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So, you’ve been promoted on your current yacht or have started a new job one level up from your last boat. You’re feeling pretty chuffed. Celebrations ensue. Then, from stage left, enter the self-doubts, parading through your mind like dancers doing the Can-Can.
You go from feeling elated to anxious in record time.
Enter the doom spiral. The brain is a busy place, and given half the chance, it will take you to a dark cave and beat your confidence to a bloody pulp. Your untamed mind is a bully.
So, before this happens, let’s right the panic ship with a cool, calming dose of perspective.
Trust the Person Who Promoted You.
The captain did not promote you just because they liked you or you’ve ‘done your time’. Captains are not idiots, and they know that your performance will reflect on them. They gave you the role believing you can do it, or they wouldn’t have given it to you. (They don’t like you that much to risk the boss’ ire!)
Know that everyone only puts the good stuff on their resume.
So, on your CV, you glossed over your career mistakes and only talked about your successes and good qualities—shock, horror. And now you’re having a wobble because you feel that you would have never been hired if you’d confessed to ‘Big Mistake X’ back in 2019.
Relax. Everyone puts their best self forward for CVs and interviews. The captain knows you did that. That’s what CVs are for! They are a place where you talk about your good stuff! As long as you don’t lie about your abilities, you can breathe again.
Make a written record of your successes to drown out the symphony of doubts.
If your brain tends towards self-doubt, you will almost certainly accord more weight to a single dose of negative criticism than a veritable orchestra of dazzling compliments.
Let me guess: you can remember with excruciating detail a mistake you made three years ago and tend to focus on that rather than the glowing feedback you got from your last five charter groups. As I said, the brain can be a right bully. So, write down your successes so you can easily refer to them when you start wobbling in a way that would make a jellyfish jealous.
Understand the psychology of why you are doubting yourself.
Self-doubt is an evolutionary survival drive along the lines of “Pay serious attention to your mistakes, or next time that sabre-tooth tiger is going to kick your ass and be wearing your tooth on a necklace.” Recognise that by worrying about all the risks and focusing disproportionately on past mistakes, your brain is just trying to keep you safe.
But not taking risks will sabotage your career and keep you as junior crew for eternity. So tell that sabre-tooth tiger to sod off.
Know that you will never know it all.
Some of the biggest promotion-related doubts come from people who are self-aware and highly cognisant of how much they must learn. These people tend to hang back from promotion paths, thinking ‘I’ll apply when I know everything”.
However, the fact that you accept you don’t know everything is precisely why you’ll apply yourself hard and succeed in the role— as long as you don’t let self-doubt derail you.
People who think they already know it all and have nothing left to learn? Terrible hires.
People who accept they have things to learn and lean into the challenge? Great hires.
Be one of them.
Don’t be embarrassed about not knowing things.
Unless you’ve lied on your resume, no one expects you to know it all already. If they do, they are the terrible hire, not you! Just admit it upfront when you don’t know something.
Remember, you want this.
You applied for this role, right? Own that decision. You thought you were good enough to apply, and now that belief has been confirmed by the judgement of other clever people. Seems like you were right, huh?
Go forth and conquer.
