5 Tips for Coming Out of Your Shell at Work

This article is a part of The Global Leadership Summit Faculty Spotlight series where we feature content from the upcoming #GLS20 speakers. This is a great opportunity to get a taste of what to expect from these amazing leaders!

It is an honor to announce that Beth Comstock, one of the most influential business executives in the world, will be joining us for #GLS20! She will be sharing hard-won leadership lessons from her book, Imagine it Forward: Courage, Creativity and the Power of Change.

Beth Comstock is one of the most influential female business executives in the world. So, it’s hard to believe that the former vice chair of General Electric is a self-proclaimed introvert.

In fact, Comstock, author of Imagine It Forward, in a recent interview at the Ascend Summit in New York City, said that it took a lot of time and practice to gain the confidence she needed to succeed.

Here are five of Comstock’s tips for any entrepreneur who is trying to come out of their shell.

1. Give Yourself Permission to Take Risks

Comstock said that as an introvert, it didn’t come naturally for her to take risks, such as asking for things or pitching new ideas.

“Give yourself permission to do these things,” said Comstock, who over her 27-year-long career at GE oversaw the founding of Hulu and implemented a green technology business strategy.

“I think it’s hard because [women have] been conditioned this way socially. Once you’ve given yourself permission, get out there.

2. Not Everyone is Going to Like You

For Comstock, it went against her natural instincts to “piss people off,” but she had to in order to get ahead. Women are not used to being “at odds” with others, she said, but it’s often a necessary casualty.

“To be able to ask for things—if you want to be an innovator and make change, which is what I pushed my career to be, it meant I had to piss people off. It meant I had to upend the status quo.”

3. Make it About the Team, Not Just You

Sometimes it can be a lot easier to put yourself out there if you incorporate your team. Most entrepreneurs can’t operate without one.

“Don’t just make it about you, make it about the team,” said Comstock. “It’s a lot easier to get out there that way.”

4. “No” May Mean “Not Yet”

Resilience is a muscle that needs to be toned. In Comstock’s career, sometimes “no” has meant “not yet,” and she has been forced to try again and again.

She recounted a story about approaching NBC CEO Bob Wright with a pitch for the Experience Store.

“The head of network said, ‘no’ the first time,” she said. “The team took three times to sell. In the end, Bob said, “I wanted to say ‘no,’ but you made it so darn hard to say ‘no,’ so I’m saying ‘yes.’ And I realized he was also testing me, and he was right because the idea got better. Resilience: if you want to make change happen, it’s up to you to keep going back.”

5. Don’t Take Feedback Personally

It’s easy to take negative feedback to heart, but Comstock said you need to take it as is—and it can often be helpful.

“I would have been too afraid to ask this before, but now I ask people to tell me something I don’t want to hear. Because I usually need to hear it,” said Comstock. “It gets you the data you need. You don’t have to agree with everything. Just listen to people. Often in that feedback you’re getting validation. So, don’t take it personally—but sometimes you need to ask for that personal feedback so you can get better.”

View Video >>

_{This article originally appeared on NBCnews.com.}

Join Beth Comstock and other 15 other world-class speakers for The Global Leadership Summit on Thursday and Friday, August 6-7, 2020. Get ready for your two-day infusion of fresh ideas, actionable concepts, leadership principles and heartfelt inspiration from a world-class faculty at a location near you!