In the lead up to International Women’s Day, we’re introducing you to some of the kickass women behind Freeletics. From product management to HR, these women cover every single department and embody Freeletics day in, day out. Today, meet Lena, Scrum Master extraordinaire.
Could you tell us a bit about your story with Freeletics? What has it taught you?
I officially started at Freeletics in February 2018 and so far it has been an amazing journey. I’ve seen a lot of positive changes both within my crew and in the company as a whole. There are so many brilliant people around and every day is full of good challenges. Freeletics has taught me to keep pushing my boundaries: it’s always uncomfortable and somewhat frustrating in the beginning, but once you’ve achieved something you thought was impossible, it’s the best feeling.
What does being a scrum master involve?
Being a Scrum Master is about helping the team to create a high-value product, coaching in self-organization & continuous improvement and uncovering and removing impediments in our environment. A Scrum Master is like the coach on a sports team: you’re not a player and can’t affect the game directly, but you support the team and let them shine on the field. You work with individuals and with a team as a whole, listening, providing the honest observations about what’s going on, helping the team to work through the obstacles and gently pushing the team to be even better than they were yesterday.
What does your training routine look like? How do you balance training and work?
My routine until recently was exercising 4-5 times a week, using the Coach and doing activities at the weekend (hiking, cross-country skiing etc). I love exploring new exercise programs and at the moment I am experimenting with the strength barbell program.
I don’t feel that I need to balance training and work, since for me training is a habit, like brushing my teeth. I always find time for it and always enjoy it. We have a huge advantage at Freeletics because we can train right in the office and have constant access to professional advice from our training experts.
What does International Women’s Day symbolize for you personally?
I am from Belarus, where Women's Day is celebrated as a national holiday. There, it's a day for people to actively appreciate women for who they are. It’s a day when women are encouraged to do whatever they want. Since I’m fortunate enough to be able to do this on a daily basis anyway, for me, it’s a day to acknowledge the powerful women in my life.
Being a woman at Freeletics just means being me - I don’t even think about my gender that much. And what sets the women here apart is that we’re all different, but all totally badass.
