Human Agency in Organisations: Why Capability Alone Doesn’t Create Performance

When organisational performance starts to slip, we usually look for visible causes.

Process.

Capability.

Communication.

Resources.

Sometimes those things matter.

But increasingly, I’ve found the real issue often sits somewhere deeper.

People stop taking initiative.

They wait for permission.

They avoid difficult conversations.

They become cautious where they were once proactive.

The symptoms show up as performance problems.

But performance may not be the problem at all.

The question worth asking is:

What changed in the environment that made people feel less able, willing or responsible for acting?

Because organisations don’t improve simply because people know what to do.

They improve when people believe their actions matter.

And when that belief weakens, performance usually follows.

Perhaps some performance problems are really agency problems in disguise.

Related Articles:

Structure Creates Potential. People Create Outcomes: Why Organisational Performance Depends on Human Judgement

For Years I Thought the Answer Was in the Structure: What I Learned About Culture, Responsibility and Performance