“What do we want? Agency! When do we want it? Now.”
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We're talking today about agency. And once we gain clarity on exactly what that is then we may realize that we want it and wish to establish some.
The kind of agency I am referring to is a noun. However, I am not talking about an organization or a social entity, I am talking about power. Options. Choice. Knowing and exercising options. It’s inside-type stuff.
"Agency" means the capacity or ability of an individual to act independently, make choices, and influence their own life, essentially signifying a sense of control over one's actions and the power to make decisions; "having agency" means possessing the capability to act autonomously and take initiative. A person can have agency.
It seems that folks our age are constantly reminded, many times by way of ageism, that our having agency as we age can be a fragile and volatile state. Slowly our decisions may be made by others. We allow societal norms (are they truly norms, the way it is, or do we push back?) and we may acquiesce to social pressures. We may give away decisions or a lot of our “what can be” to the way society tells us we “should be”. We may let others make important decisions for us, because sometimes it may simply seem easier. Go with the flow, and all that.
There are plenty of people who’d say “Nancy, you can’t, or shouldn’t be driving all over the backroads in the mountains, alone, at your age.” At my age, indeed. Part of me wants to retort with snark. “Say Sonny, I’ve been driving for over 50 years and I know what I am doing; who are you to limit my fun?” (Oh, I can think of so many witty or passive-aggressive responses, so smooth you will never pick up on it, but I’ll put a pin here and have return to that later to have fun in my head making them up. You know, what-I-could’ve-saids).
Reasons to have and retain agency
Persons who are aging (especially in response or retaliation to ageism) may wish to establish and keep their agency for very good and practical reasons, in healthcare, legal matters, familial, or interpersonal matters...We not only need to have our way but we must also be regarded as a person who has a say, if not THE say, in all our matters.
Stepping into agency means action or intervention to produce a particular effect. Having a sense of agency refers to the feeling of control over actions and their consequences.
An example of having agency in healthcare is the decision to name an agent or proxy with Healthcare Power of Attorney, the person who will serve as your voice or will work to carry out your wishes.
In social science (and for the purposes of our segment today), agency is the capacity of individuals to have the power and resources to fulfill their potential.
Agency: some folks have it, some do not.
Some folks have agency and some do not. Some have it and lose it, for a myriad of reasons. Think with me for a moment now, can you think of a person or group of persons who does not have agency? What group of people may lose their agency? (I am thinking of people who have no say – or won’t say. Or cannot).
Then there are people who have low agency and people who have high agency.
Low agency -
People with low agency experience common impediments when trying to make sound decisions. They may procrastinate. They may lack confidence and be risk-averse; or their thinking may be too fast and they act on impulse. Their actions due to some external factor, because of this or that, and not from within.
High Agency -
High agency is about finding a way to get what you want, without waiting for conditions to be perfect or otherwise blaming the circumstances. High agency is a refusal to accept life's limitations. Someone with low agency simply accepts the narrative they're given, and the high agency types will be in action to gain, keep, or use theirs.
When in discussion of agency, what it is, and who has it (or not) we will learn there are relative kinds of agency:
Human agency -
The ability to make meaning from your environment through purposive consciousness and creative action. Purposive – isn’t that a great word? I think it is so descriptive of patient advocacy and other service professions.
Emotional agency -
As you might derive from the term this kind of agency suggests emotion-related awareness, competence, and behavior. Having the wherewithal to see and understand emotion-driven behavior or reactions.
Collective agency -
When individuals pool their knowledge, skills, and resources to shape their future. When I think of collective agency I begin to think about Solo Agers as an example. Solo Agers have rallied inside Facebook groups. They have discovered or created In Person or online support groups and discussions. They coalesce by way of my friend and colleague Ailene Gerhardt’s Navigating Solo website, or Steve Gurney’s Positive Aging Community with live and interactive events. Collective agency might be when a group gathers for the enhancement of their group, or even lobbies for education or change.
Strategic agency -
This kind of agency refers to the capacity to affect wider systems change. Continuing to use Solo Aging as the example, did you know there are many people working to increase visibility and highlight not only challenges but also solutions. I am in such a group, we call ourselves “PWWSA”, Professionals Working With Solo Agers. We are a group of professionals, authors, speakers, thought leaders and legislative change makers who have met monthly for over two years to elevate and support solo aging. We do this by way of our skills: research, public speaking, authoring books, patient advocacy, financial planning and other aging care consulting.
Agency as a business -
A business that represents one group of people when dealing with another group. I can be found here, with my business. Through my LLC I help with strategy for aging, or I am often speaking about Solo Aging (among Solos or about Solos) to the general public to help my clients have agency.
There’s a lot of agency out there to be had!
What Do We Want? Agency! When Do We Want it? (Wait – DO we want it?)
The more I learn about agency I look back and reflect upon when I've had it and when I have not. I now realize that during the pandemic part of my unnerving feelings were that I had lost agency, we all had. We were not entirely free to move around our towns and cities. Decisions were being made for us and not by us, and we in America were not used to that.
I distinctly remember how empowering it was to get up in the morning during the pandemic and to make my bed. Mindful that I would and could go nowhere that day, but almost in defiance I felt an odd sense of satisfaction when I made my bed - because I could. I could control that. Slowly we regained our agency and I have become much more of aware of when I have had agency in my life and when I did not.
Recently I was consulting with a financial professional who was describing the challenges encountered by her client. This professional was just coming to understand the solo aging (we’ll call it a) phenomenon and realizing that her new client was a solo ager.
The client, we’ll call her Joyce, had recently had a healthcare scare (a “healthscare”). During that ordeal she had let people sign for her and act on her behalf, people that she didn't really want to perform those functions. In reality Joyce had two revelations: what had transpired during the healthscare, and that she had somehow enabled the wrong team. These folks were friends, and while she had looked to them and counted on them, she was now rethinking this decision. Then came her self-identification, as Joyce realized that she was indeed a solo ager, a person without built-in family as caregivers. Joyce had arrived at the pivotal time that confounds so many. She sensed that she needed to create a team, and she had no idea where to start.
Now, the professional in this story will have this person call me to gain some education and direction as is the bigger part of my work. I will help Joyce to define and gain her agency.
I believe that I have agency now, and that's because I feel like I have my wits about me and I've made good arrangements and decisions. I've come to value being in action, to have my say and my way enough to want to keep that agency. Decisions like building my team (my MicroBoard), and designating an agent or proxy as Healthcare Power of Attorney are ways to help me to do that.
OK, now we know what agency is, and we’ve explored a few examples of it, having it and not, and the familiarity of sensing we don’t have it. How now do we gain or regain agency in our own lives?
My Promise to You
I am going to write a follow up to this segment. This is too important not to cover. I can’t just talk about the What (of agency) and the benefits of having agency; some How To’s are needed here.
Agency, that feeling that we have control over what goes on. Having agency is the true meaning behind my one of my favorite mantras:
We can all have a say about how things will go and where we’ll end up.
What do we want? Agency! When do we want it? Now.
Nancy Ruffner is a patient advocate who provides strategy for aging, healthcare navigation, and solo aging. Nancy consults with clients in a triage fashion, offering one-hour consultations to find a path, gain a deeper understanding of “how stuff works” in eldercare, or to specifically problem-solve. Schedule your 1-Hour session now, without obligation of commitment or continuing costs. nancyruffner.com.