Beth Biersdorf

By Beth Biersdorf The meeting ends on time. The client leaves knowing what happens next. Your executive has the information she needs before anyone asks for it. An ordinary Tuesday, apparently. But you know what went into it. You noticed that the agenda promised a decision the team wasn't ready to make. You checked with the person whose input was missing. You helped change the conversation before a roomful of people spent an hour talking past one another. The calendar entry won't tell that...

As AI changes how we work, the most valuable skills Executive and Virtual Assistants bring may be the distinctly human ones: judgment, trust, intuition, empathy, context and connection.

The "yes" is out of your mouth before you've even checked whether you have room for it. The message comes in — a new task, a favor, a "quick" ask you already know isn't quick — and something in you answers before your calendar, your energy, or your better judgment gets a vote. By the time you realize what you've agreed to, backing out feels worse than just absorbing it. So you absorb it. Again. If you read that and felt a little seen and a little called out, you're in the right place. This...