Fifteen Seconds of Boldness: How I Practice Agency for My Well-Being

By Loan Nhu Tran, MPH Policy Student, NYU, School of Global Public Health

How I learned to use my voice

My name is Loan Nhu Tran. Pretend the ‘s’ in ‘swan’ is an ‘l’ – ‘lwan.’ In Vietnamese, my name represents a phoenix, and it symbolizes hope, grace, and rebirth.

Growing up, I was asked a few times: “Why did your parents not give you an American name?”

“I don’t know,” I would respond. Growing up with a name that may be difficult to pronounce has given me a generous amount of patience and a humble nature. It also showed me how small acts of kindness can mean a lot to someone, such as when someone asks, “Hey, how do you pronounce your name?”

Something most people don't know about me is that I was speech-delayed as a toddler. I did not know how to communicate with others, and it was extremely difficult to get me to talk. I could not speak to others in a state of continuous flow. I was unable to maintain a conversation, whether it was a casual lunch or presenting in front of my second-grade class for my animal research project on the fierce Australian dingo. I listened a lot instead. I did not speak up, stand tall, and share bold ideas because I did not think they were worth sharing. Looking back, I realized listening was its own quiet form of agency, and it was something I had not learned to pair with my voice yet.

I overcame this barrier by slowly incorporating agency and staying hopeful in the midst of it all.

What I have learned from listening to colleagues

Too many times, I have heard from my colleagues, other Professionals of Color: “I don't want to bother them,” “I don’t want to make them do extra work,” and “It won’t matter whether or not I talk to them about it.”

But here’s something to think about: If you don't say something, they might not ever know.

No matter how small or big the ask, I try to live by a ‘go big or go home’ mindset. If your workplace is not used to an open-door policy, I encourage you to be bold for 15 seconds, share your concern, and give yourself credit for speaking up. Even if it is not embraced, using your voice is a win itself and reinforces your own sense of agency, resilience, and value.

This is what Dr. Cie Armstead’s Owlservations research, “I Choose to Be Well,” names as agency. Not as a passive trait, but rather as an active process of decision making that helps prepare us in ever-changing conditions. Every time I choose to ask and instead of staying silent, that 15 seconds of boldness is agency in practice.

How I frame my ask intentionally

The moment we label our ask as a ‘complaint,’ we may limit opportunities for growth. I have listened to colleagues talk themselves out of sharing their concerns several times. They seem to give up on asking for a short conversation well before they even tried getting their foot in the door. Reframing our concerns – not as a burden and inconvenience, but rather as curiosity and innovation – changes how these moments of agency are interpreted. Why do we think someone will turn us down before we ask? Should questions not be welcomed with open arms? The time we spend deciding whether we should pursue ‘choice A,’ ‘choice B,’ or circle back to people outside the field of expertise could be better spent asking the person involved directly. This is where listening also comes into play. Listening first and allowing myself to process information first and foremost, has helped me tremendously in navigating my next steps. It can be easy to react in a certain way you think a person might expect you to, but it is just as important to sit, reflect, and respond in a way that is truly authentic and intentional for your own well-being.

As someone who had difficulty in speaking up and learned later in life how to use my voice, I have leaned on agency for most of my life. But the report shared something I do not hear often: “agency supports well-being, but sustainable well-being requires conditions that do not rely on agency alone.” Speaking up for myself, listening before responding, and choosing how to intentionally move on has carried me far and toward a path I did not know was possible. I hope others feel inspired to practice agency and start doing so by taking that initial leap of faith.

I'd give my highest recommendation for any Professional of Color—or any leader—curious about agency to look at Dr. Cie Armstead's research through Owlservations, "I Choose to Be Well." The information presented is an invaluable resource and a helpful guide for aspiring leaders to fully lean into building an authentic and fulfilling career.

“A leader should never shrink themselves to fit into a box. And instead, take up as much space as they can to grow and share bold ideas.”

– Manny Ramirez, MPA at NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service