Maverick leadership
I attended a dinner in London recently and sat next to a CEO of a successful retail company. We got talking about our backgrounds, experiences, styles and what great business looks like.
One thing that we agreed on, was that maverick leaders can change everything.
The word maverick (when not related to the Top Gun movies!) often has negative connotations in business. People mistake it for cavalier, gung-ho, taking needless risk and so on.
Yet the maverick leader is none of these things. Instead they take a non-conformist approach to work. That’s not to say that they are difficult for difficulty’s sake, they simply like to question the dumb things that are done and have unique and creative ways of not only building team culture, but also leading too.
Maverick leaders are those that invest in culture, when their peers don't seek the value. They reject back-to-back meetings in favour of high value interactions. They are active listeners and observers. They have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening both internally, but also externally (inside and outside of their sector).
They look for opportunities where others only see problems and persist in pushing through bureaucratic barriers that serve only to stem the flow of progress.
They understand that conventional wisdom often protects the status quo rather than driving new ways of thinking and acting, so they challenge processes that exist simply because "that's how we've always done it."
Research from Harvard Business School found that organisations led by maverick leaders demonstrated 34% higher innovation rates and stronger employee engagement compared to traditionally managed organisations. These leaders create psychological safety, allow teams to experiment, fail and learn without fear of reprisal.
Maverick leaders also recognise that culture isn't a soft, fluffy initiative, it's a competitive advantage. Whilst others view culture as an HR responsibility, mavericks embed it into their strategic thinking. They know that engaged employees deliver better results, and they're willing to make unpopular decisions to protect that culture, even when it means challenging owners, shareholders or board members. It’s this challenge that ensures that they have the full trust of those that govern the business.
But what makes them truly distinctive is their courage. They don't follow leadership fads or adopt trendy management speak. Instead, they lead with conviction, trusting their instincts whilst remaining open to being wrong. This vulnerability creates trust and loyalty that hierarchical command-and-control leadership can never achieve.
The maverick leader doesn't seek to be different for the sake of it, they simply refuse to compromise on what they believe drives genuine performance: purpose, people and progress. In a world that appears to thrive on conformity, the maverick leader is a rare commodity. Someone at peace with who they are; a shining light for others to follow.
