Taking an Ironman approach to product leadership

As the years go by, I have come to recognise certain truths about product management. In particular, one of the most critical skills I value is the ability to zoom in and zoom out on different topics quickly and efficiently.

It’s like measuring the depth of the water before taking the first plunge; the importance lies in knowing when to focus in on the detail and when to step back to look at the bigger picture and jump.

I have seen countless Product Managers who are excellent at one thing but end up stuck in a single domain or product, losing sight of the bigger picture along the way. It’s the reason why I often ask my team to practise shifting between tasks to practise this skill, and it’s a great feeling when I get to see them deliver on this.

To hone good leadership skills, I use the 3 Zs Principle: Zoom in, Zoom out and Zone in. Zoom in focuses on knowing the intricacies and details of an initiative. Zooming out means acknowledging the wider context and understanding its impact on the company’s strategy. Finally, there is a third element that is often forgotten: the ability to zone in and get things done.

The trick of good leadership is being able to balance these key techniques and switch between them at the drop of a hat. Whether you call it “discovery”, R&D, or just problem-solving, these techniques are essential when managing a team. Those zone-in moments, figuring out Product-Market Fit, shaping a product, or brainstorming with engineers to make products more cost-efficient are why I became a Product Manager in the first place.

What Ironman can teach us about leadership

For me, intense sport has always been a great way to train my brain to use the 3 Zs – switching between the effort required in the moment while maintaining the focus and endurance demanded by the whole race.

It occurred to me that Ironman races in many ways require the exact same approach — training the mind and the body to swap between tasks. With a course consisting of swimming, cycling and running, it works as an excellent way to force the brain to quickly adapt to different challenges as it has to adjust to new scenarios for each event. That’s why, seven months ago, I set myself a goal: complete a half Ironman in Kraków.

My first training plan, created on Chat GPT, focused solely on extending the kilometres I swam, cycled and ran. This proved to be a huge mistake: my body simply couldn’t cope. Back to the drawing board, I switched to an official Ironman training plan via a specialised app,  which understood the different approaches needed for each event by setting me different goals based on my ability in each activity. This same approach can be applied to leadership – rather than staying stuck in running initiatives in the same way each time, strong leaders need to be able to adapt and change techniques to each scenario while always keeping a vigilant eye on the bigger picture. Adapting to this way of thinking helped take me from struggling to swim 50m to swimming 2K and enjoying it. 

Zoning in, I stuck to the plan in those training sessions and worked towards race day. Although I just missed out on my goal of finishing in sub six hours, crossing the finish line in 6:05:18, I could appreciate the wider triumph of how far my performance had improved from the beginning of my training.

Now, new and maybe faster goals await in the future. Members of the wider team at payabl., led by our CEO Ugne, are themselves embarking on their own Ironman adventure. My advice to them would be to take up the 3 Zs technique – not only in the pool or on the bike but in the office. As a company, we create products that solve real problems, not just theoretical ones. A big part of our commitment requires our leaders to keep zooming in, zooming out and zoning in to help our team build the highest-quality products possible!