This past week I went to my boxing fitness class as usual. We typically run through some strength training exercises before heading into the boxing fundamentals. But this time there was a different exercise mixed in. Imagine a kettlebell in one hand over your head but then you had to bend down.

My body froze. In my head I thought, “Not today”. I quickly put that weight down and modified the exercise. I looked around the room and others were having difficulty as well. On the 3rd iteration, our coach changed up the workout.

We’d get there, just not today.

Once class was over, I thought Coach must have made up that move on the fly. In my day job, sometimes that’s how it is. You want to try something different, but then have to pivot once you see how everyone reacts. During class I didn’t have a lot of gas in the tank, making the exercise even harder to get through.

Sometimes when you aren’t prepared for the day, outside sources that come at you can really take you down and you have to step back and regroup.

My coach didn’t yell, didn’t berate us, didn’t stay on that exercise for a longer period of time. Coach just adjusted so there was no interruption. The energy was still there because we kept going. The replacement exercise was doable but still effective and worked the same muscles. And class continued as usual.

I’ve been in meetings that could have followed that same formula. Imagine being on a call with about 5-7 colleagues. The Product Manager keeps harping on the same issue over and over but nothing is being solved. And you can feel the energy being drained out of the meeting or teammates feeling inferior because they don’t know how to proceed in new territory.

But if my Coach was the PM, she would have made some adjustments after noticing the energy dropped. Possibly offering a few suggestions on how to improve the issue and wait for feedback from the team. Or even table the whole thing until everyone had a chance to digest it or possibly wait till after lunch if people were getting hangry. 

I was in the gym, focused on my workout but having the safety net of a coach to guide me and get in a great exercise with a kettlebell without getting injured. Just like with the heavy weight, the weight of the corporate world can be a heavy burden on your shoulders too. Understanding how to lead, read the room,  make changes if necessary is key in both fitness and your career. 

Life can be your own teacher if you’re paying attention. 

Looking to make more impact to your life, check out what I read in one year for self improvement.

~Angela

The post What My Boxing Coach Taught Me About Product Management first appeared on Angela P. Banks.