Every January, professionals are encouraged to begin again. New goals are set, habits are mapped out, and resolutions are declared with the best of intentions. Yet for Personal and Executive Assistants working at the centre of organisations, this approach can sometimes feel disconnected from reality. The work is fast-moving, priorities shift constantly, and success is rarely the result of completing a fixed list of tasks. Growth in this profession is layered, contextual, and deeply human.
Rather than relying on rigid resolutions, many of the most successful Assistants take a different approach. They choose a theme to guide the year ahead. A theme is not a target to be achieved or a habit to be maintained. It’s a focused lens through which decisions are made, behaviours are shaped, and professional identity is strengthened. Where resolutions focus on outcomes, themes focus on intention and direction.
Choosing a theme begins with reflection rather than ambition. Instead of asking what more you should do, it is far more effective to consider how you want to show up. What felt misaligned or underdeveloped in the past year? Where did you feel most confident, and where did you hold back? A strong theme often sits at the intersection of capability and aspiration, building on existing strengths while deliberately stretching you into the next version of your role.
Once identified, a theme should be simple, memorable, and personally resonant. It may be a single word such as authority, confidence, or clarity, or a short phrase that captures a way of working, such as leading with intention or operating at executive level. The purpose of a theme is not to impress others, but to provide a quiet internal compass that you can return to throughout the year.
A quick cheat sheet to set your theme
If you want an easy, practical way to choose your theme, this process works well and takes less time than most people expect:
- Start with one sentence: “This year I want to be known for…” and write the first honest answer that comes to mind.
- Identify the gap: What would need to change for that sentence to become true? (Confidence, boundaries, influence, visibility, mastery, leadership presence, etc.)
- Choose your direction: Pick one word that captures the shift, or a short phrase if one word feels too limiting.
- Define it clearly: Write a simple statement such as “My theme is ____ and it means I will ____.”
- Choose three behaviours: List three repeatable actions you can do weekly that bring the theme to life.
- Add one boundary: Decide what you will say no to this year because it conflicts with your theme.
- Create a reminder: Put the theme where you will see it during planning (notes app, diary, desktop, weekly template).
A theme works best when it is clear enough to guide daily decisions, realistic enough to sustain under pressure, and specific enough to be actionable.
To ensure a theme supports sustained professional growth rather than becoming a forgotten idea, it is helpful to sense-check it carefully. A strong theme should be clear enough to articulate in one sentence, relevant to the realities of your role, and capable of stretching you without feeling performative or unrealistic. Most importantly, it should be something you can actively embody through your behaviour, regardless of circumstances outside your control.
A well-chosen theme brings clarity without constraint. It creates a consistent reference point, helping Assistants navigate competing demands while remaining aligned with the kind of professional they want to become. In roles that require judgement, discretion, and influence, this alignment quietly shapes how you communicate with senior stakeholders, how you respond under pressure, and how you position yourself within the organisation.
In practice, a theme becomes meaningful through behaviour. An Assistant who chooses a theme centred on authority may begin preparing more assertively for meetings, offering recommendations rather than simply presenting options, and taking ownership of decisions within their remit. A theme focused on visibility may translate into more intentional relationship-building, confident contributions in meetings, and a clearer articulation of value. A theme such as mastery may show up through deeper skill development, refined processes, or becoming the trusted expert in a critical area of the business.
For more senior Assistants, Executive Assistants, and Chiefs of Staff, themes often reflect scale and influence. A theme such as strategic partnership may guide how closely one works with executive leadership, shifting from task execution to thought partnership. A theme of enterprise thinking may encourage broader commercial awareness, stronger cross-functional alignment, and decision-making with organisational impact in mind. A theme centred on leadership presence may shape how an Assistant holds space in high-stakes environments, manages complex relationships, and leads through calm, clarity, and credibility.
These changes are rarely immediate or dramatic. However, when reinforced through small, intentional choices, they compound. Returning to your theme during weekly planning, using it as a filter for decisions, and reflecting on it at regular intervals helps embed it into everyday practice. Over time, a theme begins to shape professional reputation, confidence, and influence in ways that are subtle but enduring.
The strength of a theme lies in its resilience. Unlike resolutions, which depend heavily on discipline and favourable conditions, a theme adapts as circumstances change. It allows ambition without rigidity and progress without unnecessary pressure. This flexibility is particularly valuable in assistant roles, where emotional intelligence, situational awareness, and sound judgement are just as critical as productivity.
As the year begins, the most useful question may not be what you want to achieve, but how you want to be known by the end of it. What reputation are you building? What standard are you reinforcing through your daily actions? Choosing a theme offers a considered and sustainable way to answer those questions and to shape the year ahead with intention.
Our Theme for 2026: BIG
As we look ahead to 2026, we are stepping into the year with a clear theme: BIG.
BIG reflects more than ambition. It marks a milestone. In 2026, The Assistant Room turns ten. A decade of advocacy, professional development, and community-building deserves to be acknowledged with confidence and scale.
Over the past four years, our focus has been intentional and foundational. We have invested in growing and developing our club membership, strengthening the community, refining our offering, and ensuring that what we build genuinely serves the Personal and Executive Assistant profession. That work has required patience, consistency, and a long-term view.
Now, we are ready to go BIG.
BIG means expanding our presence, our voice, and our impact. It means saying yes to opportunity, thinking more boldly about partnerships, platforms, and in-person experiences, and ensuring the industry knows who we are, what we do, and why it matters. It means stepping fully into visibility, not for attention, but for advocacy.
As we grow, so does our responsibility. Going BIG is not about noise for the sake of it. It is about raising standards, creating meaningful opportunities, and championing this profession with the credibility and respect it deserves. BIG will guide our decisions, our investments, and our direction as we enter our tenth year.
Ten years in, we are just getting started.