Why do some people have a unstoppable drive to make the world a better place?

I've worked with several nonprofits and been part of several activist groups and movements, and read countless books about social and environmental change. Based on my experience, I've observed that social change leaders have two strong qualities:

• Empathy

• Agency

Empathy

Empathy: Noun. The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Empathy is the essential human trait that makes you have compassion for the feelings and needs of others.

People with strong empathy are intrinsically motivated to help others. You need a strong sense of empathy to be an activist, organiser, social entrepreneur or any kind of leader trying to enact social change. Otherwise, you just won't care enough.

Agency

Agency: Noun. The ability to take action or to choose what action to take.

To have a strong sense of agency is to have confidence in your ability to control your life and have an effect on the world around you.

Believing you can make a difference is an essential part of making a difference. Otherwise you won't be motivated enough to push against the status quo.

Why you need both

People who have strong empathy but weak agency care a lot about the state of the world, but they don't believe much can be done, at least not by them.

People who have strong agency but low empathy are likely to be successful and impactful, but won't dedicate themselves to social causes.

Can we cultivate these qualities?

What gives people a high sense of empathy and agency, and how can we develop them?