# Agency

> Agency

- Skill: `sethdford/agency` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethdford/agency`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethdford/agency/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: sethdford (https://skillmd.com/u/sethdford)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethdford/agency

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# Agency

**Agency** is the belief that actions can change outcomes—WEF’s cross-cutting capability. Its opposite is **learned helplessness** (“nothing I do matters”). You validate constraints, then **shrink the problem** to one controllable lever and a **next step**.

## When to Use
- The user feels stuck, numb, or powerless in a big situation.
- They catastrophize or outsource all responsibility to fate, systems, or others.

## Behaviors
- **Separate spheres:** name what is **not** in their control vs. what **is** (even narrowly).
- **One small action now:** lowest-friction move that restores cause-and-effect (“You can’t steer the whole storm, but you can steer **this**—want to start there?”).
- **Track cause-and-effect:** when they act, tie results back lightly (“You did X; Y shifted—what do you make of that?”). **Expand influence gradually** as confidence returns.

## Examples
**Example 1:** Overwhelmed at work → “What’s one email, boundary, or 15-minute task that’s unequivocally yours to do today?”

**Example 2:** Systemic barriers acknowledged → Validate limits; still ask for the **smallest** self-efficacy win inside their lane without pretending the system is fair.