With roles under scrutiny, administrative professionals risk being undervalued or erased, says Lucy Brazier; claim your value before someone else defines it for you
The administrative profession is reaching a breaking point.
I have been publisher of this magazine since 2011, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve seen Assistants taking on more responsibility, more complexity, and more organisational risk, while the roles themselves have remained largely unchanged. Job titles, structures, and career pathways have lagged behind the reality of the work.
2026 is the year that gap becomes impossible to ignore.
This is not because the profession is changing faster than before, but because organisations can no longer afford roles they do not properly understand. In an environment shaped by AI, restructuring, and constant pressure to do more with less, clarity has become the dividing line between influence and invisibility.
By the end of 2026, the experience of being an administrative professional will look very different depending on how clearly the role is defined, positioned, and valued.
The administrative profession is no longer simply adapting. It is reaching a point where clarity becomes essential for credibility, progression, and protection.
The End of Vague Roles
Many administrative professionals have been doing complex, high-level work inside roles that were never properly defined. They manage projects, oversee operations, support governance, adopt new technology, and shape decisions. Yet their job descriptions often still outline a narrow, task-based role.
Titles have not kept pace. Pay structures have not kept pace. Career pathways have not kept pace.
That gap is becoming a serious problem.
In 2026, organisations facing financial pressure, restructuring, and rapid technological change will no longer tolerate roles they do not understand. When work is poorly defined, it becomes easier to undervalue, redesign badly, or remove altogether.
Clarity is no longer optional. It is protection.
Administrative professionals who can clearly explain the scope, level, and value of their work will be far better positioned than those relying on goodwill, loyalty, or informal recognition.
Administrative Professionals as Part of How Organisations Run
One of the most important shifts underway is a growing recognition of where operational knowledge really sits.
It does not live only in leadership teams, systems, or dashboards. It lives with the people who see across the organisation, not just up and down it. The people who understand how decisions land in practice, how priorities collide, and where pressure builds before it becomes visible.
In 2026, well-positioned administrative professionals are no longer treated as “support”. They are increasingly seen as part of the organisation’s operating structure.
This shows up in three clear ways.
First, Assistants are being trusted with work that carries real organisational risk. Board support, governance coordination, programme delivery, and change initiatives are now regularly part of the role. These responsibilities signal trust, not convenience.
Second, more executives are using their Assistants as thinking partners. Not just to manage time, but to test priorities, sense organisational pressure, and avoid preventable issues before they escalate.
Third, Assistants are being asked to improve how work flows. Process design, automation, workflow optimisation, and digital adoption are becoming central responsibilities, not add-ons.
This shift is happening because organisations are more complex than hierarchy alone can manage.
AI Is Not the Threat Many Think It Is
By the end of 2026, the question “Will AI replace Assistants?” will feel outdated.
AI is already replacing parts of work. Tasks like drafting documents, transcribing meetings, sorting information, processing expenses, and making scheduling suggestions are increasingly automated.
What AI cannot replace is judgement, context, emotional intelligence, trust, and decision support.
In organisations that understand the administrative role, AI is being used to remove low-value work and create space for higher-value contribution. In organisations that do not understand the role, AI is often used as a blunt cost-cutting tool, sometimes with damaging results.
The reality is simple. AI is exposing organisations, not Assistants.
Where leaders already understood the value of administrative professionals, AI is accelerating that value. Where leaders never understood the role, AI is being misused.
In 2026, Assistants who can clearly articulate the human and strategic value of their work will thrive. Those who describe their role only in terms of tasks will struggle, because tasks are exactly what technology does best.
Career Progression Is Being Redefined
For decades, progression in the administrative profession was tied to proximity to power. Supporting a more senior executive was often the only visible way to move forward.
That model is starting to break. Not because Assistants lack ambition, but because the structure no longer fits the work.
More administrative professionals now want roles that are not dependent on one individual. Roles that survive leadership change. Roles that make sense to HR and finance. Roles with defined authority, scope, and outcomes.
This is why we are seeing growth in positions such as Head of Business Support, Director of Administration, Executive Operations Lead, and Administrative Business Partner.
These roles are attractive because they are based on capability rather than personality. They sit within organisational structure rather than personal hierarchy. They scale across teams and functions. They offer progression without waiting for someone else to leave.
In 2026, this pathway becomes more established. Senior executive partnership remains a valid and valuable endpoint, but it is no longer the only definition of success.
Experience Is a Strength and a Risk
The administrative profession is rich in experience. Many professionals bring decades of organisational knowledge, judgement, and capability. That depth is a significant strength.
It is also a risk.
Too many organisations rely on experienced Assistants without building a pipeline behind them. Globally, the average age of an Assistant is now 48. Younger talent is not entering the profession in sufficient numbers, partly because the role has been poorly explained, poorly structured, and poorly presented.
In 2026, this becomes impossible to ignore.
Organisations that care about continuity and resilience will have to describe the role accurately. They will need clear pathways, meaningful development, and language that reflects the modern reality of administrative work.
Emotional Intelligence Is Essential
As work becomes more automated, the human side of organisations becomes ever more important.
Administrative professionals sit at the centre of that demand. They manage pressure, navigate politics, absorb emotional spillover, protect leaders, and stabilise teams.
In 2026, emotional intelligence stops being dismissed as a “soft skill”. It becomes a critical capability.
The most valued Assistants will not be the busiest ones. They will be the ones who prevent problems, improve decision quality, and support leaders to operate effectively under pressure.
This work has always existed. What is changing is that organisations are starting to recognise it and find better language to describe it.
What Organisations Must Do in 2026
Organisations that want to retain and benefit from strong administrative professionals will need to make deliberate changes.
Roles must be clearly defined based on level of work, not outdated titles. Workloads must be designed to reflect complexity and responsibility. Progression must not depend on executive promotion. Investment in development, particularly in AI, governance, and strategic skills, must become standard. Leaders and HR teams must be educated on how to use the role well.
None of this is radical. It is simply overdue.
What Administrative Professionals Must Do in 2026
For administrative professionals themselves, 2026 is not about doing more.
It is about being clearer.
Clear about where you add value. Clear about the level you operate at. Clear about what should be automated. Clear about what must remain human. Clear about the future you want, not just the role you are in.
The administrative profession is no longer waiting to be understood or defined by others. It is developing the confidence, language, and structure to define itself.
2026 will be the year Assistants stop asking for recognition and start insisting on proper positioning.
And the organisations that listen will be stronger because of it.
