Intent on making 2017 your Best Year Ever? We can help with that, thanks to our 2017 Coach of the Month series. For June, Heather Cabot and Samantha Walravers, authors of the just released book, Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech, offer a four-week course in professional acumen, designed to serve you whether you're a tech founder, an artist, or anything in between. For the first installment, Walravers teaches us the importance of embracing risk in order to reap the rewards.
Karen Catlin took her first computer science class freshman year in college, having never touched a computer before in her life.
"It was 1981. We didn't have computers at home, and not many high schools had computers then—mine certainly didn't. So, it's not surprising that I didn't have any computer experience. But to decide to major in it without even writing my first 'Hello World' application? What was I thinking?"
Catlin got a B in her first CS class, went on to be an undergraduate teaching assistant in the department, and eventually graduated with a Computer Science degree from Brown University in 1985. The rest, as they say, is history. She went on to become Vice President and Senior Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems, and later an author and advocate for women in technology.
Addressing a group of students at a recent hackathon hosted by her alma mater, Catlin encouraged participants to step outside their comfort zone because, as the saying goes, "that's where the magic happens." While comfort may be a sought-after goal in our society, research shows that seeking new experiences and learning new skills can open the door to growth and innovation.
Here are three ways you stand to benefit by taking the leap and stepping outside "the zone."
#1: Taking risks can lead to big rewards
Cloudflare co-founder Michelle Zatlyn was set to start a "safe" job at LinkedIn after she graduated from Harvard Business School. Instead, she packed her things in a U-Haul and drove out to California with business school classmate, Matthew Prince, to start a new venture.
"I look back now and wonder, what was I thinking? I can't believe I signed a lease because there certainly was no guarantee it was going to work," she says.
Seven years later, San Francisco-based Cloudflare, which provides online services to protect and accelerate websites, has raised $182 million and is valued at over $3 billion dollars. As Zatlyn puts it, "being part of a high growth company is like being on a roller coaster. There are all these highs and lows. But another way to look at it is that people pay to get on roller coasters."
#2: Challenging yourself builds confidence
Kerri Couillard, founder and CTO of Babierge, a baby equipment rental business, was taking a big leap when she signed up to participate in a 2-week accelerator program for women entrepreneurs, the Women's Startup Lab.
"I had just begun to scale my business when I realized something was missing—camaraderie. I also knew I had to learn about opportunities for investment to grow. I decided to leave my booming business and young kiddos with my husband in Albuquerque and go to the Women's Startup Lab to connect with other entrepreneurs and validate my business model – a 'sharing economy' for baby gear."
Participating in the accelerator required living in a "hacker house" in the heart of Silicon Valley for a full two weeks and sharing bunk beds with three other adult women. Couillard, a self-described introvert, says the experience was "way outside" her comfort zone. But, in the end, the benefits far outweighed the costs. She returned to New Mexico with greater self-confidence and a new partner who has helped her scale the business into 41 markets.
"I learned I can live for short spurts outside of my comfort zone, especially if I listen to my body and build in some self-care," Couillard says. "Ultimately, there is so much to gain in this world, living with courage and curiosity."
#3: Speaking up opens the door to opportunity
For girls and young women, taking risks and venturing into untrodden territory can be a scary proposition.
"Girls are more likely to worry about being judged and question whether they're smart enough, pretty enough, qualified enough to participate in class, take on a new task, or apply for a job," explains Katty Kay, co-author of The Confidence Code, explains. "Those worries can prevent girls from embracing opportunities."
Poornima Vijayshanker admits she was "one of those shy kids" growing up and realized life was going to be really hard "if I just kept hiding." The founder of Femgineer, an education company for women in tech, and co-author of Present: A Techie's Guide to Public Speaking, pushed past her fears and joined the speech and debate club in middle school.
"In those really, really awkward years, I blossomed and became a better public speaker, and it dramatically changed my life," says Vijayshanker. "I nailed my college interview, my first job interview, and then went on to do other things, like help raise capital and recruit teammates for my startups."
Public speaking has become an integral part of her career. Along with Karen Catlin, she now runs workshops to help other women with technical backgrounds become more "confident communicators." The team calls public speaking the "multi-vitamin" for women's career success.
Ready to take the leap outside your comfort zone? Here are some tips:
Do it on a regular basis. Karen Catlin recommends scheduling public speaking gigs on a regular basis so you get "comfortable being uncomfortable." She made a pledge to herself to start speaking in public once a month and has fulfilled that promise for over four years. Once you start stepping out of your comfort zone, it gets easier over time.
Take baby steps. Poornima Vijayshanker encourages women to start small. Rather than signing up to give a TED talk, start by speaking up at the next meeting or raising your hand in class. After that, you may take a more audacious leap and sign up to speak at an event.
Don't do it alone. It's a lot easier to venture outside your comfort zone when you're not doing it alone. Accelerator programs like the Women's Startup Lab and MergeLane aim to build a community of women entrepreneurs, investors and advisors who will offer support long after the program ends.
