From Overwhelm to Ownership: Why Agency Matters More Than Ever

From Overwhelm to Ownership: Why Agency Matters More Than Ever

Let's be real for a moment: leadership today can feel like a never-ending shit storm you didn’t sign up for. 

There are always going to be: 

• Organisational restructures.
• Economic pressures.
• Shifting expectations.
• Global impacts you didn’t create but are still affected by.

It's easy to feel like a victim in environments like these. It's easy to think, "Well, what am I supposed to do about it?"

And, maybe you haven’t had formal leadership training. Maybe you're overwhelmed and under-supported.

But here’s the thing:  You might not control the system.  But, you can absolutely control how you lead within it.

And that difference, between external chaos and internal agency, is where true, sustainable leadership lives.

I Know a Thing or Two About Agency

Having worked in big and small organisations for three decades, I’ve seen the highs and the horror shows.

When business is bad and you’re forced to make redundancies or sell parts of the business, it’s brutal. And when times are good and you’re restructuring to drive more profit? That can be just as exhausting.

Good or bad, both have their moments.

What matters most is how you choose to turn up.

My responsibility as a leader was never to sugar-coat the reality. It was to: listen, acknowledge, show compassion, and keep the focus on building capability.

Even when it was really tough, I knew this: I could always control my actions. My behaviours. My choices.

Even in my personal life, when the poop hits the fan (and it does), it’s okay to have a messy moment. But then it’s:  "OK, what now? What’s the next best step I can take?"

Agency isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about staying grounded, even when it’s not. 

Let’s get a bit nerdy just for a second.

At its core, agency is about recognising you have the power to act, and that your actions matter.

Psychologist Albert Bandura (2001) described agency as "the power to originate action", meaning the ability to think, choose, and influence your own path through your beliefs, motivations, and behaviours.

It’s not about pretending external forces don't exist.  It’s about self-reflecting, noticing what around you supports your growth, and choosing how you respond.

Agency is built when you realise:  I can't control everything that happens to me, but I can control how I think, what I believe, and what I do next.

That's real leadership.  Not controlling the chaos, but choosing how you move through it.

Building Agency as a Leader

Here’s where you start shifting from reaction to conscious leadership:

1. Advocate for what you need: No more waiting for someone to notice you're struggling. Speak up. Advocate for better boundaries, clearer priorities, real support. It’s not selfish, it’s survival.

2. Focus on response, not control: You can't control the chaos around you. But you can control your presence. Your boundaries. Your energy.

3. Honour small wins: Agency is built in micro-moments: a boundary held, a no delivered kindly, a choice to pause instead of react.

Tiny wins, stacked daily, change everything.

Leadership Isn’t About Controlling Everything

Agency is your antidote.

When you come to leadership from a place of “everything is happening to me,” you frame your entire life through powerlessness, and over time, it eats away at your mental wellbeing.

Mindset matters.  Not because I believe in inauthentic, toxic positivity. (I don't. I never will.)

I’m not here to tell you to “just be grateful” when things are objectively a bit shit.  I’m here to challenge your thinking, asking curious question like: 

• What can you change?
• Where can you adapt?
• What’s still within your reach?

When you're in growth mindset mode, you're leading from a place of possibility, curiosity, and strength.  

And so thinking about where you're at now....

Your 3 questions for reflection: 

• Where am I letting the environment dictate how I show up?
• What’s one small thing within my control I could own today?
• Where do I need to advocate more clearly for myself and my team?

Leadership isn’t about having all the power. It’s about owning the power you already have.

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Ready to explore your own leadership? Download the Brain-Friendly Leadership Toolkit today.

Need a sounding board or some practical support?  Book in a Call with Me 

With care,

Julie

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