As most EAs know, AI is changing the way we work faster than most organisations can keep up with. If you ignore that reality, you risk being left behind. But if you engage with it strategically, you can use the AI revolution to make yourself more valuable, not less.
Here are four ways to do exactly that:
- Be an early adopter
The first way to futureproof your career is to get across new technology before everyone else does. Sign up for free trials, join beta tests and experiment with tools that could improve some aspect of your work.
Whether it’s an AI platform that can schedule meetings and automate repetitive processes, a time-auditing tool that helps you manage your exec’s calendar more strategically or something as simple as using Gemini or Siri to set reminders, get your hands on it early.
If you’re not sure where to start, take a course on AI, listen to a podcast about the future of work or ask an AI tool itself for guidance. The point is to be curious and keep moving.
- Develop your emotional intelligence
No matter how capable AI becomes, it will never replicate human connection. Sharpening your emotional intelligence is one of the most future-proof things you can do.
In practice, this means learning to respond to conflict rather than react to it; pausing before you speak, considering the other person’s perspective and choosing your words deliberately. Being intentional with your vocabulary, specific rather than vague, constructive rather than critical. And developing genuine empathy for the people around you.
When organisations are forced to make tough decisions about head count, they look first at productivity and impact. But when two people are equally capable, they will almost always choose the more empathetic one.
- Look for the right problems
EAs have a unique vantage point in any organisation. You see the good, the bad and the ugly – and you have a choice about what you do with that view. You can complain about what’s wrong, or you can identify problems and bring solutions to the table.
The key word is ‘right’. It’s more valuable to suggest the wrong solution to the right problem than to provide a brilliant solution to the wrong one. Start with what keeps your exec up at night. What are they worried about? Where are the friction points? Focus your energy there and you’ll always be solving something that matters.
- Think like a revenue generator
This one surprises people but it’s worth sitting with. If you want to be genuinely indispensable, start thinking about how you can contribute to your organisation’s growth, not just its operations.
Know your organisation’s mission and value proposition well enough to articulate it clearly to someone who’s never heard of it. Think about who in your network could benefit from what your company does. Grow your professional influence in ways that build trust and credibility for the organisation. If your company needs to make cuts, the people who have directly contributed to revenue are the last to go.
The bottom line
You can wait for AI to automate most of your job or you can get ahead of it. Use it to take care of the repetitive, manual work so you’re freed up to focus on the higher-value contributions only you can make.
Gather data on the time and money you’re saving. Build the skills that can’t be automated. Your future is in your hands. Don’t sit on them.
- Jeremy Burrows is the author of The Leader Assistant and host of The Leader Assistant Podcast | leaderassistant.com
