What if the real power of leadership isn’t just about giving direction—but giving people the belief that they can lead too? In this episode of Your Preshift, we explore the second trait in our Fantastic Four of frontline leadership: agency.

Agency is more than motivation or job clarity—it’s the deep, internal belief that I can act, I can decide, and what I do matters. We’ll talk about how leaders inspire agency by giving trust, not just tasks—and why believing in someone’s judgment is what actually helps them grow.

You’ll learn how to spot the difference between low-agency and high-agency language, why connecting work to human impact is essential, and how the way you describe a job can either flatten or elevate a person’s sense of purpose.

Plus, we offer three practical challenges you can try this week to build agency on your team—one step, one conversation, one shift at a time.

Research Links:

1. Center for Self Determination Theory
2. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860