we have $V\cong \Bbb C^n$ in an obvious way, and so we can write $GL(V)$ as $GL_n(\Bbb C)$, in which case we are working with matrix representations specifically. If there is a proper nontrivial subspace $W\subseteq V$ that is invariant under the linear $G$-action, that is if we have $\rho(g)W\subseteq W$