Unleashing Agency in Organizations with Fred Miller and Judith Katz
Overview
The evolution of the organization and the manager-employee relationship continues. As we think about the next step in that evolution, we believe that the concept of agency needs to be at the center. Most often employees act as “do-ers” with a checker overseeing every significant decision, which makes people feel as if they are not the leader of their job responsibilities. There have been many attempts to increase the autonomy of employees—to empower them, enable them to do their jobs with little supervision, be knowledge workers—but too often those efforts are overlaid with control and supervision that smothers the employee and their ability to be the “Operations Leader” of their job.
People have written about and acknowledge that many are knowledge workers in organizations, but organizations and leaders often treat them just as they did in the height of the Industrial Revolution—like “hands and feet.” People are expected to think, but their thinking often must be reviewed and checked.
What is missing is individual and team agency, which we define as: ensuring all people, of all identities, roles, levels, and tenure have the power, influence, and voice to make choices and decisions related to their jobs and the betterment of the organization.
In this session, we will discuss the concept of agency and the role practitioners can play in cultivating a culture of agency in which every person can take leadership in their role and interactions with others.
Learning Objectives
Understand what agency means and why it is critical for higher performance.
Examine the barriers that commonly block people's exercise of agency.
Explore mindsets and behaviors that foster agency and create the interaction safety needed to fully exercise agency in any role.
Learn actions at every level that unleash agency.
Better understand your own practice and support of agency through self-assessment and individual reflection.