Executive assistant training is a practical program for EAs, office coordinators and chief-of-staff support teams who work with senior leaders. It covers calendar strategy, inbox triage, briefing notes, follow-up trackers, writing on a leader's behalf, gatekeeping, discretion, travel and events, and drafting with an AI assistant. Bodhih designs it with ADDIE and customises it.
- Recommended: 2 days in person, or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 60-day follow-up
- Level: Intermediate · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: executive assistant course, EA training program, training for executive assistants, personal assistant training for CXOs
Where and how: executive assistant training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed by Siddharthan VGJ, Founder · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why the EA role has outgrown the diary
In a Bengaluru GCC or a Dubai family business, the executive assistant now decides which meetings reach the leader, which emails can wait and which visitor gets ten minutes. Those are judgement calls, yet most EAs learnt them by watching a predecessor.
AI assistants now draft replies and summarise long threads in seconds, which raises the stakes on tone, accuracy and discretion. Executive assistant training gives EAs a shared method for work that carries a leader's name, so speed never costs trust.
LinkedIn names executive and stakeholder communication and public speaking among fast-growing skills for 2026.
85% of employers plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce.
What participants will be able to do
Run the calendar as a strategy tool
Shape the leader's week around their priorities, protect thinking time and decline or reshape meetings with a clear reason.
Triage an inbox in minutes
Sort a leader's inbox into act, delegate, brief and file, and send holding replies that buy time politely.
Build briefing packs leaders read
Produce a one-page briefing note and meeting pack covering purpose, attendees, history, asks and risks.
Write in the leader's voice
Draft emails and messages on a leader's behalf that fit their tone, seniority and relationship with each reader.
Guard access with grace
Handle senior colleagues, vendors and walk-ins who want the leader's time, saying not now without souring the relationship.
Use AI assistants with care
Draft and summarise with an AI assistant, then check facts, tone and confidential details before anything leaves the desk.
Who should attend
- Executive assistants and personal assistants supporting CXOs, managing directors and founders
- Office coordinators and secretaries in family businesses and mid-size firms
- Support teams around a chief of staff or a leadership office in a GCC
- EAs who now support two or three senior leaders at once
- Administrative professionals preparing to step into an EA role
- Gulf-based EAs juggling travel and visitors across the Middle East, India and Europe
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01The leader's week as a strategic assetModule 1 · 2 hours+
- Mapping the leader's priorities onto a weekly template
- Protected blocks for thinking, travel buffers and one-on-ones
- Rules for accepting, shortening, delegating or declining meetings
- Resolving a clash between two senior requests
02Inbox triage and follow-up trackersModule 2 · 2 hours+
- A four-way sort: act, delegate, brief, file
- Holding replies and polite chasers that get answers
- One tracker for actions from every meeting
- Timed drill on a realistic leader inbox
03Briefing notes and meeting packsModule 3 · 90 min+
- What a leader needs ten minutes before a meeting
- The one-page note: purpose, people, history, asks, risks
- Assembling and version-checking a meeting pack
- Action notes that close loops
04Writing and speaking for the leaderModule 4 · 90 min+
- Matching tone to the leader and the reader
- Messages to board members, clients and the wider team
- Phone and front-desk lines for difficult callers
- Knowing when to escalate rather than reply
05Gatekeeping, discretion and confidentialityModule 5 · 90 min+
- Handling senior people who insist on time now
- Discretion with salary, deal and people information
- What never goes into a group chat or an AI tool
- Role-play: the persistent vendor and the impatient manager
06Travel, events and AI-assisted workflowsModule 6 · 2 hours+
- Itineraries with buffers, contacts and a plan B
- Running offsites and leadership visits
- Drafting, summarising and comparing options with an AI assistant
- Checking AI output for facts, tone and private data
Sample training plan: 2-day hands-on design
This two-day design puts EAs at a realistic leader's desk and keeps them there. Participants redesign a real week from their leader's calendar, clear a crowded inbox against the clock and build one tracker for every action. Day 2 covers briefing notes, writing in the leader's voice, gatekeeping role-plays and drafting with an AI assistant. The capstone is a full day compressed into an hour while the leader is in the air. Each EA leaves with a working agreement to discuss with their leader.
Participants can rebuild a leader's week, clear an inbox under time pressure and track every open action in one place.
- 09:30–10:00The ninety-second deskEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Whose week is it?Diagnostic
- 11:15–12:30Redesign the leader's weekBuild sprint
- 13:15–14:45Inbox in-traySimulation
- 15:00–16:15Chasers that get answersSkill drill
- 16:15–17:30One tracker for every actionBuild sprint
Participants can brief a leader in a page, write in their voice, guard access with tact and use an AI assistant safely.
- 09:30–10:30The ten-minute briefing noteCase clinic
- 10:45–12:00Writing in the leader's voiceSkill drill
- 12:00–13:00The gateRole-play
- 13:45–15:00Draft, check, sendHands-on lab
- 15:15–16:30Capstone: the leader is in the airSimulation
- 16:30–17:30The leader handshakeAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 2 days in person (09:30–17:30 each day), or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 60-day follow-up with each EA's leader. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is executive assistant training?
The recommended design is two full days in person, or four live virtual sessions of three hours, followed by a 60-day application period with leader check-ins. A one-day refresher is available for experienced EAs.
What activities are included in executive assistant training?
EAs audit and redesign a real leader's week, clear a 40-message inbox under time pressure, build a follow-up tracker, write briefing notes and messages in the leader's voice, rehearse gatekeeping and check AI drafts, ending with a six-hour leader-unreachable simulation.
How we deliver it
Live-desk simulations
Participants work a realistic leader's inbox, calendar and phone queue against the clock, with clashing requests built in.
Bring your own week
Each EA brings an anonymised week from their leader's calendar and redesigns it during the program.
Voice-matching drills
Pairs swap draft emails and judge whether each one sounds like the leader, the EA or nobody in particular.
Leader handshake
A short guide helps each EA agree working rules with their leader afterwards, from response times to which decisions the EA can take alone.
Tailored versions
For GCC leadership offices
Adds time-zone calendar planning, visits from global leaders and support for executives who report to headquarters overseas.
For family businesses and founders
Covers blending business and personal requests, handling relatives and long-standing partners, and bringing order to an informal office.
For EA teams supporting several leaders
Shared calendars, handovers between EAs and a common tracker, so no leader's request falls through the gap during leave or travel.
How we measure impact
We apply the Evaluate stage of ADDIE from the start. Before the program, EAs take three AssessAll assessments: Executive Assistant & Office Coordination Judgment, Inbox In-Tray — Interactive, and Planning & Prioritisation — Interactive. They retake the same pre/post set after 90 days so change is visible. Leaders hold short check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days on calendar quality, follow-up closure and how often they walk into meetings unprepared.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is executive assistant training?
Executive assistant training is a skills program for people who run a senior leader's time, communication and logistics. It covers calendar strategy, inbox triage, briefing notes, follow-up tracking, writing on the leader's behalf, gatekeeping and discretion, plus safe use of AI assistants. Bodhih runs it as a hands-on workshop built around a realistic leader's desk.
What skills should an executive assistant have in 2026?
Beyond organisation, today's EA needs judgement about priorities, crisp writing in someone else's voice, calm handling of senior people and the ability to brief a leader in a page. Working well with AI tools is now part of the job too: knowing what to draft with them, what to check and what never to paste in.
How long is the executive assistant training program?
The recommended design is two days in person or four live virtual sessions of three hours each, followed by a 60-day application period with leader check-ins. The final design is customised after a short conversation with HR and two or three leaders.
How do executive assistants manage a CEO's calendar?
Start from the leader's priorities, not incoming requests. A good EA blocks time for thinking, travel and key people first, then fits meetings around those blocks using clear rules for accepting, shortening, delegating or declining. In the program, each EA redesigns a real week from their own leader's calendar and tests it with a peer.
Can executive assistants use AI tools safely at work?
Yes, with clear limits. An AI assistant can draft replies, summarise long threads and compare travel options quickly. The EA still checks every fact, adjusts the tone to the leader and keeps salary, deal and personal details out of tools the organisation has not approved.
How does an EA say no to senior people politely?
Offer a better option rather than a flat refusal: a shorter slot, a later date, a written update or another person who can decide. Give a brief reason linked to the leader's priorities. The program includes role-plays with a persistent vendor, an impatient manager and a board member's office, so EAs rehearse the exact words.
Is executive assistant training available online or in Dubai?
Yes. The live virtual version runs as four three-hour sessions with breakout drills on shared inboxes and calendars. For in-person delivery in Dubai, Riyadh or anywhere across Bodhih's seven delivery regions, master trainers travel from Bengaluru. Since 2008 Bodhih has worked with more than 2,000 companies and adapts examples to local business culture.
How is this different from time management or business writing courses?
Those courses help people manage their own time and writing. This program is about managing someone else's: protecting a leader's week, writing in their voice and deciding who gets access. It pulls calendar, inbox, briefing and gatekeeping skills into one role-specific design.