Don’t Fire the Maverick
The most dangerous person on your team may not be the one who challenges you. It may be the one who never does.
Leaders make this mistake all the time. They confuse a maverick with a calculator.
A maverick asks hard questions. Challenges assumptions. Pushes for better ideas. They can be frustrating because they don’t automatically agree with everyone else in the room. Their loyalty isn’t to their own comfort; it’s to the mission. They want the organization to improve, even when that means making people uncomfortable.
A calculator is different.
Calculators are always keeping score. Every conversation has a hidden agenda. Every meeting becomes an opportunity to gain influence, build alliances, or weaken a rival. They may appear loyal while quietly building a kingdom inside your organization. Their focus isn’t the mission. It’s themselves.
Here’s the irony: Insecure leaders often drive away the mavericks because they’re willing to speak honestly. Calculators, on the other hand, know exactly how to flatter those in authority. They say the right things in public while advancing their own agenda behind the scenes.
For calculators, “leading up” has become an art form.
I’ve seen churches, ministries, and businesses lose some of their most creative and valuable people because leaders couldn’t tell the difference.
Protect the people who challenge your thinking. If they care about the mission, they’re giving you a gift. Honest disagreement sharpens leaders and strengthens organizations. Then pay close attention to those who never disagree. Ask who benefits most from their influence. Are they advancing the mission, or expanding their own territory?
Every great leader needs courageous truth-tellers.
Very few need another politician.
For more information on getting inside the mind of creative mavericks, check out my book “Ideas on a Deadline: How to Be Creative When the Clock is Ticking.”
Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf on Unsplash
Phil Cooke, PhD. has been called “one of the most innovative communicators of our generation.” As a media producer, writer, speaker, and consultant, his client list includes major film studios and TV networks as well as major Christian organizations like Voice of the Martyrs, The Museum of the Bible, The Salvation Army, and others. He’s also coached and consulted with many of the most influential churches and nonprofit organizations in the world, helping them use media to tell their story. You can hear his podcast here.
