Cate Hall shares powerful insights on developing agency—the ability to make things happen despite obstacles and social discomfort.
What is Agency
Agency is not an inherent trait; it is a skill that can be developed. Cate has demonstrated this across multiple domains:
- Supreme Court advocate
- Number one female poker player in the world
- Co-founded Alvea, a pandemic medicine company that set the record for fastest startup to clinical trials
- Started art and perfume companies
Key Strategies
1. Court Rejection
Ask for things that feel unreasonable. If you are only asking for things you get, you are not aiming high enough.
I sent an email recently that I would not have dared try a few years ago. The response was crickets. But a similar pitch to someone else put us on a path to start a new organization together.
2. Seek Real Feedback
Create anonymous feedback channels. Cate has a link in her Twitter bio and receives valuable input weekly.
3. Increase Your Surface Area for Luck
Cate is best collaborations came from meetings booked almost at random. Predicted usefulness is a poor proxy for actual usefulness.
4. Assume Everything is Learnable
Most traits people treat as fixed—confidence, charisma, warmth—are actually learnable with the same effort as any other skill.
5. Embrace the Moat of Low Status
Crossing the moat of low status—being bad at something while learning—is essential for growth.
6. Do not Work Too Hard
This might be the most important item. Burnout is the ultimate agency-killer.
The Bottom Line
Agency is the skill that built the world around you, an all-purpose life intensifier.