The idea of agency plays a central role in Chapter 8 of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen. The concept of agency is often misunderstood. Paraphrasing Wikipedia (to make it less technical), the definition of agency is a person’s ability to initiate and control their actions and the feeling they have of being in charge of their actions.
Zeroing in a bit on the definition, critical to me during this re-read were the phrases “ability to initiate” and “being in charge.” As I explored the concept of agency, it became apparent that using your agency is the opposite of taking a passive role in shaping an outcome.
Conversations on the topic of agency have led me to feel that many people believe that by existing, all people can initiate and be in control of their actions. However, this misinterpretation has little to do with the real world and more to do with political beliefs. As a leader, you can’t wave a magic wand and magically dismiss your obligation not to have to enable the agency of those you lead. This is true across the whole gamut ranging from society to individual teams.
Agency requires the capacity to form intentions, anticipate consequences, reflect on their actions, and exert self-control, as well as agency. In all cases, agency is empowered or constrained by the environment the person or group has to operate within. As change leaders, understanding the requirements and constraints on a person or group’s agency is a core informational need. For example, agile adoptions fail when empowering teams to make decisions (agency) crashes into a culture of top-down decision-making (environmental constraint on agency).
There are several components a person (or a group) to exhibit to exhibit agency.
- Intentionality: The ability to form a level of goal-directed behavior. Leaders who assign goals and don’t involve those they lead in envisioning the future rob them of intentionality.
- Forethought: The capacity to anticipate the cause and effect of different actions. Then using that knowledge in decision-making.
- Self-Reflection: The ability to monitor and evaluate one’s own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; to learn from mistakes and adapt future behavior. Can everyone repeat, “Inspect and Adapt”?
- Volition: The capacity to make choices and act on them. Volition requires goal-driven behavior, self-control, and discipline. Without volition barriers and blockers will be insurmountable.
- Ability: A person, team, or society must have the physical and mental capabilities to act.
All components can only consistently be practiced if the environment allows agency. For example, in authoritarian regimes, agency non-elite groups are severely constrained. We would all recognize the negative impact of the rule of Kim Jong-un on agency, but would have difficulty recognizing the impact of command-and-control or micromanagement. As W. Edward Deming reminded us, “Management must create a system that empowers employees rather than relying on blame or inspection.” Management owns the environment that can enable or constrain agency.
While the chapter is focused on the impact of women’s agency and well-being on development, I have overlaid organizational transformation on top of the chapter’s discussion of agency. This was not done to downplay the iniquities that lack of agency has played on the well-being of women and society.
Perhaps the most immediate argument for focusing on women’s agency may be precisely the role that such an agency can play in removing the inequities that depress the well-being of women. Empowerment is key to agency. The empowerment of women is one of the central issues in the process of development for many countries in the world today and perhaps more tomorrow.
Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen:
Week 1: Context and Logistics
Week 2: Introduction and Preface
Week 3: The Perspective of Freedom
Week 4: The Ends and the Means of Development
Week 5: Freedom and the Foundations of Justice
Week 6: Poverty as Capability Deprivation
Week 7: Markets, State, and Social Opportunity
Week 8: The Importance of Democracy
Week 9: Social Choice and Individual Behavior
Week 10: Famines and Other Crises
Week 11: Women’s Agency and Social Change
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