I’ve always been fascinated by the tendency for people to discount their individual power and agency and for being followers rather than leaders. People often express the view that “somebody should do something about that”, or “what I say or do doesn’t matter” thus lacking any appreciation of their own power and efficacy.
My Experience
The idea of not feeling like I don’t have agency is completely foreign to me when I think through my approach to things and what I’ve done throughout my life. My mother always told me to not be an audience member but instead to be on stage and she also expected me to take action and to make a difference in whatever I chose to do.
Those lessons inspired me my whole life. There are many examples of how my mother’s inspiration gave me the power of agency to taken action: Dealing with being bullied as a foreigner when I was eight but learning the English language fluently and then excelling academically and socially; working hard to realize my musical talent and then being on stage throughout my high school years playing the lead in musicals and concerts; realizing that a musical career wouldn’t be optimal for me and then pivoting my education to cognitive science and clinical psychology with academic distinction; seizing the opportunity to transforming IBM globally with User-Centered Design and then again with Enterprise Design Thinking working with each division of the company with significant financial impact; noticing that Apple introduced podcasts in iTunes and then being among the very first to start a podcast and seeing it rise to Number 1; and wanting to make a major impact on key global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and human illness and then co-founding the Habits for a Better World project with Carly Williams after I retired from IBM. I wouldn’t have done any of these things had I not known the power of agency and taking action.
Political Power
I’d like to make the case for people to appreciate and use the power that they have in their lives.
Think about this for a moment. More people did not vote in the recent U.S. election than did vote for the current President. They thought their vote wouldn’t count. If only 2.3 percent of them realized that they had power and used it, the outcome for the country and the world would have been totally different. While many now complain about the President and what he’d doing, which is often having a personal negative impact on their lives, they probably still don’t appreciate that their non-action contributed to the current situation in the U.S. These non-voters didn’t believe that they had agency in their lives.
Power to Improve the World
The same goes for having an impact on other things in the world, like climate change, biodiversity loss, and even your health. Most people say that governments, companies, and institutions need to address these challenges. They don’t believe that they have any agency in making an impact on these challenges themselves.
Yet the amazing volunteer researchers, designers, and filmmakers on Carly Williams and my Habits for a Better World project reviewed the existing scientific and medical research literature and learned that individual action is able to have upwards of 73% impact on climate change, upwards of 94% on biodiversity loss, and upwards of 80% on avoiding chronic illnesses. So why are people not doing it? They don’t believe they have the agency to do so.
Interestingly, even the volunteers on our project themselves often don’t believe they have the agency to do what we’re aiming to do on the project. Cary and I have said from the very start of the project that we want to use research to inform the deliverables from the project. We’ve mentioned one of the deliverables we plan to produce is a documentary film but we’ve constantly said that everyone on the team should also look beyond the film to identify whatever will work best to inspire people to adopt habits that will make for a better world. We’re open to anything the teams may propose. I’m concerned that researchers and designers have learned in their day jobs that research and design often don’t have the influence and impact that they should and this has made them question their agency for having impact even on this project where they actually have full agency.
Reasons for a lack of agency
Recent studies report significant mental health issues among young adults aged 18 to 25 with about 36% experiencing anxiety and 29% depression. Mental health issues often result in a perceived lack of agency. Also, factors like financial stress, lack of meaningful work, and social isolation may also contribute to a reduced sense of control over people’s lives. However, there are ways to improve this situation to increase an individual’s appreciation of and taking action on their power of agency.
The seven Key Skills for Agency
I recently came across and read the book “The Power of Agency: The 7 principles to conquer obstacles, make effective decisions, and create a life on your own terms”.
The following are the seven skills the authors suggest are key to activating your power of agency:
Control Stimuli – Be careful about what you allow into your life (media, people, information). Manage distractions and reduce noise will improve focus and decision-making.
Associate Selectively – Surround yourself with supportive, positive, and growth-oriented people. Relationships strongly influence agency and mental clarity.
Move – Physical movement (exercise, walking, stretching) has been shown to boost cognitive function, reduces stress, and enhance self-control.
Position Yourself as a Learner – Adopt a growth mindset. Be open to learning and curiosity because these fosters adaptability and better decision-making.
Manage Your Emotions and Beliefs – Self-awareness and emotional regulation help you to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.
Check Your Intuition – Trust your instincts, but verify them with facts and rational analysis. Balanced decision-making involves both logic and intuition.
Deliberate, Then Act – Take thoughtful action after assessing options. Avoid overthinking or impulsiveness; agency requires both reflection and decisive action.
These skills collectively enhance mental clarity, confidence, and resilience, allowing people to take control of their circumstances rather than feeling overwhelmed by them.
Final reflection
Even though we’re living in a turbulent world at the moment that may make you feel like you can’t do anything to have impact on it, you can. As an example, at the time I’m writing this many Canadians are individually boycotting U.S. products, services, and companies in response to the words and actions of the current U.S. President. Americans are also scheduling boycotts of particular companies and protesting. When individuals, together with other individuals take an action like this, they amplify their impact at scale. As I just heard U.S. Senator Cory Booker say, “the power of the people is stronger than the people in power”.
So, I recommend you read the book and/or decide to take action on something important to you, encourage others to do the same, and you’ll be exercising your power of agency and thereby having impact on the world.