is higher when a company is investing in a skilled individual who is providing leadership for an organization. And that’s what we see – people who already have a full plate between work and home, but make the sacrifices to commit to becoming a stronger leader.” Learning to Lead Transitioning from a “doing” position to a “leading” position requires a different skillset and mindset, Gunderson says, and leadership is a key component in a successful transition. “Leadership can be many different things,” he says. “Leadership isn’t just having a title and having an organizational structure that puts people underneath you. True leadership within a company helps the customer to be more profitable, the organization be more profitable and the entire value chain to become more efficient.” Gunderson says that accepting a managerial position means making a commitment to mentorship and personal and employee development, as well. “The biggest challenge most employees encounter when making the transition from ‘doing’ to ‘managing’ is letting go of the ‘doing’ that was involved in their previous role. For example, we see a lot of sales managers that continue to service the big- gest, key accounts rather than mentoring the next generation to be successful. To be a successful leader, you can’t be afraid to stop ‘doing’ to let your team reach its potential.” For Lori Thomas, NK sales trainer for Syngenta, and Mark Lamie, AgReliant Genetics assistant location manager, develop- ing productive teams by leveraging resources and taking advan- tage of afforded opportunities, has served as a stepping stone throughout their long careers in the seed industry. “I started out in the late 1980s with Garst Seed Company and made the transition when Syngenta purchased Garst in the early 2000s,” Thomas says. “I have had a different role every three to five years, and that has always given me energy. Every role has been in service to helping me succeed in my current role.” From administrative and marketing roles to sales and training, Thomas says she draws on the journey of her career’s pathway when helping new managers acclimate to their new responsibilities. “I think that a person from outside of the seed industry could put into play the same training concepts that I do, but it is easier for me to apply the concepts to situations that managers are going to see – real life – because I have been there,” she says. Seed World chatted with three individuals who shared their insights on the different roles played in employee development and the struggles of both finding and building capital through promotions and ever-changing leadership roles. Laura Handke laurahandke117@hotmail.com Moving From “Doing” to “Leading” 16 / SEEDWORLD.COM JUNE 2019 THE WISDOM IN any business model is the recognition of, and value placed on, human capital; those employees, super- visors and upper-echelon managers that keep a company’s moving parts moving. When Wyatt Watson conducted the first study of human capital in 1999, a series of multiple regression analyses showed a clear correlation between a company’s human capital devel- opment and shareholder returns – the more invested in their employees, the more shareholder returns. Since then, many studies have looked at the relationship between human capital management and financial profitability, all strengthening the argument for a stronger human capital development structure across all industries. But does the responsibility of creating value in human capital lie solely in the human resources department, and what role does an employee play in creating value within? Employee Investment As the director of Purdue University’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business, Mike Gunderson spends significant time designing anddelivering non-credit, professional development programs to a broad cross-section of agricultural employees. “The No. 1 reason people enroll in our program is to become a more effective leader for the company they work for,” Gunderson says. “The second most common reason is to develop business acumen. For the most part, the people who enroll are lifelong learners and find value in the opportunity to put new thoughts and concepts into practice.” Gunderson shares that between half and two-thirds of the students enrolled in the center’s online MS-MBA program receive tuition support from their employer, and that support is not only an investment in the employee but an investment in the com- pany as a whole. He says the value isn’t intrinsic to a company’s investment in an employee, but rather the value is found in the type of employee a company invests in. Gunderson shares that the students who excel within the center’s non-credit programming and MS-MBA coursework are the students who don’t necessarily have the time to commit but do it to better themselves and the companies they work for. “We are in a competitive global marketplace,” he says. “Companies need people who can provide thoughts and leadership. “In an automated world, the payoff for return on investment