Former GE exec Beth Comstock noticed a common leadership mistake

“We
look for alibis,” said Beth Comstock,
pictured.
GE

• Beth Comstock is the former vice chair of General
  Electric.
• She led seminars for new GE managers, and noticed that
  most of the leaders were making the same mistake: waiting for
  permission to try something new.
• Comstock would hand out “permission slips” authorizing
  employees to take risks — but she also said it’s important for
  individuals to stop hiding behind their excuses.

Beth Comstock doesn’t tolerate excuses.

As the former vice chair of General Electric — she left the
company last year after nearly three decades — Comstock would
make sure that no one else in the organization did, either.

Comstock, who is the coauthor, with Tahl Raz, of “Imagine
it Forward,” used to lead seminars for new managers at GE.
She told Business Insider that the most common mistake she saw
was “the feeling that people have to get permission to make
things happen.”

This isn’t unique to GE managers, either — it’s a trap that
people at all levels of all organizations tend to fall into.
Comstock said, “We look for alibis. ‘My boss won’t let me. I
don’t have enough budget. There’s not enough time. That’s
somebody else’s job.’ Many times those are true, but you’ve got
to ask yourself: Is that holding me back?”

Comstock’s observations recall those of other executives and
career experts, about taking on additional responsibilities
before you’ve received explicit permission from your manager.

Libby Leffler, the vice president of membership at SoFi, as well
as a former Googler and Facebook executive,
advises people who are gunning for a promotion: “Why don’t
you start doing that role today? Not tomorrow, not a month from
now. If that’s the role that you really want, start doing it.”

And career coach Rebecca Fraser-Thill
told me, “Sometimes we do have to act as if.” In other words,
try acting as though you’ve already received a title bump. Then
you can present your manager with all the contributions you’ve
made to the organization.

Comstock, for her part, developed a way to help managers who were
hiding behind their excuses. She kept a stack of paper
“permission slips” on her desk (you can see an example on
Comstock’s
Facebook page) and encouraged her team to take them when they
wanted to try something new and innovative.

“It’s kind of goofy, but it works,” she said. “As a team leader,
I can say, ‘I’ve got your back. I’m giving you permission to go
figure this out.’ But you also have to do it yourself.”

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