The contemporary work environment is both highly competitive and rapidly evolving. To stand out and achieve career success, it is crucial to develop and exercise a strong sense of agency in both your work and work-related undertakings.
What is Work Agency?
Work agency is your general capacity and disposition to make deliberate choices, take actions, and exert control over yourself and your work environment. You may think of work agency as a competency expressed in two distinct but complementary forms:
Individual-oriented work agency: This form of work agency is focused on making a difference in or for yourself. It is primarily driven towards outcomes on the individual level.
Externally-oriented work agency: In contrast, this type of work agency consists of actions that are directed towards changing the work environment or making differences to current work practices.
Here is an example of how these two forms of work agency play out in practice:
Individual-oriented Work Agency
As a finance manager at a manufacturing company, David demonstrated his individual-oriented work agency by constantly seeking to improve his financial expertise. Besides participating in various professional development programmes related to the finance field, he is actively involved in skill-based voluntary work at a local banking trade association. This has allowed him to hone his expertise through practice-based learning while providing him opportunities to build his social capital as he connects with other finance professionals.
At his workplace, David uses a project management tool to manage his time and work activities. This tool enables him to track and prioritise his work tasks and ensure the timely completion of the financial reports.
Externally-oriented Work Agency
On the other hand, David actively exercised his externally-oriented work agency, resulting in better outcomes for his team and the company. For instance, he volunteered to coach and mentor his junior financial analysts by sharing his experience and knowledge to develop their expertise so that they could deliver greater value to the finance team.
In addition, David continuously monitors industry trends and proactively looks for ways to improve the company's systems and processes. In particular, he has recently initiated and implemented a new system that could enhance financial data transparency and streamline the reporting process within the company.
David is also committed to collaborating closely with other departments. One way is by providing them with valuable financial insights to make informed strategic decisions critical to the company's success.
Why Both Matter?
Here is why exercising both forms of work agency is essential to improve your work performance and boost your career success:
Maximise Professional Potential: Exercising your individual-oriented agency at work can foster a growth mindset, hone your skills and knowledge to stay competitive and unlock new career opportunities. These are vital to realising your full professional potential.
Adapt to Change: Exemplifying your externally-oriented agency can help you understand new emerging needs and effectively navigate changes both within and beyond the company. This ability to initiate improvements, shape work processes, and seek out innovative solutions can prepare you to thrive in any work environment.
Boost Visibility and Recognition: Embracing new challenges, taking on unfamiliar work tasks, and exceeding expectations can get you noticed. Both forms of work agency can help raise your profile and showcase your value to the company.
Create a Fulfilling Career: Proactively shaping your professional development and career growth while improving the work environment can lead to a more satisfying and meaningful career.
After all, work agency is a self-reinforcing cycle. As you hone your skills and build your self-confidence through exercising your individual-oriented work agency, you will be more empowered to promote change in your work environment. Consequently, these positive contributions and impacts you bring to your work environment will further encourage you to invest more in your development.
Some Ways to Develop Your Work Agency:
Self-Awareness: Understanding your skills, strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement can lead to more targeted growth plans and contributions.
Proactivity: Do not wait to be told what to do. Actively search for learning opportunities and solve work challenges that can contribute to your professional goals and benefit your team, the company and the industry.
Curiosity: Be open, ask questions, explore new ideas, and constantly stay informed about industry trends.
Networking: Build relationships, provide value to others, and learn from others who are more experienced.
Reflection: Evaluate your work and career progress regularly, set new work challenges and career goals and identify areas where you can develop your work and career and contribute to the company or industry.
Key Takeaway
Each of us have an important role to play in shaping our career, and exercising both forms of work agency is crucial for developing ourselves and contributing to our work environments. This is one competency that is critical to boosting our professional growth, creating a more fulfilling work experience, and driving our career success.