Agency is eating credentialism

Having high agency is a personal moat in the future of work and life

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what it actually takes for someone to feel capable of steering their own life, especially when we talk about kids, or even ourselves.

High agency is something my husband and I talk about often at home but, most importantly, practice. When I think about some of the more challenging moments in my life, it was my own agency—not praise from others, credentials, or otherwise—that got me out of the circumstance or opened a new door.

Leaving teaching after years of working toward that goal was one of them. It wasn’t necessarily the sunk cost, but the identity I had formed around the profession and the people I was surrounded by at the time that made this decision a true test of self-worth. I had to believe that I could chart a new course for myself, find an angle to get through the door, and put in the work to come out ahead on the other side.

And that’s what I did, landing my first role out of teaching in an edtech startup.

The decision to choose and act, and give yourself permission compounds into a strong internal locus of control.

This reminds me of something Naval said recently in an interview:

“Self-esteem is the reputation you have with yourself.”

The more you act and take control of your circumstances, the more you can rely on yourself, no matter what curveball gets thrown.

Self-esteem breeds high agency and high agency leads to momentum. This is the moat we should all be optimizing for in the future of learning and work.

The future belongs to those who make it

Two great articles prompted this week’s piece:

An Age of Extinction is Coming by NYT columnist Ross Douthat argues survival of culture and tradition now hinges entirely on deliberate action, while Agency Is Eating The World from Gian Segato, a founding engineer at Replit, claims the future belongs to generalists who move fast, learn quickly, and ship often in an AI-driven era.

(I highly recommend reading both!)

Some key takeaways:

1. Survival now depends on intentionality, not familiarity: Culture, traditions, and meaningful experiences no longer sustain themselves; we must actively choose and deliberately protect what matters, or risk losing it entirely.

2. High-agency individuals are becoming the new archetype: With powerful tools like AI leveling the field, those who confidently act without instruction or validation increasingly shape the future.

3. Breadth sharpens instinct: In a world where specialization is being flattened by AI, those who see how systems interconnect are better equipped to navigate ambiguity and move across domains with smart judgment.

4. Education must train for agency and discernment, not just knowledge: If agency defines future success, schools must become genuine practice grounds where students regularly face real stakes and meaningful decisions.

5. Lived experience cuts through the noise: As credentials and automation create sameness, people who embrace unconventional paths or personal stories will increasingly stand out.

How we foster high agency at an individual level

Developing this internal state of mind does take people believing in you, a teacher, a parent, a spouse.

But more importantly, it requires people around you to trust you. I don't mean giving empty praise about your innate abilities and qualities, but to allow you to try things. Take risks. Make mistakes. And bet on yourself.

It’s why Montessori’s approach to work has always resonated with me, and likely played a role in my own relationship to agency. Montessori education is grounded in the belief that children build confidence not through praise or external validation but through meaningful work and independent action.

Through that process, children get to experience for themselves what it’s like to take control of their learning and, over time, build the confidence to do it entirely on their own and in more ambiguous or unfamiliar contexts. This gradually develops into a sense of high agency and true independence, where they feel that no matter the circumstances or uncertainty, they’ll be able to figure it out.

Optimizing for agency in education outcomes

If agency “is eating the world” like Segato claims, and we know how important this skill can be for longterm success and resilience, education should be prioritizing this as a key learning outcome, not a byproduct.

Measuring whether agency has been acquired or not is less straightforward than say, testing for a static math or literacy skill, since it’s gradual and situational. The last thing we need is for “agency” to be reduced to a checklist.

But what we can control is designing better environments that we know optimize for and can lead to higher agency in students.

Education should prioritize environments that foster agency through:

• More unstructured play-based learning

• Authentic decision-making and entrepreneurial projects

• Embedding opportunities for reflection, risk assessment, and navigating ambiguity

• Realistic career guidance emphasizing non-linear paths and mentorship

My own bias for action to build in education

It’s easy to talk about the problems and pontificate better solutions for education. What's more productive is to go build the solutions.

This topic of high agency has been especially top of mind as my husband

Karel Vuong

and I have recently left our previous roles to do exactly this: build urgently and create better education solutions for the world today’s learners are actually growing up in.

The future belongs to those who take matters into their own hands.

Everyone knows education is overdue for transformation. Discourse is important but it’s time for us to build.

We can’t wait to share more about what we’re working on soon!