High-agency people see the world as malleable. When they encounter a problem, they ask "how do I solve that?" rather than accepting constraints. They have autonomy, strong internal motivation, and a sense of purpose. They value competence and view obstacles as problems to address, not walls to accept.
Not every role in an organization requires high-agency employees. An F1 team of nothing but ace drivers would fail pretty hard the moment they had their first pit stop. But when you have high-agency talent in the right positions, they become transformational leaders and innovative problem-solvers. The challenge is keeping them engaged.
1. Grant Appropriate Autonomy
Give leaders vision with execution latitude, or meaningful input into organizational decisions. High-agency people need space to operate. When they feel like a cog in a machine, with no ability to influence outcomes or shape direction, they disengage. And once they disengage, they leave.
This means trusting them with real responsibility. Not just tasks, but outcomes. Let them own the "how" when you've aligned on the "what" and "why."
2. Provide Meaningful Problems
Challenge their solutions, respect their competence, and actually implement their ideas. High-agency people want to work on things that matter. They want to see their contributions translate into real outcomes.
Ignoring their ideas or sidelining their contributions damages engagement faster than almost anything else. If you hire someone for their judgment and then never use it, you're paying for capability you're actively wasting.
3. Build a Supportive Culture
Create an environment that values talent, teamwork, excellence, and self-motivation. Culture can compensate for gaps in compensation or titles when people feel genuinely appreciated and part of something they respect.
Compensation is a hygiene factor, not a motivator for this demographic. What matters more is what Self-Determination Theory calls autonomy, competence, and relatedness: the feeling of belonging within a high-performing group that recognizes and values what you bring.
High-agency talent wants to be around other high-agency talent. They want to be challenged, respected, and given the room to do their best work. Get those things right, and the retention problem largely solves itself.
Originally published on LinkedIn.