#38 - The Agency Advantage: You Can’t Outsource Initiative—Especially Now
AI will execute. You must decide. Here’s why agency—the muscle to act without being told—is now the most essential human skill.
A quick note before we dive in: You can’t outsource agency. Not to your boss. Not to your org. Not to AI. And not to the future.
I've heard the word agency tossed around for years. But it wasn't until my 20-year-old son Ben introduced me to a piece on high agency—one that really hit me—that I fully realized how crucial this concept is in the AI era. His generation isn’t waiting for clarity. They’re acting. That wake-up call reshaped how I think about our responsibility—not just as professionals, but as humans navigating change.
Welcome to the AI Age: Execution is Automated. Direction is Human.
This message isn’t just for professionals—it’s for humans. Whether you’re a teacher, a student, a retiree, or a CEO, agency is your engine. In a world of accelerating change, your ability to move, adapt, and act with intention is what keeps you relevant—and fulfilled.
We are racing into an AI-augmented world where productivity is no longer bound by headcount, org charts, or how fast you can type. The winners won’t be those who wait for a roadmap. They’ll be the ones who draw it.
That’s why agency—the capacity to initiate, decide, and lead—is no longer optional. It’s the new professional currency.
If you’re still waiting for instructions, feedback, or "clarity" from above... AI will eat your job. Not because you’re not valuable, but because you’re not visible.
And for HR and business leaders? Your job isn’t to tell people what to do anymore. It’s to build ecosystems where agency can thrive.
We ask are people engaged? Do we ask if they feel agency?
What Is Agency?
Agency is your ability to:
Initiate: Start things without being told.
Decide: Make choices on your own, even with limited information.
Lead: Drive outcomes, not just follow directions.
It’s about being the actor, not the audience.
Agency is not tied to your title or org chart position. It’s a mindset and a muscle. It can be learned, strengthened, and scaled.
Agency isn’t a new idea. At its core, it’s the belief that you have the power to shape what happens next. It’s about trusting that your actions matter—that you’re not just reacting to change, but helping to create the future. Without that belief, initiative fades. With it, momentum builds.
Why Is Agency So Important in an AI-First World?
We’re at a pivotal moment. For leaders, for teams, and for each of us as humans. Right now, there’s a fork in the road: agency or apathy. And there’s no neutral ground.
Agency is action. Ownership. Creative tension. It’s moving even when the path isn’t fully lit.
Apathy is passivity. Excuse-making. Learned helplessness. It’s staying still and hoping the world will wait for you.
This is our moment—not just to model agency, but to teach it, encourage it, and demand it. That’s leadership now.
Because AI will do almost everything except decide what matters.
Here’s the hard truth:
AI can write code, design visuals, analyze data, summarize reports, and generate content.
But AI can’t define direction, choose tradeoffs, or initiate new ideas (at least, not in ways humans should blindly follow).
That’s our job now.
Agency becomes the last-mile differentiator for humans in an AI-augmented workplace.
If you lack agency:
You’ll wait for someone to tell you how to use AI—and they won’t.
You’ll be disrupted instead of being the disruptor.
You’ll compete with AI (and lose).
If you have agency:
You’ll define how AI extends your work.
You’ll act faster, spot more opportunities, and lead from any seat.
You’ll pair initiative with AI’s scale to become exponentially valuable.
If you're not leading your own transformation, you're being transformed.
Mindset: From Passive to Protagonist
Agency begins with believing that you can make a difference. That you don't need permission to act. That your role isn't to execute tasks but to shape direction.
Unfortunately, many workplaces are built to erode agency: micro-management, fear of failure, top-down systems, and outdated measures of success. It’s time to flip that script.
Waiting for clarity is a strategy for irrelevance.
Heartset: Agency is Human
Agency doesn’t just show up at work. It’s deeply personal. It shows up—or doesn’t—in our relationships, our parenting, and especially in our complicated family lives.
Sometimes, in our most important relationships, we avoid decisions. We wait. We let silence stretch because we're unsure what to say or afraid to stir conflict. That too is a moment of agency—or apathy.
I’ve had moments with family, just this past week—like so many of us—where I knew something needed to be said or done. But I hesitated. I looked around for a script that wasn’t coming. Agency in those moments looks like reaching out, initiating a tough conversation, owning your role, making the move.
It’s not about control—it’s about care. It’s how we show up for the people we love.
Initiative isn’t hustle. It’s belief. A belief that I am capable. That I matter. That I can move things forward.
If you want people to act like owners, stop treating them like renters.
Skillset: Building Agency Every Day
Let’s bring in George Mack’s HighAgency.com. Another great piece recommended by my son, Ben. High agency isn’t just about hustle.
It’s:
Clear Thinking: Spotting flawed assumptions and asking better questions
Leaning into Action: Doing small, fast, intentional things rather than overthinking
Kind Candor: Challenging the default—even when it’s uncomfortable
The future belongs to those with initiative, not just instructions.
Clarity is a luxury. Initiative is a necessity.
You don’t need a map to take the first step—just the courage to move.
Toolset: Design for Agency at Scale
When we talk about systems, we're not just talking about tools—we're talking about operating systems. The most important system is the organizational OS: how decisions get made, who owns what, and what behaviors get rewarded.
But technical systems matter too—especially the degree of approvals, oversight, and embedded friction.
Ask yourself:
Do our systems reward experimentation or enforce compliance?
Do our platforms enable movement, or are they gatekeeping progress?
Most teams still operate like they’re waiting for permission—because that’s what the system is built for.
We’re growing permission-seekers when what we need are self-led creators.
If AI is rewriting the rules of work, your operating model must empower people to define, not just do.
How Agency and First Principles Work Together
Last week, I wrote about first principles thinking—how it helps us peel back assumptions and get to the core of what really matters. But this week I realized something deeper: understanding first principles is only half the battle. Acting on them requires agency.
Agency and first principles are a powerful combination. One without the other might just be a waste of time.
A Personal Story: No One Was Coming
When I was 19, I was managing a hotel. Yes, managing. I had no formal training, no manual, no roadmap. Just a building full of guests expecting a world-class experience—and a thousand decisions that had to be made if the place was going to open that day.
I kept thinking, “When is someone going to tell me what to do?” But no one was coming.
So I made the calls. I opened the doors. I messed some things up. I owned those mistakes. And I grew. Fast.
That was the first time I really understood agency: not as confidence or expertise—but as the willingness to move, even in uncertainty.
We’re all 19 again. And no one’s coming. And in that moment—agency or apathy—you choose who you’ll be.
For Leaders: 3 Ways to Make Agency Happen at Scale
Stop Rewarding Compliance
Add “initiated ideas” or “moved without instruction” to your performance frameworks.Design Small Spaces for Autonomy
Create safe zones where teams pilot, test, and build—no permission needed.Model and Narrate Your Own Agency
Say: “Here’s something I saw, something I tried, and something I learned.”
Agency is contagious—but only when seen.
Final Word: Agency Is “Part” of the Operating System of the Future
AI will execute.
You must decide.
Agency is one of the single most important skills you can develop to stay relevant in an AI-first world.
The future doesn’t belong to the compliant. It belongs to the courageous.
Take initiative. Build your judgment. Lead from where you are.
Whatever you do, don’t wait to be told.
This post is part of a summer series: Rewiring Work for the AI Era—where I explore the building blocks of future-ready leadership.
Next up: Judgment. Then: Persuasion. Stay tuned.
If this sparked something in you, share it with a colleague who’s still waiting for permission. Or better yet—forward it to someone whose agency you believe in, but who might not know how powerful they really are yet.
About Jason Averbook
Jason Averbook is a globally recognized thought leader, advisor, and keynote speaker focused on the intersection of AI, human potential, and the future of work. He is the Senior Partner and Global Leader of Digital HR Strategy at Mercer, where he helps the world’s largest organizations reimagine how work gets done — not by implementing technology, but by transforming mindsets, skillsets, and cultures to be truly digital.
Over the last two decades, Jason has advised hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies, co-founded and led Leapgen, authored two books on the evolution of HR and workforce technology, and built a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking voices in the industry. His work challenges leaders to stop seeing digital transformation as an IT project and start embracing it as a human strategy.
Through his Substack, Now to Next, Jason shares honest, provocative, and practical insights on what’s changing in the workplace — from generative AI to skills-based orgs to emotional fluency in leadership. His mission is simple: to help people and organizations move from noise to clarity, from fear to possibility, and from now… to next.
You can email at jasonaverbook@gmail.com or send message at LinkedIn to connect.
Nicely done. Like that you put some definition around what agency looks and feels like. To be honest, sometimes it feels a little Justice Potter Stewart (know it when I see it) so the definition is helpful. Also important as you note to create conditions for people to flex their agency.
Great post. A new twist on the "innovate or die" philosophy.