What Is High Agency?
High Agency is the difference between people who wait and people who make things happen.
It’s not about talent, resources, or luck. It’s about how you respond when someone says: “That can’t be done.”
High Agency people ask: “How can I make this happen?”
Low Agency people say: “I tried, but they said no.”
The Wright brothers exemplified this perfectly. When The New York Times declared humans wouldn’t fly for a million years, two bicycle makers taught themselves aerodynamics, built their own wind tunnel, and were flying four years later.
No degrees. No funding. No permission. Just relentless problem-solving.
The Science Behind Agency
High Agency isn’t just motivational speak—it’s grounded in decades of psychological research.
Self-Efficacy Research: Albert Bandura’s landmark work shows that believing you can affect outcomes is foundational to motivation and performance.[^1] Nine large-scale meta-analyses confirm that self-efficacy beliefs significantly predict workplace motivation and performance.[^2] People with high self-efficacy view challenges as problems to master, not threats to avoid.[^3]
Growth Mindset: Carol Dweck’s research demonstrates that people who believe abilities can be developed (growth mindset) outperform those who view abilities as fixed.[^4] Students taught they could “grow their brains” showed marked academic improvement,[^5] and in workplace studies, growth mindset cultures show higher innovation and employee engagement.[^6]
Related Concepts: High Agency overlaps with what psychologists call “proactivity” (acting in advance rather than reacting), “grit” (perseverance toward long-term goals), and “perceived control” (believing you can achieve desired outcomes).[^7]
The research is clear: Agency is both measurable and developable.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Why This Matters Now
Traditional skills are table stakes. Agency is the differentiator.
Two people with identical technical skills deliver radically different results. The one with High Agency:
- Creates opportunities others don’t see
- Navigates obstacles that stop peers
- Delivers despite imperfect conditions
- Generates 10x impact with the same resources
In a world of rapid change and ambiguous problems, the ability to figure things out without explicit instructions is the most valuable skill you can have.
How to Recruit for High Agency
Traditional interviews test credentials and technical knowledge. They miss the critical question: How do you respond when things don’t go according to plan?
Essential Interview Questions
1. “Tell me about a time you wanted to accomplish something but didn’t have the resources, authority, or support you needed. What did you do?”
Listen for: Specific actions. Creative workarounds. Multiple attempts. Self-taught skills.
Red flag: “I tried but couldn’t because…”
2. “Walk me through a project you started without being asked.”
High Agency: Detailed story of initiative.
Low Agency: “I don’t really have an example.”
3. “Your manager says no budget for a critical tool. What’s your next move?”
High Agency: “Find open-source alternatives, build a basic version myself, negotiate to borrow from another team.”
Low Agency: “Tell stakeholders we can’t deliver.”
The Critical Follow-Up
When they describe a situation, dig deeper:
- “What specifically did YOU do?” (Not “we”)
- “What was your second attempt when that didn’t work?”
- “What would you do differently now?”
High Agency candidates remember their third and fourth attempts. Low Agency candidates have short stories ending with external blockers.
The Assignment Test
Give candidates a real problem: “You have 3 days. No budget. Show us your approach.”
Watch what they do:
- Do they create something or just plan?
- Do they ship imperfect v1 or wait for perfect?
- Do they use free tools creatively?
This reveals more than any interview question.
Building High Agency Into Performance Reviews
The Problem: Most reviews ask “Did you complete assigned work?”
This creates compliance, not initiative.
The Solution: Ask “What did you make happen that nobody asked you to do?”
Make It Measurable
Rate employees on four dimensions (1-5 scale):
Initiative:
1 = Waits for explicit direction
5 = Identifies and solves problems before anyone knows they exist
Resourcefulness:
1 = Stops when blocked
5 = Consistently finds ways forward with zero budget and maximum constraints
Ownership:
1 = “Not my job” mentality
5 = Acts like an owner; no task too small or too ambiguous
Bias Toward Action:
1 = Needs comprehensive plans before starting
5 = Ships imperfect v1, iterates rapidly based on feedback
Track Quarterly Behaviors
Ask employees:
- What did you accomplish this quarter that wasn’t assigned?
- What skill did you teach yourself because you needed it?
- What problem did you solve that no one asked you to solve?
Ask managers:
- How many times did they bring solutions vs. problems?
- What did they do when you said “no”?
- What initiatives did they start without assignment?
Weekly Check-Ins That Build Agency
Don’t ask: “What are you stuck on?”
Instead ask: “What have you tried so far?” (Give them 24 hours first)
Don’t ask: “Do you need X resource?”
Instead ask: “What would you do if I said no?” (Train backup planning)
Always ask: “What’s one thing you started this week nobody asked you to do?”
Tie to Compensation
Make it explicit:
- “Demonstrated High Agency” is a promotion requirement
- Quarterly “High Agency Award” for best resourcefulness example
- Spot bonuses for unassigned initiatives that create value
- Reward attempts and learning, not just successful outcomes
Research supports this: self-efficacy directly impacts job performance and organizational productivity.[^8] Treating Agency as a coachable skill rather than a fixed trait aligns with growth mindset principles shown to improve workplace outcomes.[^9]
Building a High Agency Culture
Individual reviews matter. Culture matters more.
Celebrate Attempts, Not Just Wins
Share stories: “Sarah tried three approaches before finding the solution.” Make clear that trying matters more than first-attempt success.
Make Constraints Visible
Replace “We can’t—no budget” with “We have $0. How could we test anyway?”
Constraints force creativity. Research shows that limitations can enhance problem-solving.[^10]
Reduce Friction
- Can people expense $50 without approval?
- Can they access needed tools?
- Can they ship small experiments?
Every approval layer tests Agency. Remove unnecessary tests.
Model It From the Top
Leaders should share their scrappy solutions, times they figured things out without perfect information, and what they learned from failures. Research confirms that leadership mindsets significantly influence team performance.[^11]
The Competitive Advantage
Most companies say they want High Agency people.
Few actually hire for it, measure it, or reward it.
Most organizations accidentally select for compliance. They promote flawless executors (necessary but insufficient) and inadvertently punish those who try things that fail.
The companies that get this right have an enormous advantage.
They move faster. Solve harder problems. Generate 3x impact with the same headcount.
That’s the difference between executing well and shaping your industry.
Start Today
You don’t transform overnight. Start small:
This Week:
- Add one High Agency question to your next interview
- Ask one employee: “What did you start this week nobody asked you to do?”
- Share one story of your own scrappy solution
This Month:
- Add “Initiative” as a rated category in reviews
- Create one “figure it out” project with deliberate ambiguity
- Give one spot bonus for an unassigned initiative
This Quarter:
- Audit hiring questions—testing for compliance or Agency?
- Update promotion criteria to require demonstrated High Agency
- Measure: What % of projects were employee-initiated vs. assigned?
The Wright brothers didn’t wait for permission to fly.
They decided it could be done and figured out how.
That’s High Agency.
In the 21st century, it’s what separates people who watch the world change from people who change it.
References
[^1]: Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122-147.
[^2]: Bandura, A., & Locke, E. A. (2003). Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(1), 87-99.
[^3]: Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
[^4]: Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
[^5]: Dweck, C. S. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the ‘growth mindset’. Education Week, 35(5), 20-24.
[^6]: Canning, E. A., Muenks, K., Green, D. J., & Murphy, M. C. (2019). STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps. Science Advances, 5(2).
[^7]: The Conversation. (2025). High agency: what the science says about the latest tech buzzword. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/high-agency-what-the-science-says-about-the-latest-tech-buzzword-250767
[^8]: Iroegbu, M. N. (2015). Self efficacy and work performance: A theoretical framework of Albert Bandura’s model. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 4(4), 170-173.
[^9]: Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), 481-496.
[^10]: Bandura, A. (2000). Cultivate self-efficacy for personal and organizational effectiveness. In E. A. Locke (Ed.), Handbook of principles of organization behavior (pp. 120-136). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
[^11]: Wood, R., & Bandura, A. (1989). Effect of perceived controllability and performance standards on self-regulation of complex decision-making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(5), 805-814.
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