We need a reset.
My feed is full of understandable frustration about how hard this profession can feel. The lack of recognition. The inconsistency. The way your role expands without the title, the support, or the salary catching up. None of that is imagined. It is real. I see it every day.
But the reality is that complaining has never been the thing that changes things. We are.
Every shift in this profession has come from assistants who decided enough was enough. Who pushed for change. Who chose to invest in themselves. Who asked for clarity. Who pushed for structure. Who set boundaries. Who built capability. Who walked away from toxic leaders. Who pushed for the rebrand of our profession within their companies. Who fought for fair pay. Who showed their organisations what empowered administrative support could look like. Who insisted that their role be treated as the business-critical work it is.
Nothing moves until we do.
The world is not going to wake up one morning and suddenly understand your value. HR will not magically create career pathways without data and pressure. Executives will not rewrite job descriptions because they feel generous. Change comes because we make it impossible to ignore what excellence looks like.
So if you want the profession to change, start with you.
Build the skills that give you choice.
Ask for the development you deserve.
Stop accepting titles that do not match the work.
Speak up when the workload is overwhelming.
Hold the line on what partnership really means.
And surround yourself with people who are moving forward.
You are not powerless. You are the profession.
And if we want better, we cannot just talk about the problem.
We must become the generation that transforms it.
Your future deserves that.
And so do the assistants coming behind you.
