If you are a leader, CEO, or someone others look to for energy, clarity, and direction, you already know this: even the best leaders hit ruts.
Sometimes you are in the flow. Making decisions, seeing opportunities, inspiring people.
And sometimes?
You are sitting in yet another meeting that feels like déjà vu, quietly wondering if anyone else has noticed that you all have had this same conversation three times this quarter.
The reality is that even high performers can drift into autopilot.
We keep doing what has worked before, because it is comfortable.
We settle into routines because they keep the wheels turning. But over time, this comfort starts to dull our edge.
That is when we need to reach for the maverick mindset.
What the term “Maverick” means?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a maverick as “an independent-minded person who does not conform with the group or party.”
It comes from Samuel Maverick, a 19th-century Texan rancher who refused to brand his cattle because he believed it was “cruel and unnecessary”. A decision that came to symbolise a refusal to follow convention.
In today’s leadership context, a maverick is not just someone who ignores the rules. They are someone who thinks independently, questions the default, and is willing to take calculated risks to create better outcomes.
What the maverick mindset is
A maverick mindset is not about being difficult, reckless, or contrarian just for the sake of it.
It is about cultivating the willingness and skill to:
- See beyond the obvious.
- Question assumptions; especially your own.
- Try a new angle when the old one has stopped delivering results.
Mavericks do NOT just break rules to be contrary; they rewrite them to create better outcomes.
In leadership, this can mean:
- Challenging a well-loved process that is slowing the business down.
- Putting a controversial but high-potential idea on the table.
- Shifting a team’s focus to where the real opportunities lie, before the market or external factors force the change.
It is less “reckless cowboy” and more “calculated risk-taker who refuses to coast.”
Why leaders need it, especially when they are tired or stuck
When you are in a rut, your brain does what it is designed to do: conserve energy. It leans into habits, defaults, and the familiar. Which is fine for keeping the lights on, but terrible for creating momentum.
A maverick mindset interrupts that automatic loop. It forces you to take a second look, consider a different approach, and engage a part of your brain that has been on “standby”.
Here is why that matters:
- Momentum attracts momentum. When you shake things up in one area, you will often see ripple effects in others. We are all in a system after all.
- Fresh perspective fuels problem-solving. Looking from a different angle often reveals solutions that were invisible before.
- Your team takes their cues from you. If you are stuck in safe mode, they will be too.
And the best news? You don’t have to wait until you are in crisis mode to use it.
The maverick mindset works just as well as a preventative measure as it does a “rescue” tool.
The comfort trap
One of the biggest enemies of the maverick mindset is comfort.
Not the kind of comfort that comes from good systems and stable foundations, those are essential.
I am talking about the comfort that slides into complacency.
When you have been winning for a while, it is tempting to believe the current playbook will keep working forever.
But markets shift. People shift. Opportunities shift. And if you are not regularly stress-testing your own assumptions, you will only realise you are not heading where you need to be heading until it becomes overwhelming obvious you are not where you wanted or need to be.
This is where mavericks stand out; they don’t wait for disruption to happen to them. They disrupt themselves first.
How the maverick mindset shows up in effective leaders
You have probably seen it before:
- The CEO who asks “Why?” when everyone else is nodding.
- The department head who says, “Let’s pilot it in 30 days” instead of scheduling six months of research.
- The founder who reinvents a product before the market demands it.
- When you question why you keep doing something one way, when evidence shows it is not working? That is your maverick brain!
It is NOT magic. It is NOT personality. It is a habit of challenging the default. Consistently.
And the really skilled mavericks? They know how to do it without alienating their teams, boards, or stakeholders.
They understand how to question and propose alternatives in a way that invites curiosity rather than defensiveness.
Three practical ways to switch on the maverick mindset today
You do not need to overhaul your entire business, launch a massive innovation program or change your personality to get started. In fact, the best maverick moves often start small. Here are three quick ways you can try, today.
- Ask “What would break this?”
Pick a process, habit, or assumption in your business or life. Then imagine you had to break it on purpose.
For example:
- What would happen if you removed all internal reporting for a week?
- What if customers could only contact you through one channel?
- What would happen if you stopped working the way you work today?
The point is not to actually break it. It is to reveal vulnerabilities, inefficiencies, and overlooked opportunities.
- Swap your seat at the table
This is both literal and figurative. Sit with a different department for a day. Shadow someone whose job looks nothing like yours. Or, if you are remote, join a team’s stand-up meeting just to listen.
Even better, ask someone junior or external how they would tackle your current challenge. People who are not steeped in your context can often see what you have normalised and stopped questioning.
- Flip the default
Whatever your usual go-to move is, do the opposite, just once. (I get into this topic here).
If you always start meetings with numbers, start with a story. If you typically respond to client requests instantly, wait 24 hours and see what changes. If your team always brainstorms in a group, ask everyone to submit ideas privately first.
Sometimes the simple act of reversing the pattern is enough to spark a breakthrough.
The mindset shift that makes this stick
Here is the subtle but important difference between dabbling in disruption and living the maverick mindset: it is about curiosity, not rebellion.
When you approach change with curiosity: I wonder what would happen if…, you invite others into the process. You make it safer for your team (and you!) to think differently too.
And that is where the real momentum comes from.
When to use it
- When you’ve been solving the same problem the same way for too long.
- When your results have plateaued.
- When your team has stopped bringing you new ideas.
- When you feel drained instead of energised by the work.
You do not have to wait for a “big stuck” moment. The maverick mindset is also a great reset button after intense projects, during seasonal slowdowns, or before strategic planning sessions.
Coming next: how to apply the maverick mindset without chaos
Nothing is stopping you from adopting the mindset today. In part 2 (next week!), we will unpack and explore:
- How to challenge the status quo without creating unnecessary tension.
- Practical tools and micro-habits to keep the maverick mindset alive, especially when the pressure is on.
- How to spot when you have slipped back into “safe mode” and how to pull yourself out again.
For this week, consider this: Where in your leadership, business, or life have you been running the same playbook for too long? And what is one small, safe experiment you could try this week to see it differently?
And as always, if you invest in yourself, the rewards will be unfathomable.
Until next time.