5 Minutes With Jessica Watson

Being the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted, nonstop around the world taught Jessica Watson a lot about risk-taking in the corporate world.

My biggest first was my solo around the world voyage at 16. It was driven by curiosity. And then it became about having something to prove. But I’m not sure that being first is always the best. My voyage was built upon what everyone else had done in similar voyages – the same boat, the same way of going about things. You can copy the things that have worked – it’s the safest, most sensible thing to do. At Deloitte [Watson is senior manager at Deloitte Human Capital], I’m lucky to be part of a very experienced team and a global organisation where you never do anything without first reaching out to people who’ve done similar things before. If you are going to do something first, you don’t have to make it a first in every respect.

The first real risk I took was just saying, “I’m going to sail around the world.” Nobody started taking me seriously until I said it but it was so scary to say. That learning still rings true for me even in an office. It’s not very exciting or motivating when someone says, “I’d like to” and “maybe”. I’ve learnt to be clear, to have the courage to take risks and bravely put something out there.

The first challenge I faced was having dyslexia. That put me a fair way behind at school but it taught me to work harder. In recent years, I’ve started to see it as my superpower – it has forced me to simplify and focus, and those different and really powerful ways of thinking have been a huge advantage. I know my value and I know why I’m here. Thinking differently can be a wonderful thing.

My first exposure to the corporate world was speaking and presenting to corporate groups. I worked with big organisations like the United Nations World Food Program. I learnt a huge amount along the way – you get these tastes of completely different worlds and see they work in very different ways. There’s so much you can learn from everything you do. Having said that, though, Deloitte was the first time I found myself properly within one of these organisations and I was a total fish out of water. It’s important not to be overwhelmed – you have to give yourself permission to just focus on the next few nautical miles, not the whole ocean.

Defining moment

People say I was the “youngest girl” to sail around the world. I was the youngest person. One of the great things about sailing is that gender doesn’t have to be a deciding factor. But it’s interesting because being a girl did serve as a rallying point – I had a lot of support from people who wanted to see change. Now, with the America’s Cup having a women’s competition for the first time [the Women’s America’s Cup takes place in Barcelona next month], we have a new opportunity, from an Australian perspective, to rally around our women’s crew.