#24: Virtual-Spiral Fuel - Autonomy, Agency, Efficacy, Mastery

Some Hidden, Achievement Factors

Autonomy, self-agency, self-efficacy, and mastery are four inter-related factors that both self-learners and managers (aka parents, teachers, coaches, mentors) should consciously grow. Call them “the CAN-DO 4”.

Autonomy is the (incremental) space and permission that you give to yourself or a protégé to then choose to do more than what was allowed in the past.

Self-Agency is the feeling that you can take personal responsibility for being proactive in general. By contrast, self-defined victims feel that they are powerless to act.

But, agency does not apply to all challenges. Self-Efficacy is about your confidence for  succeeding at some specific challenge. With self-efficacy you can get on a specific, improvement path to work towards some incremental level of “Mastery”.

These 4 concepts can create an upward, virtuous spiral. Autonomy creates space for agency. Agency finds a challenge for which there is sufficient self-efficacy. Mastery successes then earn more autonomy while also growing greater degrees of agency and efficacy.

But, too few adolescents (and employees) are aware of and growing their own Can-Do 4.   

MASTERY GUIDELINES THAT INCORPORATE THE CAN-DO 4

1. To grow personal capabilities and life opportunities, everyone needs to leave their -static, habitual, rutted-out, autopilot - comfort zone and consciously stretch to learn some new skill. But, the skill and stretch must fit a person’s agency and efficacy. Easy, can-do, tiny stretches done consistently are the way to start. With consistency, improvements start to emerge along with growing -confidence, agency, and efficacy – all as byproducts.
    
2. It’s tough to learn something correctly and persistently on your own. So, get sufficient coaching and perhaps peer support to help.     
    
3. Design an environment and plan that: hides distractions; cues positive can-do action; provides real-time feedback and makes others’ support handy.

CASE STUDIES

1. When I was 6, my Mom had a daily checklist on the refrigerator of a few, new, habits and responsibilities for me to master. We would check the list after both breakfast and dinner, and I would get a pep talk about the benefits of being a bigger, more-responsible, helpful boy. Getting streaks of daily checkmarks could earn weekend treats. And, I was unwittingly growing my can-do 4.   
    
2. I bought a business in which I wanted the culture to support skilling up employees to be more promotable from within. The profit-center managers and their charges all participated in creating a personal, development-plan process. Results? It was a good success. It was surprising to see how fast both latent achievers and paralyzed victims revealed themselves. But, it could have been even better if -back then - I had known and taught about the Can-Do 4. (For more on that program: go to merrifieldact2 (.com) click on “resources”, then “exhibits” and check out #10.)

CONCLUSION

Our hyper-competitive, global-economy is changing ever faster due to technology. Every young adult must be able to – learn, unlearn and relearn – on their own for life to be gainfully employed as well as generally happy. And, learning the meta-skill of mastering the process of mastery includes getting upward progress spirals going with - autonomy, self-agency, self-efficacy and mastery - wins.