High Agency: The Mindset of Successful Leaders
Why Talent Without Agency Won’t Take You Far in Life and Work
Ever since I discovered the concept of High Agency, it has captivated my attention, and now I cannot unsee it. Although the idea is not entirely new to me, I have finally found the perfect words to describe the way I have been approaching life and work.
I have always believed I can accomplish almost anything, provided I am willing to invest the effort. I may not be naturally gifted or talented, but I make up for it by consistently applying myself with hard work, enthusiasm, perseverance, and resilience. Whenever I am truly passionate about something, I cannot help but give it my all.
It’s sad how many individuals limit themselves or, even worse, try to limit others. People often use the excuse of lacking innate abilities to justify why someone cannot achieve something. I refuse to accept that kind of thinking! Of course, not all of us are born with the proper qualities to be top NBA players or professional violinists, but I firmly believe that Talent is Overrated.
What Is High Agency and Why It Matters
High Agency is widely considered to be the most crucial personality trait that one can develop. It is essential for significantly impacting one’s personal and professional life.
I first came across the concept of High Agency in this Twitter thread by George Mack, which features the following witty meme illustrating the difference between Low Agency (A) and High Agency (B) individuals.
High Agency is the ability to take control of your life and make your own decisions without waiting for perfect conditions or blaming circumstances. It involves being proactive, having a sense of autonomy, and taking responsibility for your actions and outcomes.
People with High Agency are usually self-directed, resourceful, and resilient when faced with challenges. They actively look for chances to grow and improve, accept uncertainty and change, and are willing to take calculated risks to achieve their objectives.
“When you’re told that something is impossible, is that the end of the conversation, or does that start a second dialogue in your mind, how to get around whoever it is that’s just told you that you can’t do something?”
― Eric Weinstein
High talent without High Agency is often useless, while High Agency can compensate for low talent, as shown in the chart below, adapted from this excellent article by Shreyas Doshi.
Game Changers are exceptional individuals who are rare and expensive to hire. Once you find them, you should do everything possible to bring them on board.
I prefer to hire Go-Getters over Frustrated Geniuses. The Go-Getters can turn constraints into opportunities. They can transform impossibilities into successes and often outshine their more talented counterparts, the Frustrated Geniuses. The latter may struggle when faced with the rigidity of a system they feel constrained by. Still, High Agency individuals don’t just survive the system - they transform it!
Examples of High Agency People
Steve Jobs is often cited as an example of someone with High Agency due to his remarkable ability to envision and create innovative products, revolutionize industries, and lead teams to success. Arguably, he was immensely talented as well.
“Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”
― Steve Jobs
When thinking about extremely High Agency individuals, one less famous and less talented person that comes to mind is David Goggins. Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL, accomplished ultramarathon runner, and former world record holder for the most pull-ups in 24 hours. He’s known for his incredible mental toughness, resilience, and relentless pursuit of personal excellence despite facing numerous obstacles and setbacks throughout his life.
“Only you can master your mind, which is what it takes to live a bold life filled with accomplishments most people consider beyond their capability.”
― David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
I highly recommend reading David Goggins’ books. His first book, Can’t Hurt Me, was a life-changing experience for me. The audiobook version is fantastic, and I found it to be a great motivator during workouts or runs, pushing me to go further.
How to Cultivate High Agency
High Agency is not merely an inborn trait; it’s a mindset that can be honed and developed. Here are ten ways to cultivate it from the lens of an engineering leader:
Take Initiative: Be proactive in identifying opportunities and solving problems rather than waiting for instructions or direction from others.
Make Decisions: Be comfortable making decisions and taking decisive action, even without complete information or certainty. Have a bias for action.
Take Responsibility: Accept accountability for your choices and actions, acknowledging your successes and failures as learning opportunities.
Adapt and Pivot: Be adaptable and flexible, willing to adjust your approach or change course in response to new information or changing circumstances.
Persist in the Face of Challenges: Demonstrate resilience and perseverance, remaining determined and focused on your goals despite setbacks or obstacles.
Develop an Ownership Mindset: Shift from a victim mentality to an Extreme Ownership mindset. It’s all about turning problems into challenges and obstacles into opportunities.
Boost your Communication: Language has the power to shape our reality. By embracing a language of possibility, you can transform your reality.
Embrace Orthogonal Thinking: Approach problems from various perspectives, thinking beyond conventional boundaries and exploring inventive solutions.
Adopt Unyielding Resourcefulness: Proactively create new resources rather than depending solely on existing ones. Be bold and innovative, allowing your resourcefulness to shine.
Learn to Say “No”: Dare to say no more often. Time is a limited resource. Saying “yes” to something means saying “no” to something else. Be clear about what truly matters.
High Agency vs. Low Agency Leaders
As you move up the career ladder and assume leadership roles, having High Agency becomes even more crucial. Leaders need to make tough decisions under pressure without accurate information. They must evaluate their circumstances, be creative, and use the best resources to drive an agenda forward. High Agency sets a leader apart and turns into their secret weapon for leadership effectiveness.
Low Agency leaders rely on blaming, making excuses, becoming passive observers, and letting problems fester. They avoid making tough decisions, procrastinate, and lack confidence in their decision-making abilities. Rather than facing a problem head-on, they wait for their manager to instruct them on handling it.
By contrast, High Agency leaders have radical curiosity and bias toward action. They prioritize self-improvement, assume responsibility for their lives, and perceive challenges as chances to grow. They devote their time and effort to generating opportunities. Furthermore, they take the time to comprehend the subtleties of their surroundings and proactively seek ways to rectify any shortcomings and deliver business value.
How to Hire High Agency Leaders
When interviewing potential High Agency leaders, I prefer to ask behavioral questions rather than hypothetical ones. That’s because those questions focus on past behaviors and experiences, providing concrete examples of how candidates have demonstrated initiative, autonomy, decision-making abilities, drive, and willingness to take ownership of challenges in real-life situations.
Here are some behavioral questions to help identify candidates with High Agency:
Describe a challenging situation you encountered where you had to make a decision without clear guidance. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you took on a significant task outside of your usual responsibilities. Why was it important, and what was the outcome?
Can you give an example of a time when you had to navigate ambiguity or uncertainty to achieve a positive outcome? How did you adapt and persevere?
However, sometimes the information you seek from an interview cannot be gathered by asking “Tell me about a time...” questions. You may want to learn how a candidate would manage a specific project or team in certain situations. In certain situations, asking hypothetical questions can offer valuable insights. Here are two examples of such scenarios.
Scenario one: Interviewing a candidate for a Staff Engineer position
You’ve been assigned to lead a high-impact project that involves multiple teams and requires quick decision-making. However, you are facing resistance from some team leaders who are hesitant to accept change. How would you overcome this challenge to ensure collaboration and buy-in from all stakeholders?
Scenario two: Interviewing a candidate for a Team Leader position
Imagine you’re leading a cross-functional team facing unexpected delays and setbacks in delivering a critical project for the business. How would you motivate and empower your team members to overcome obstacles, adapt to changing circumstances, and maintain momentum toward the project’s goals?
By combining behavioral and hypothetical questions, you can comprehensively understand candidates’ experiences, behaviors, and future potential as High Agency leaders. And remember to hire for strengths, not for lack of weaknesses.
Concluding Thoughts
High Agency is crucial for significantly impacting one’s life and work. It’s a trait I’ve observed in every successful engineering leader I’ve met.
To be an effective leader in any organization, High Agency matters more than high talent. Fortunately, High Agency is not just an innate trait but a mindset that can be developed.
Cultivating High Agency may be challenging. However, I can guarantee you that it can be learned. Becoming a High Agency individual will profoundly reward you and those around you.
I want to end this article with an inspiring and more than relevant quote from the film “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can’t do something themselves, they’re gonna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period.”
― Christopher Gardner (acted by Will Smith)
What are your thoughts about Agency versus Talent? Please leave a comment and let me know!
I love the concept of high agency! Thank you for the introduction.
Dear Rafa,
I thoroughly enjoyed your article on High Agency and found it incredibly insightful. With your permission, I would like to translate it into Korean to share its valuable lessons with a broader audience. Thank you for considering my request.
Best regards