The Sower

The final model considered is the leader as sower. Here Plato anticipates the concept of thought leadership. The core components of the model include originating ideas big enough to create a legacy, but still empowering others to adapt them as circumstances demand. In the first part, the key text is the Phaedrus, where Plato discusses the best way to create an intellectual legacy—not through writing books, but by nurturing living, critical dialogue among your students and followers. The chapter looks at the way Plato put this model into practice by creating an institution to perpetuate his ideas: the Academy, the ancestor of the modern university. The second part presents examples of ‘seminal’ leaders: Marie Curie, Maria Montessori, and Mohammed Yunus, founder of the microfinance organization, Grameen Bank.