The word of the decade is “Agency” – giving each of us the power, tools, and opportunity to do what we want with our life, jobs, and careers. This new buzzword, now one of the top memes in politics, has been coming for many years. In this podcast I discuss the 50+ year of history in the “decoupling” of workers from companies, and how our newfound AI-powered Agency brings benefits and risks.

As you’ll hear, young people see Agency and freedom as a foundational part of their long life ahead, while companies struggle with “how much freedom” to offer. And for frontline employers, the ability to attract and retain our highly “agent” workers is now a source of competitive advantage.

This podcast begins the discussion, and we’ll be talking much more about this as we launch our new Business of Frontline research and upcoming book Superpowered this Fall. I welcome your feedback and stories on how your newfound AI-fueled Agency has changed your life, career, and talent strategy.

Background Information

The Great Decoupling: How Workers Became Disconnected From Companies And AI Will Accelerate This Trend (Main article)

The Worker-Company Bond Is Breaking In The ‘Great Decoupling’ (Forbes)

Our New Book: Superpowered, Launching in Fall

All the Worst People Seem to Want to Be ‘High Agency’ (NYT opinion)

Are you High-Agency or Low Agency? (ChatGPT)

Living A High Agency Life: How Should Companies Respond?

The Josh Bersin Company

Living A High Agency Life: How Should Companies Respond?