b'LEADING BY EXAMPLE AND FUELED BY PASSIONClassically trained corn breeder looks at examples of leadership from his past, to propel his strategy today.Alex MartinWHAT MAKES A LEADER?For Paul Nelson, being a leader isnt something you can just carve out with a cookie-cutter. Often, he feels some of the best leaders arent even trying to be leaders at allinstead, theyre just following their passion. Sometimes, I think what makes a good leader is someone who isnt focused on the leadership position or moving up in the world, Nelson, a corn product design lead at Bayer Crop Science, says. Instead, leaders are focused on the people and encourag-ing their passions.In fact, thats a similar path to what Nelson took to become 2021s Future Giant of the Seed Industryhe credits his suc-cess to leaders who gave him the ability to follow his passion, and hes working to encourage his own team to do the same. Early Life, Early CareerGrowing up, Nelson wasnt sure what career path he would follow. He even joked that his own son, when asked what he wants to be when he gets older, answered with a resounding I dont know.I dont remember what I wanted to be when I was younger, he says. But have I always been interested in agricul-ture? Definitely yesI grew up on a hobby farm in Manhattan, Kansas. I loved being outdoors and helping on the farm, whether it was cutting hay or herding the few cows we had. I knew I wanted to be around agriculture, in some capacity. Getting into seed breeding took a few more years and a botany class at Ricks College. That Botany class was one that most of the ag kids absolutely hated, he says. I loved it. It piqued my interest and I began to see the science side of plants.From there, he continued by taking genetics classes, plant classi-fication and ultimately took the plunge into plant science after his first internship. 16/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2021'