This issue explores the push and pull within the Assistant role: how to be helpful while protecting your boundaries; how to retain your humanity when using AI; how to be more visible in your role when some of your best work takes place behind the scenes. These tensions may never be resolved, but they can be managed to reduce the uncertainty.
Both Julia Schmidt and Glynis E Devine highlight the importance of mapping your work to your organisation’s goals and outcomes. This paves the way for intentional learning: learning directed towards your organisation’s needs. You can explore both technology and human skills in this way and make a strong case for financial investment and managerial support. You can raise your visibility and increase your long-term professional value in your current role whilst setting yourself up for success in the next.
Many of these articles ask challenging questions, and the answers will be different for each person. Take time to sit with your answers. Your unique abilities, strengthened by experience, allow you to build relationships, exercise judgement, and take ownership of your decisions. My hope is that by reflecting on your answers, you will gain confidence in yourself and the future of the role and better articulate the value you bring to your organisation.
