Agency-Driven Leadership: The Catalyst for Change

Are you looking for ways to entertain the kids or grandkids? All you need is a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke plus 4-7 Mentos—and, “voila,” you are the hometown “Steve Spangler,” the renowned science educator known for this unique experiment!

If you are not familiar with this particular, very cool science trick, the Mentos serve as a catalyst with CO2 in the soda, creating a spectacular geyser effect. (We would recommend this only in an outdoor setting, by the way!)

This experiment comes to mind as we approach the topic of agency in our schools. Having experienced the great benefit from agentic learning environments, we hope for an immediate buy-in and quick shift, bringing millions of bubbles of change to the surface in each and every classroom! In reality, what we see is more like the ice age of change, so gradual that it seems like an eternity before agentic learning environments can become the mainstream of teaching and learning.

The Mentos and Diet Coke science experiment has been around for a long time—but that doesn’t mean that everyone has experienced it or even come close to understanding how it works. The same can be said for the value of bringing agentic teaching and learning to the mainstream of teaching and learning.

There are many great examples of schools and classrooms that have transformed their model without compromising rigorous standards. However, it may appear daunting to traditional practitioners who don’t understand how it works or how to safely carry out the change process. To support, we released the Agency by Design Playbook in October of 2023, which offered educators a framework and practical tools for creating more agentic learning environments. Since then, the playbook has been accessed over 2,000 times by educators exploring this shift and applying its strategies in their classrooms and schools. However, we’ve since recognized that more is needed to move this work forward.

What is needed is a catalyst for change. Something that can energize the system of schooling in much the same way that Mentos create a geyser of change in a soda bottle! It is our belief that the most effective way to ensure change toward more agentic learning environments is to look to the nature of leadership. We are suggesting that the leaders required to serve as catalysts must be “agency-driven.” Note: The definition of leader is very inclusive and is not limited to administrative or positions in a hierarchy.

The phrase “agency-driven” has been thoughtfully chosen to describe the kind of leadership it will take to see the elements of agency become entrenched with adults and students in a learning environment. So, what will it take for a leader to become “agency-driven?”

When seeking to become an agency-driven leader, it is helpful to mix in a few more outstanding attributes found in folks who are successful as catalysts for change.

1. The relentless pursuit of excellence associated with agentic learning environments

2. Focus, determination, and discipline within the daily operations of the learning environments to support agentic learning.

3. Self-motivation, resilience, and perseverance, in other words, have a strong sense of agency about oneself and the ability to carry out the vision and mission.

As the reader may have discerned, these attributes are found in those who are driven to go above and beyond in their field of endeavor. In this case, each of these attributes is part of the total “package” that serves to carry out an implementation strategy linked to agency. At whatever level the leadership responsibilities fall, these attributes will manifest themselves in a successful implementation.

What is interesting about these attributes is that these same vocabulary words are often found within the “profiles” that we establish for our students, variously referred to as “vision of a graduate”, “portrait of a learner”, or “learner profile”. This phenomenon suggests that the behaviors we desire in agency-inspired students and staff are the same behaviors required of the leaders at the district, building, and classroom level for agent learning to occur. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Additionally, it is prudent to include the concept of a “growth mindset” when discussing capacity building. This often-cited leadership skill is essential when shifting teaching and learning environments.

Capacity building assumes the acquisition of knowledge, skills, understandings, and dispositions you don’t already have, or those you need to expand. If you find yourself unable or unwilling to take the risks (hopefully small) when having thoughtful shifts in practice, a shift in mindset from fixed to growth may be in order.

For clarity, as stated earlier, leadership in this article encompasses all-inclusive leadership—leadership from the central office, leadership from the building, and leadership from the classroom. This article is not intended to rehash the fundamentals of leadership. Instead, the focus here is on what it takes within each leader to see that change can blossom in such a way that authentic agentic behaviors emerge from adults and the students.

Let’s start with what agency-driven leadership is not:

• It is not a personality style. Any style of leadership can be successful. When looking back at the personalities of highly driven people, we can find aggressive people as well as mild-mannered people.

• It is not a leadership style that can be taken for granted. Looking at individuals who are “driven,” we see that they keep their focus and rebound when failure occurs.

• It is not a specific set of behaviors that must be rigidly followed. There are many pathways of leadership that share common beliefs and tenacity in order to achieve the outcomes desired in an agency-driven environment.

Agency-driven leadership is an inclusive approach that empowers leaders at every level—district, building, and classroom—to model the very qualities we seek in learners: focus, resilience, growth mindset, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. By embodying these attributes, leaders create the conditions for agency to flourish in both students and adults, setting the stage for lasting transformation.

Continue with the next insight in this series: The 4Cs: Understanding Agency-Driven Leadership in Action. In it, we’ll unpack a practical model leaders can use to strengthen their conceptual understanding, commitment, competency, and capacity for driving agentic learning.