#350: Polly Todd on Being an EA Contractor in the Corporate World

Polly Todd has been a dedicated Senior Executive Assistant with over 20 years of experience, as a long term contractor, at a large financial institution.

In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Polly shares her story of being a contractor in the corporate world, the challenges that come with it, growing confidence, and how to onboard a new executive.

Show Notes -> leaderassistant.com/350

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Transcript

Polly Todd:
Hello, my name is Polly Todd and my quote of the day is, the greatest leader is not necessarily the one that does the greatest things, it usually is the one that makes his or her team great. And this is a quote that I heard at a town hall that we had a few years back and it struck a chord with me because at that time I think I was working for one of the greatest leaders in my company at the time.

Intro: The Leader Assistant podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.

Jeremy Burrows: Hey friends, welcome to the Leader Assistant podcast. It's your host, Jeremy Burrows, and this is episode 350. You can check out the show notes for this conversation at leaderassistant.com slash 350 leaderassistant.com slash 350. And today I'm excited to be speaking with Polly Todd. Polly has been a dedicated senior executive assistant with over 20 years of experience as a long term contractor at a very large financial institution. So we're going to get into that whole experience for Polly. And yeah, we'll jump in here. Polly, welcome to the show. Tell us what part of the world you're in, and maybe what you like to do when you're not working.

Polly Todd: Sure. So my name is Polly, Polly Todd. I live in the heart of London. And when I'm not working, I horse ride, I love photography, and I love taking out or doing something special with my great nieces and nephews. So there's always something that I'm busy doing. And I love hiking too. During lockdown I created a group, siblings group, with my brothers and my sisters and my in-laws and every so often now we find a place in the UK and we hike and that's a lovely way of us all getting together and I love it, I love the outdoors, so that's me in a nutshell.

Jeremy Burrows: Awesome. Awesome. Do you like the rigorous, like, steep hikes or the more elevation is about the same the whole hike and you're just kind of… Elevation is about the same because I don't like the hike hikes that my brothers do.

Polly Todd: But not so much me and not so much my sister, but I just love the outdoors. And I discovered more of the outdoors during COVID really because I drive everywhere. But yeah, I love it. We do it. We do it twice a year. And I love it.

Jeremy Burrows: Yeah. Awesome. Awesome.

Jeremy Burrows: Well, super excited to have you on the show and chat a little about your story. Tell us how you got into the assistant role originally.

Polly Todd: So originally I worked in HR and recruitment, and that's something I decided I didn't really like. And then I got the opportunity to work for this large financial institution in London, and its head office is based in New York. to work for someone as a contractor and I worked for her for six months and then I created in that time a limited company and then I realized that I could make a living and a career out of staying within this organization and moving around and working for all the different senior executives that would fly in, work in London for like two years or a year, and I would look after them. So I created this role as a self-employed person, hence why I've called it a contractor permanent person. And I've been there for like 21 years doing that and moving around for senior people. So that's how it started and that's how it ended. So I was unique in a way because there were no others like me who spent that long in that kind of position as I did.

Jeremy Burrows: Wow. So the whole time you were a contractor, but you changed executives pretty frequently?

Polly Todd: Yes. So initially it wasn't pretty frequently because I'd work with one person for a year or another for two years, another for three years and stay within that contract because they would come into London, work in London for three years and they'd go back to New York or wherever in the US they were based. But it wasn't. Well, I guess it was frequent, because I worked for quite a lot of senior executives, quite a lot. And you get to know every one of them, and their personalities, etc. Yeah, yeah. Different.

Jeremy Burrows: Wow. Yeah. So did you have to re-up or renegotiate your contract every time, every time a different executive would kind of cycle in and out?

Polly Todd: Yes, I did. And that was the good thing about it, because you work with senior people, you can command quite a decent rate with them and agree at a decent rate, rather than command it, but agree to it. So that happened a lot. And again, with contractors, you don't get the holidays, you don't get sick pay, you don't get all of that. And in some cases, I was able to negotiate that into my contract. So I was fortunate, I guess, in some ways. to be able to do that. I guess it depended on the seniority, though, of the executive at the time.

Jeremy Burrows: Gotcha.

Polly Todd: Yeah.

Jeremy Burrows: So any tips on negotiating or asking for, you know, what you want or what you deserve?

Polly Todd: Yeah, I think if you don't ask, you don't get. And if they really want you, they will, you know, they'll make it work or they'll make it happen for you. And that's happened in cases because I was word of mouth sometimes. And so, you know, before the executive would come into London, someone would recommend that I work for him or her. And then we'd talk about what I want to get out of it. And they'd make it work. So I think it is. Yeah, agreeing and negotiating. And if you don't ask, you don't get and whatever you ask for, you can work around it if they don't agree. So you walk away feeling happy. And I and that's happened to me on most occasions.

Jeremy Burrows: Yeah, were there times when they would try to convert you to a full time employee or in you know, how did that go? And did you resist it?

Polly Todd: Yeah, well, actually one of the guys who I got on very well with, he had moved into the exec role. He was promoted and I was there in that role anyway, so he inherited me. And we got on really well. And I helped him out of two sticky situations, and I never forgot that. And I think he never forgot that. So he asked me, and he said, I'm going to be getting rid of people in the team. And me as a contractor probably wouldn't look great if he kept me and got rid of permanent people. So he tried to talk me into being permanent, and I agreed. And we, yeah, became permanent for nine months because then he had to move to Florida. So yeah, that happened. So that was probably the one and only time that I became permanent only because I felt that I had to and I never did it again.

Jeremy Burrows: Yeah. Yeah.

Polly Todd: I never opted for that option again.

Jeremy Burrows: Did you see a lot of, because I know a lot of assistants in large organizations that's kind of, Microsoft for example, I know several assistants that worked at Microsoft and they seem like you almost had to get a contractor role, a temp contractor role first. to get in, prove your worth or whatever. And then they would hopefully find a full time role and they'd convert to full time. Did you see that a lot in your organization as well? 

Polly Todd: Yes, yes, that happened a lot. It happened a lot, actually. But specifically, I had other things that I was interested in outside. So, between contracts, I'd go away and do whatever I needed to do and then I'd get called back to take on a contract. So, I did have breaks in between those contracts. It wasn't completely 21 years of constantly working for this company. I did have breaks and I enjoyed those breaks because I wanted to be able to do my other outside activities. But yes, I did see people being contractors and then becoming permanent a lot there.

Jeremy Burrows: What was maybe your longest break?

Polly Todd: Longest break was a year.

Jeremy Burrows: Okay. And did you do your photography or travel or both? Travel?

Polly Todd: Yeah, lots of travel, photography, and just doing me, I think, which I enjoy doing, things I enjoy doing. Yeah, I just did whatever I found that I wanted to do. I did it and enjoyed my existence, really, because it's not all about work. For me, anyway, it's not. You need to kind of find time to just enjoy living. And yeah, I did that a lot. So that's why this kind of unique role applied to me, because I enjoyed how it panned out, really.

Jeremy Burrows: So did you ever have doubts or fear that you wouldn't get called back? You know what I mean? Like you took those breaks?

Polly Todd: No, I didn't. I have a lot of great networking groups there. So no, I didn't have that fear at all. Not at all. I knew eventually I'd get called back. And in one case, somebody reached out to me, somebody who worked at that corporate and then moved on to another almost similar company and asked if I could look after her or support her in her new role in the new company. And I did go across and I worked for her for about eight months and then she wanted someone permanent and I didn't want to do that. So again, the same thing applies. So I left and the permanent person took over.

Jeremy Burrows: Wow, because I imagine a lot of people listening are like, oh, that's just too much stress or too much anxiety to not have that steady income or to wonder if you're going to get another contract.

Polly Todd: I've heard that before. A lot, actually. And I think for me, because I didn't have an immediate family, like children to worry about. I probably paid off my house by then. And so I didn't have to worry about that. But I understand where people come from because I've heard that a lot, even my own friends. How can you do this and how do you feel comfortable? Do you not have that fear? And no, no, I didn't. I think confidence played a big part of it as well, I think.

Jeremy Burrows: Yeah, I mean, it's got to be, you got to have a lot of confidence in one to ask for, you know, more money or more time off or whatever to negotiate these contracts consistently. But then yeah, as well, trying to take time off and travel and do your own thing and then having the confidence that you can get back in and jump right back in and get going and help the next executive. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, since you cycled in and out of different contracts and different executives frequently, what's maybe your best tip for onboarding a new executive, you know, like, jumping off on the right foot with that new executive?

Polly Todd: Just tell us my best tip. I get to understand them. For instance, one of the first executives, I asked her what kind of coffee she liked, and she liked a Starbucks latte, and so did I. So what I would do, my best tip was always to bring her one in the mornings. And that's how we became quite good friends as well as executive and EA. But my best tip was really to understand them, understand how they operate, understand how they work. You get into their heads and so you can be like one step ahead of them all the time, I think. And because it is the EA that helps to make the executive who they are. So it is important to understand how they operate, I think. I think that's right.

Jeremy Burrows: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I kind of like that. I like that. Because some people say, well, I'm not going to get coffee for my executive. I'm not, I'm more than that, whatever. But it's like, but it's like, the way you said, it's like the relationship building the camaraderie, you know, the connection and allows you to build that trust and, yeah, and be able to open up, you know, kind of an icebreaker for those strategic conversations.

Polly Todd: Yeah, that's right. And I always ask them actually, what keeps them, somebody once told me, it's always a good icebreaker to ask them what keeps them up at night. What keeps you up at night and then work with them with whatever keeps them up at night. And some people go, well, nothing. I kind of dismiss it. And there are others that will tell you that they think about certain things and that's what keeps them up at night. And you work with them with that. Once you know that's what their problem is, you work with them. And I found that works for me or worked for me. Yeah. It's a good icebreaker.

Jeremy Burrows: So what were the biggest challenges being a contractor over the years? What are a couple of the things that were the most difficult in your role?

Polly Todd: The difficult one, if you're being micromanaged, and in one role I was, and I found that quite hard because when you're micromanaged or managed, it makes you feel like you're doing something wrong constantly. And when you've got that person constantly watching how you operate, you can lose confidence. And I felt that in one of the roles that I've had. So I found that to be a challenge. But I also learned from it. So yeah, being life-managed. And I'm sure most assistants would probably feel they've had that in their lives at one time or another. But I found that in my 20 years for the one person that I worked for in that time. That made me feel somehow inadequate.

Jeremy Burrows: Right. Yeah. How did you navigate it? Like, what was your, you know, was it something that you just kind of had to manage?

Polly Todd: I think I put up with it because it was a role that was nine months. Yeah, I kind of worked my way through those nine months and just left and moved on to work for somebody else. So, yeah.

Jeremy Burrows: Well, I guess that's one of the challenges, but also one of the benefits of being a contractor. You're like, you know what? It's only nine months. If I can survive nine months, I'm good.

Polly Todd: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

Jeremy Burrows: Nice. Well, what, uh, any, any other tips on, you know, on that confidence that you built over your career and how assistants listening that are struggling with confidence and want to grow their confidence? Any tips on how to be a more confident assistant?

Polly Todd: Um, that's a good question. Actually, I think for me, it was over years that I became a very confident assistant. And I guess during that time, in some cases, I didn't put up with nonsense. And I'll give you an example of that. I was tasked to work for a very senior guy who came over from Rome for a year. And he had a very, he was eclectic, but he had a very kind of, He's Italian, so the way he spoke can sometimes be a little bit demeaning. And I remember he came over and he shouted at me one day. He didn't know how to turn on his laptop. He didn't know anything. He knew his job. He just didn't know the other things like, how do you turn the laptop on? How do you do this? How do you do that? But he shouted one day and I thought, no, I'm not having that. But I went away, slept on it, came back the next morning and the first thing I did was say, can I have a word? And we sat in an office and we spoke about it and he said, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, but being Italian, sometimes my voice is outlandish, it's loud, and it's this and it's that. And I know it's an excuse, but I have to apologize. And after that, I mean, life with him was quite something. Working with him was quite something, because I didn't want him to think I was a pushover. I didn't want him to think that he could come in there and start shouting like that at an assistant. And that's happened more than once to me in that company. But I've always learned. or been taught to nip it in the bud before it gets worse. And I did that and it worked. And that is about having confidence. And I think having confidence means speaking to your leader when you do feel that you need to. Yeah. Yeah. Or if you've got peers, speak to your peers on how to manage certain things or manage certain situations. I've done that a lot. I've seen that happen a lot in my time. Speak to your peers.

Jeremy Burrows: Yeah. So it's kind of, it's like, you know what you're, you know what you need to do. Yes. You know, you need to say something, you know, it's not right, whatever. Yeah. Just having that, having that courage to say it and speak up instead of letting it fester.

Polly Todd: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

Jeremy Burrows: Awesome, Polly. Well, this has been a great conversation. I really appreciate you taking time to be on the show. Is there any last words or anything you want to share with the citizens of the world?

Polly Todd: Yeah, just keep doing what you're doing. Because as an assistant all those years, I know what it's like sometimes. You have good days, bad days. Sometimes assistants end up in tears for some reason or another. But it's a hard world for us out there, actually. It really is. And I think the art is to get to know your leader, understand how he or she works or operates, And it really is sometimes thinking ahead and thinking for them and being, what's the word, in sync with your leader, because that helps a lot, I think, in my experience.

Jeremy Burrows: Well said, Polly. Thank you so much. Is there a good place for people to reach out and connect if they want to say hi?

Polly Todd: Yeah, on LinkedIn, I think LinkedIn. Yeah.

Jeremy Burrows: Well, I'll share your LinkedIn profile on the show notes at leader assistant.com slash 350. And yeah, thanks again for being on the show. And thank you everyone for listening. And we'll talk to you soon.

Polly Todd: Thank you very much, Jeremy. Take care.