Agency > Momentum

I would not hire my younger self.

Not because I was junior, but because I didn’t have the drive.

I had no ambition in my teens and twenties. My dad suggested that I major in Architecture, so I did. I didn’t plan for anything after graduation. No 401K, no savings, no clear vision of life past my 30s. I just went with the flow. But at the time, life felt good. I was happy with living small.

I had low agency.

Switching careers to UX was one of the most decisive moves I’ve made in my life. And every career + life move since has moved me higher up the agency ladder.

People with high agency have three characteristics: Clear thinking, Bias for action, and Disagreeability.

You need all three of these to be high agency. People that don’t think clearly make bad decisions, people that don’t bias towards action are dreamers, and people that aren’t disagreeable quit at the first sign of resistance.

I now assess people on their agency first, skills second. And this isn’t limited to hiring. I look for people with high agency in any relationship.

I have little tolerance for low agency people now. I know it sounds bad, especially since I was one. It’s painful realizing that people discounted me earlier in my life because I had low agency. I couldn’t be counted on. What’s worse is that I didn’t care.

I’m still not quite as high agency as I’d like to be. I struggle with being disagreeable. And my default state is still “go with the flow.” I have to fight hard against my defaults every day.

The good news is that anyone can become high agency. Awareness is the first step.

Be someone who can be counted on.

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P.S. How to identify high agency people in your life (from George Mack, I highly recommend reading this essay): “You wake up in a 3rd world jail cell. You’re only allowed to call one person you know to get you out of there. Who do you call?”

P.P.S. I’ve seen different flavors of “high agency” across the things I’ve read/seen recently. And they all have similar ingredients.

George Mack’s high agency: Clear thinking, Bias for action, Disagreeability.

John Rossman’s high agency: Create clarity, Maintain velocity, Accelerate risk.

John Wick’s high agency: Focus, Commitment, Sheer will.

P.P.P.S. I have a personal board of directors: a list of people whose characteristics I admire and want to emulate. When I need to make an important decision, I consult with this board: what would they do? All the people on my personal board of directors have high agency.