what I really fills rooms or makes headlines; it was the leadinglearned from the Andersons wasnt how to succeed. by doing kind that changes people, industries,It was how to hold space: for ideas, for people, for and, for me at least, whole directions in life. evolution.I didnt know it at the time, but I was growingThe Andersons would hate being called heroes, up inside a story Id spend decades trying to findwhich, of course, is partly why I know they ARE. the right words to tell. The story centres on oneThey never set out to be the heroes of anyones family, the Andersons, which became my secondstory. If anything, they saw the seed industry itself family. as the thing worth lifting upthe real protago-By Shawn Brook,This was in Dugald, Man., populationnist they were working to strengthen. I think thats President, Seed Worldmaybe 300 at the time. There was patriarch Bobexactly the point: their influence wasnt about GroupAnderson, an earnest farmer whose handshake, Ispotlight; it was about shaping something bigger learned early, held more commitment than mostthan themselves.contracts. Working alongside Bob, I heard someIndustries, like people, need a guiding light. great stories and learned some valuable life lessons. They need examples of how influence can be earned There was Joan Anderson, the matriarch, whowithout volume, how leadership can grow quietly, ran their household with the kind of quiet author- how credibility is built not by being right all the ity that would make you think England hadnttime, but by being willing to say what you think. lost its queen after all. If confidence had a voice, itAnd equally willing to adjust when youre wrong.would have sounded like hers. She was my mentorWhat the Andersons give us, through mentor-before I even understood what a mentor was.ship, through founding companies, through sci-From that somewhat unlikely pairing cameentific leadership, through everyday conversations, Robynne and Chris Anderson: two of the sharp- is space: to learn, to think, to grow. When people est minds in our industry. Robynne is the typehave the confidence to put their ideas into the who can literally walk into the United Nationsworld and the humility to let those ideas be shaped and get them to stop and listen. Chris is a talentedby others, entire industries evolve.CEO and can move seamlessly from the lab to theIn a time when being loud is often mistaken for boardroom to the field, making him one of agri- having impact, I keep circling back to the lessons cultures rare three-tool players who earns respectI learned in that small town just east of Winnipeg. in every arena. The Andersons show that leadership can be quiet, Together, the Anderson family had a remark- steady, and deeply credible.able balance: enough confidence to speak, enoughThats exactly why the real story here isnt a humility to listen, and enough courage to act. Thattribute or a list of achievements. Its a reminder: combination builds something far more powerfulreal influence isnt about demanding attention. than expertise. It builds credibility: the kind thatIts about enabling others to do more than they quietly shaped a young man like me and todaythought they could. shapes Canadas seed sector. We could all stand to be a bit more like the They may have grown up in a tiny ManitobaAndersons. 10 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADAJANUARY 2026'