The AI Skill Your Company Needs Most Is Agency

Why It Matters

When leaders foster agency, AI becomes a productivity lever rather than a threat, accelerating performance and talent retention across the enterprise.

Key Takeaways

• 60% of U.S. workers fear AI will cut more jobs
• Generative AI users report higher pay, job security, and productivity
• Cultivating agency lets employees turn AI tools into strategic advantage
• Start with a single repetitive task to pilot AI automation

Pulse Analysis

AI anxiety is now a leadership priority. A recent Resume Now poll found that six‑in‑ten U.S. employees expect AI to erase more jobs than it creates, while PwC’s Global Workforce Survey shows the opposite for those who use generative AI daily—higher wages, tighter job security, and boosted output. The disconnect highlights that fear stems from an abstract view of AI, not from concrete experiences of efficiency gains. Companies that ignore this cultural gap risk talent disengagement and slower technology uptake.

The missing piece is agency, the capacity for individuals to act intentionally with AI. When workers understand how AI can automate mundane tasks—like extracting bill‑of‑materials from blueprints—they shift from fearing a Terminator scenario to seeing a productivity partner. Agency fuels curiosity, experimentation, and rapid problem‑solving, narrowing the divide between self‑starters and those who wait for direction. In a post‑COVID remote world, this mindset gap has widened, and AI accelerates it further.

Leaders can close the gap with a simple, repeatable process. Identify a repetitive, low‑value task, map its steps, and test an AI solution such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Deploy the prototype, set guardrails, and showcase the time saved to the broader team. This visible win replaces memo‑driven rollouts with tangible results, prompting employees to ask, “What else can we improve?” By embedding agency through focused training and quick wins, firms transform AI from a perceived threat into a strategic advantage, positioning themselves for the 78 million new jobs projected by the World Economic Forum for 2030.