I walked up to the pool table before our league match, put my hand out, and introduced myself. The man I was about to play did not give me his name or ask for mine. He looked at me, then back at the table, and said, “You’re a five?” In pool, amateur league players carry a skill rating, and five is a decent one. In fact, most women in my local league are not rated quite that high. “Yeah,” I said. “I’m a five. And what are you?”

I’ve been in plenty of rooms where women are sized up in this same way, and pool is actually where I learned what to do about it. In all, I spent more than 15 years in local government, and now I coach the managers who are still sitting in the chair. Here are the top five lessons that playing pool actually taught me about managing a city.

Stop Shooting the Closest Ball

A strategic player reads the whole table first. A reactive player shoots the ball that is nearest or easiest just like a reactive city manager deals with whatever fire happens to walk through their door at that moment. It’s the same move: closest ball, closest flame. That’s what gets attention. I believe the strategic city manager still puts out fires every day, but aims in a way that moves the city toward preventing a similar fire in the future.

Play the Table in Front of You

You see, the table is never perfect, and it’s never exactly the same in every game. There’s always a ball positioned in a way you didn’t plan for, between you and the goal or leave that you wanted. (The leave is where the cue ball stops. The spot you hand yourself for the next shot.) Sometimes in city management, we find that revenue softens, the state preempts you, an election turns the dais, or your best director resigns mid-project. These are the obstacles on the table. The skilled player is not trying to move and clear every obstacle. Instead, they adjust to the table and adapt the plan to still achieve the desired result. Maybe even using some of the obstacle balls to pocket one of their own.

Power Scatters the Rack

Position is about speed and touch, not how hard you hit. Power without control just scatters the balls. What you find in pool and in leadership is that force and urgency are not necessarily tied to effectiveness. Your finesse, timing, and relationships move more than pressure ever will. Overall, I found that the game rewards the most controlled and strategic player in the room, not the loudest. For a woman that means she does not need to be the (physically) strongest player in order to be the most successful.

They Watch the Shots You Don’t Take

You learn this game by watching better players. And everyone is watching you, including the shots you choose not to take. Your leadership team reads you the same way, learning as much from what you decline to do as from what you actually do. I tell the managers I coach the same thing: you don’t get to turn off being the example. The only choice is whether you are a deliberate one. You get better the same way your team does—by watching closely and seeing what works.

Play Above Your Rating

A rating tells the room how good you are allowed to be, if you accept it. I see women in pool who stay low on purpose, comfortable rather than challenged. Do not be that player. When you clear an arbitrarily set bar, something shifts. I’ve learned that being underestimated is no longer about proving a room wrong; it starts being about what I’m doing with the authority I’ve earned.

I never did get that man’s name (even though I asked). I guess he had my number and figured that was the whole story. It never is.

Remember, there’s a place at the table for you. Walk around it, make your plan, be strategic, then set up (take a deep breath) and take your shot. Every time you do, you make it a little easier for the next woman to step up to the table. And the game? For me, it honestly got a lot more fun. Just envision this: somewhere out there, the next woman is chalking her cue. Play like she’s watching.

KELLYE MAZZOLI is an executive coach for local government leaders and former assistant city manager for Bothell, Washington. She is a member of the ICMA SheLeadsGov committee. (citybosscoach.com, linkedin.com/in/kellyemazzoli)