I wonder if one approach to high agency is do fewer things. Henrik Karlsson talks about agency needing introspection, else you become high agency for the wrong things.
I suspect high agency needs to be treated less like a trait and more like a complex set of skills, that can be acted upon the essential few (vs everything in life)
Engineers who actively shape decisions bring critical value to complex software projects, as every perspective counts. Encouraging them to question assumptions ("ask why") and influence outcomes is essential for thriving in today's dynamic tech landscape.
I’m a huge proponent of agency, and this takes the ‘not my job’ mentality and flips it on its head. I’ve always been the person who seeks out tasks, finds projects, and looks for ways to improve things. Unfortunately, not all organizations truly value those kinds of employees.
It's definitely a challenge Rafa! I worked in an organization like that for longer than I cared to admit. Finally, it was time for me to move on. hope you're having a fantastic weekend! 😊
My manager consistently emphasizes "never not my problem" that it became a mantra
I will also add that even proactively making small improvements like improving knowledge sharing helps upskill everyone. Impact is not always in terms of delivering million dollars in revenue. If you made someone's life easier in some way and they find value in what you do, that id say is impact
For example, I saw that there was some foundational knowledge thats not really centralized in the existing team docs, so I went ahead and created a cheat sheet and shared with the team. The recent new hire that joined found the doc really helpful
This really resonates "high agency might be the most important idea of the 21st century". What a nice breakdown Rafa!
I wonder if one approach to high agency is do fewer things. Henrik Karlsson talks about agency needing introspection, else you become high agency for the wrong things.
I suspect high agency needs to be treated less like a trait and more like a complex set of skills, that can be acted upon the essential few (vs everything in life)
Engineers who actively shape decisions bring critical value to complex software projects, as every perspective counts. Encouraging them to question assumptions ("ask why") and influence outcomes is essential for thriving in today's dynamic tech landscape.
I’m a huge proponent of agency, and this takes the ‘not my job’ mentality and flips it on its head. I’ve always been the person who seeks out tasks, finds projects, and looks for ways to improve things. Unfortunately, not all organizations truly value those kinds of employees.
Fair point. In some orgs, you're better doing just what you're told to do. I'd struggle to work there!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this topic, Bette!
It's definitely a challenge Rafa! I worked in an organization like that for longer than I cared to admit. Finally, it was time for me to move on. hope you're having a fantastic weekend! 😊
I know what that feels like. Likewise, Bette!
This! “In today’s tech market, the threat isn’t AI. It’s becoming passive and unnoticed.”
Glad you liked it and resonates. Thank you, Gaurav!
Well summarized with nuance Rafa!
My manager consistently emphasizes "never not my problem" that it became a mantra
I will also add that even proactively making small improvements like improving knowledge sharing helps upskill everyone. Impact is not always in terms of delivering million dollars in revenue. If you made someone's life easier in some way and they find value in what you do, that id say is impact
For example, I saw that there was some foundational knowledge thats not really centralized in the existing team docs, so I went ahead and created a cheat sheet and shared with the team. The recent new hire that joined found the doc really helpful