Imagine waking up in a cold, dirty cell.
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The walls are cracked and stained, the floor muddy and damp.
Air is heavy, and it has a weird smell of mould and basement dust.
You have no idea how you got there.

A voice from behind the bars tells you where you are and says:
“You're free to make one call. Someone to come get you.”
Then they slide a phone toward you.

Who do you call?

The difference between a good and a great

When I was at the Games Industry Conference in Poznań 2 years ago, I attended the Game Design panel.
There was an option to ask questions to the industry veterans and leaders.
So I mustered the courage, got up, went to the mic and asked:

What's the difference between a good designer and a great one?

The answer?

A great game designer does things on their own, tries things on their own.
They are thinking about the project as the owner.
So we're talking about a sense of true ownership.

And from that moment, this is the question I'm asking directors and leaders to find out what they think.
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The most common answers I get fall into these categories:

1. They are taking responsibility for their work.
2. They are looking for solutions, not problems.
3. They can communicate with everyone in the team.
4. They clearly understand how their work impacts others.

All of those things can be attributed to one trait: high agency.

Everyone has a person in their life they would call from their cell.

Because, for some reason, they think they will move all the necessary pieces on the board to come and get them.
Or at least they would know how to do it.

And this, for me, is an ultimate expression of being a high agency person.

High agency in the work environment

Let's get back to our initial question - What is the difference between a good designer and a great one? ​
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All of the answers I'm getting can be attributed to the amount of agency people show.
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Someone who is a high agency person takes control of their circumstances rather than passively accepting them. ​
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If you were stranded on an island and found sticks, would you create a HELP sign on the beach, hoping someone from the sky will see it, or would you get to work and try to build a raft?

Because at work, we love those who build the rafts.
Those are the ones who make things happen.
They push things forward.

They can connect the dots and try out solutions.
Even if they stumble, they understand it's a part of the process and get back up.

So, what IS high agency?

High agency is hard to define.
It's many things and it's vague at the same time.
But when you've read the examples above, you know what it is.

So, let's try to break down high agency into specific traits we can work on:

Problem-solving mindset – You're not getting stuck on "it can't be done" but rather ask, "How can it be done?"
​Resourcefulness – You make things happen with whatever is available.
​Ownership – You take responsibility for their decisions and outcomes.
​Proactiveness – Again, you don't wait for things to happen, you make things happen. See the trend already?
​Resilience – You push through setbacks and adapt quickly
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So simply put it is making the most out of the situation you are in.
Making things happen instead of waiting for things happening to them.

Also, think about it - the ones among us who are truly great at what they do, the ones you look up to, they have at least some of those traits.

So, how do we learn those things?

The Art of becoming a high-agency person

I strongly believe all of this is learnable.
Everyone can become a high-agency person because it's about mindset and learning the right skills.

Especially in the work context, there are two major mindset shifts you can start implementing today to become a high-agency person:

1) Change the questions you are asking yourself​
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We all had those moments when something needed to be done, but it was vague who was responsible so in the end no one did anything.

Or we were irritated when we were kept in the dark about new decisions, and we were all surprised when things were done in a new way.
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Instead of:

Why didn’t anyone tell me?
Who’s supposed to be doing this?

Try asking:

• What can I do to fix this?
• How can I prevent this in the future?
• Who should I talk to to move this forward?

Small shift. Huge difference.

And I bet you already experienced this overflowing feeling of control once you start asking the right questions.

2) Move. Momentum is everything

One of the crucial traits of high agency is just doing things.

That sometimes means acting without waiting for permission.

As a team lead, I can tell you there's no better moment in my day than when someone says:
"Patryk, there was an issue with this and that, but I've taken care of it".
Angels are coming from the sky and singing praising songs, I shit you not.

Let's just get one thing extremely clear - It doesn’t mean ignoring your team.​
It means stepping up when others hesitate, wondering what to do.

You think it's a good idea to have the process documented? Start writing it.
See a problem somewhere? Awesome, instead of just raising the issue, try to think about a potential first step to a solution.

High agency = initiative.
Not rebellion.

What I also noticed is that high agency people shorten loops.
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So, if you are waiting for feedback regarding your work, ask specific questions. Request a deadline.
Hell, send them a message about what you think is done well and where you see you can improve.
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So there you have it: the right questions and movement will set you on the right path to become an invaluable part of the team.
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And here's the best part: in the work environment, there are almost no problems you can't solve with an adaptive mindset and learning the skill to solve them.

That's it folks.
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See you next week.
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PS
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Are you currently staying at your job because it's comfortable?
Or you're scared that market sucks and you don't want to risk it?
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All 100% valid reasons, I totally hear you.
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But if you feel like you want to do something about it reach out: