Is there a Top Gun style Maverick on your team?
by Louise Pronovost
I saw Top Gun recently and it struck me that on every successful team I was a part of, there was a Maverick. By that I mean, a team member who was wildly successful by unorthodox means. As a leader I have had the good fortune to lead some mavericks, in as much as they can be led. They are typically difficult to “manage” in the traditional sense of the word. They tend to follow an internal compass that leads them to success using their own secret sauce that would not work for anyone else.
My instinct has been to protect those mavericks from the criticism from senior management and to mitigate the damage they sometimes create. I have also been the go between when they burned their bridges with other teams. I did that because I value creativity and I fully realize that sometimes a tough job requires new ways of doing things, : it requires colouring outside the lines.
I caught a lot of flak from other teams and from senior management because of my mavericks. I had a boss who wanted me to fire one, an HR Director who questioned why I tolerated such behaviour from another. I had sideways glances from other team members. I am unrepentant. Much like Maverick in Top Gun, those same executives who were critical, ask for the maverick when tough assignments arise - because they know very well that that Maverick will get the job done.
An interview staple question for leadership roles has been how I handle a maverick. My answer has been that I will do everything I can to help them perform to the best of their abilities, to keep them engaged and bring in the best possible results for the team and the company. This means negotiating internally, mitigating the risks and the precedents created – and also accepting, learning – and sharing - that maybe there is a better way to do things than the one established. That being said, sometimes there comes a point when there is no longer a fit: The unorthodox style ends up being more of a problem than an advantage as the team or company evolves. As a leader you have felt it because as it becomes more and more difficult to shield these unusual characters, and I believe they have often experienced an increasingly stifling tension that led them to feel unhappy. When the time came to move on, they left a big hole.
The ultimate leadership style for Mavericks, in my opinion, is displayed by Phil Jackson, the coach for Chicago Bulls, the basketball team that rose to the top of the league with key players like Michael Jordan, Dennis Rothman, Scottie Pepin. Their extraordinary results were possible because The Bulls were a team full of Mavericks. And Jackson kept everyone engaged, at the top of their game, and in the spirit of collaboration necessary to win at a team sport.
If you have the good fortune of having a maverick on your team, make the most of it. It might not last because they are often head hunted out of your team or a time might come when the fit is no longer there: And the longer you can work together, the longer you will reap the outstanding results.