How to develop High Agency

High agency is the single trait that separates top performers from the rest. It is the habit of treating "impossible" as a problem to solve rather than a wall, and it shows up in every level of an organization, from junior engineers to CEOs. The piece argues that agency outweighs raw talent because it turns knowledge into impact.

The article breaks the concept into four quadrants of talent versus agency: Game Changers (high talent, high agency), Frustrated Geniuses (high talent, low agency), Go-Getters (low talent, high agency), and Cogs (low talent, low agency). It uses concrete examples-Mike who says "I can't because..." versus Peter who says "I'll figure out how..."-to illustrate how agency changes the language of work from blame to solution.

Spotting high-agency people relies on observable signals: intellectual contradictions, geographic courage, the crisis test, and ownership in ambiguous situations. The author cites leaders like Shreyas Doshi, Paul Graham, and Naval Ravikant to show that companies actively hire for this mindset because it reduces management overhead and multiplies effectiveness.

Cultivating agency is presented as a set of habits: focusing on the circle of influence, reframing "I can't" into "how can I", taking small wins, and owning outcomes even when not formally responsible. The article gives practical steps-list current frustrations, target the ones you can change, and replace limiting language with proactive questions-to build the mindset incrementally.

Ultimately, high agency is framed as a learnable skill that directly impacts career growth, team performance, and organizational innovation. By adopting the described practices, technical leaders can develop a workforce that solves problems autonomously, scales faster, and drives measurable results.