Pitch perfect
OS magazine, August 2006
Lisa Kavanagh, PA to the chairman of Crystal Palace Football Club, talks to Cath Janes about getting ahead of the game
When her recruitment agency sent her to Crystal Palace Football Club Lisa Kavanagh had little interest in the beautiful game. Now, eight years on, not only is she fiercely loyal to the club but she is PA to Simon Jordan, its notoriously outspoken chairman.
Previously the PA to Mark Goldberg, the chairman who took Crystal Palace into administration, Lisa’s loyalty has seen her through thick and thin. And in the six years since Simon Jordan took over she has also seen her career bloom.
“When I joined the agency I was ready for a challenge,” Lisa says. “Within a fortnight of starting the job I knew that it was the one for me. There is just something about it that I love.”
Play awayWhile Lisa admits that being PA to Simon Jordon means hard work, long hours and stress it’s the fact that no two days are the same that keeps her going.
“The job isn’t just about football,” she says. “As PA to Simon I do everything for him from the game’s administration through to his personal life. Simon has many interests and although each has a team dedicated to it I facilitate what goes on between them.”
Added to that not only does Lisa work nine hour days but she also works around football fixtures which means giving up her Saturdays during the season as well as occasional Tuesday evenings.
“It’s a long season,” says Lisa, “so I don’t get much of a break from the routine in the summer before it is time to go back to it.”
In the run up to a game Lisa is busier than ever. Not only does she tackle her usual workload but she also has such tasks as organising the guests of club directors, hosting the directors and partners of the opposing team and liaising with club secretaries about the behind-the-scenes operation. Luckily, though, she is helped by the relationship she has developed with the PAs at other clubs.
“I get on well with many of them because our teams play each other regularly and we need to help each other out.”
Team sportAt the centre of Lisa’s work, though, is Simon Jordan. Known for being both opinionated and demanding he doesn’t only keep Lisa on her toes but he pushes her to be the best she can. As a lifelong supporter of the club he is determined to make it a success and Lisa plays a vital part in that.
“The club went into administration eighteen months before Simon took over,” explains Lisa, “but within weeks of him joining he was making the changes needed to get it back on its feet. Simon just doesn’t understand the word ‘no’. So if he wants something everything else has to take a back seat. He’s like a dog with a bone.”
It means that Lisa’s relationship with Simon has to be honest and open, not least because Lisa has to deal with highly confidential information of both a personal and professional nature. In their six years together they have developed a strong sense of trust which gives Simon the confidence to leave important tasks in Lisa’s hands.
“He has faith in me and believes that there is nothing I cannot do,” explains Lisa. “If he asks me to do something and there is a problem I have to find the solution. I’d never go back to him with anything other than the right answer.”
In touchUnusually, though, Lisa and Simon don’t see each other every day. In fact, Simon lives in Spain and only goes to the ground’s office on the day before a match or when he has meetings. That’s not a barrier to them keeping in contact though.
“Simon and I speak to each other up to eight times a day,” says Lisa. “He has his own private phone line and when that rings I have to drop everything to pick it up. It doesn’t matter what I am doing. Nothing is more important than his call.”
Lisa has also developed the habit of switching off her mobile phone when she goes to bed.
“Simon likes to leave messages before he forgets what he wanted to say. When I get up in the morning I can find that he left me a message at two am. At least by turning off my phone I can get some sleep.”
Luckily Lisa has a good team around her who can help her with her day to day work, especially when Simon has given her a lot of it. And although there are times of stress Lisa believes that it is her ability to prioritise that gets her through it.
“You have to be organised to do a job like this,” she says. “It’s about being prepared and unflappable. I have never worked for anyone as dynamic as Simon and I stayed at the club even when it went through its troubles. It goes to show that when I believed that this job was the one for me I must have been right.”