Why do you do what you do?
The Maverick Change Maker. I tell all my clients that they have a Driving Question. A question that drives you, one that you are always searching to answer. This question arose from childhood, it is important to know what it is, so that what you do is intentional; and has purpose.
I have known for a long time that my Driving Question is: Why do you do that?
The search for an answer has led me to study (amongst other things) social psychology, NLP, Body Language, group dynamics, Transactional Analysis, the utilisation of power, Social Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, psychometric profiles (of all types), persuasion, influence and all things that can get me closer to answering the question – Why do you do that?
For years, I’ve known that my purpose was to: enable the truly powerful to work for the greater good. The expression of that purpose has found itself within my work with mavericks (wilfully independent people) and helping people become successful leaders through emulating the mind set, strategies, utilisation of power and capabilities of Socialised Mavericks.
I even wrote a book about it – The Maverick Paradox: The Secret Power Behind Successful Leaders.
Last week, I received a very pleasant surprise. I had recently joined The Change Maker Group, which specialises in enabling sustainable and powerful change throughout an organisation. The group utilises the Change Maker Profile, powered by the GC Index, in some of their work with their clients.
The profile is a measure of your natural aptitudes and inclinations. It helps you understand your actual contribution and your potential in your role, within a team or organisation, and in your life and the world around you.
I’ll be honest with you.
I’m a Socialised Maverick and was very sceptical about the Change Maker Profile. I’ve spent a life time looking at profiling systems and understanding their flaws as well as their successes. I once scored 78 out of 80 on a Social Intelligence profile component – so I know myself pretty well! What more could I learn about myself; and how useful would it be for clients? These were the questions that I was quietly asking myself.
Whilst receiving my accreditation training, I was looking to see how the Change Maker Profile could be mapped onto what I already knew about mavericks and in particular, Socialised Mavericks. I’m not entirely sure it can be mapped; however, I recognise that the Change Maker Profile has provided a scientific reason for the ‘what’ that I do, in my life and in my work with my clients.
I already know the ‘why’, and I know the ‘how’, but have struggled to be able to succinctly explain the ‘what’ in a way that I have been truly satisfied with. I’m much closer to that now.
This is what I already know: As a Socialised Maverick, I have a certain personality, maverick mindset and attributes. The Maverick KEYSTONE™ Capabilities:
- Knowledge
- Emotional awareness
- Your vision
- Self-efficacy
- Trust
- Objectivity
- Networkability
- Engagement
are in balance. I know how to utilise power and the ‘maverick strategies’ effectively. I have a unique way of seeing things that is useful, personally and to my clients.
So, I asked myself; how does the Change Maker Profile add value to me? I’m a Socialised Maverick, I’m sceptical, prove it to me!
The Maverick Change Maker
Below is a diagram that shows the 5 Change Maker roles. Each role scores to a maximum 10, and each role is scored independent to each other.
It is usual to have two prominent roles. For example, if you had two high scores (relevant to your own Change Maker Profile role scores) in The Strategist and The Game Changer you would be classed as:
VISIONARY
A brief statement of the Visionary would be:
“I need to develop teams around me who know how to turn ideas into reality. I need to learn how to ‘take people with me.’”
I was interested to know how my Socialised Maverick personality and skill would be played out using the Change Maker Profile. When I received my own profile back I saw that my profile looks like this:
Hhmm. What does this mean? My pleasant surprise was that I discovered that despite the GC Index being used since 2013, there hadn’t been a profile like mine before! Dr John Mervyn-Smith (Chief Psychologist at The GC Index) had to manually write my profile commentary as my combination scores did not already sit in the system!
As a Socialised Maverick, this pleased me greatly! The fact that I was an outlier in this system was consistent with the fact that I was also an outlier in other profiling systems. This was all well and good but what did my scores mean and more importantly how could I use the knowledge gained?
Succinctly, the balance in my profile was unusual. I understand that my maverick attributes:
- Wilful intention
- Honest belief
- Influential
- kNowledgeable
- Execution and output driven
- Success driven
was played out in my Change Maker Profile.
My maverick need, requires me to ensure that everything that I do, must be purpose driven. It must have a definable reason. Whenever I begin to solve a problem, I always begin with, ‘what?’ What needs to happen. This, in relation to my Change Maker role, is the Strategist in me. I am at my best when I’m able to see, and clearly articulate, direction, change and action within a strategic context that takes account of commercial, operational and people needs. This may be within an organisation or in a consulting context with clients.
This capability reflects the abilities to see, analyse and make sense of, patterns and trends in relevant data and events. My score suggests that this is where I’m more likely to feel the most engaged and energised at work. (It is, no purpose, no point!).
I’m extremely good at aligning strategy to what needs to be done and getting ‘buy in’ from those that need to implement the strategy.
As a maverick, once I have determined strategy, I then look to see what needs to be done. Here my maverick ability to see novel ways to make a difference and be a creative problem solver starts to shine. I start thinking about the ‘how’ once I have determined the ‘what’. This is where my ‘Game Changer’ role comes into play.
As a Game Changer I’m very open to new ideas and have the imagination to ‘see’ what is possible in ways that others don’t. The clarity with which I see possibilities, often coupled with a frustration with the way things actually are, drives me to initiate change. My profile also suggests that I will bring energy and focus to delivery given my Implementer and Polisher profiles. When it comes to action what will matter for me is understanding the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’. I need a purpose that fits into a clear ‘bigger picture’. Such clarity may help you to know when you need to do things to a ‘good enough’ standard (Implementer) and when to pursue a high quality outcome (Polisher).
My Play Maker profile suggests that I will facilitate and orchestrate activity when appropriate. This is when I start utilising the ‘why?’. Overall, my profile suggests an adaptable nature: I will feel able to make a contribution to a role and a team in a number of ways. (I plug the gaps whilst holding the big picture and the detail ‘within my hand’.
This makes a lot of sense to me. As a maverick I am success, execution and output driven and therefore need to have a strong enough Implementer and Polisher abilities to ensure that success is more likely to be obtained.
All mavericks are influential, have an engaged and committed network and can connect the dots when problem solving. I can thank my Play Maker proclivity for that!
As a Socialised Maverick I work concurrently not sequentially which also explains why my Change Maker profile looks the way it does.
How will I use this knowledge?
I now have a succinct way and language to talk about the ‘what’ that I do. I understand why I work differently with others and are able to help my clients in unique ways. It isn’t just because I’m a maverick, it is the synthesis of how I am a Maverick Change Maker, who is also a Socialised Maverick.
I work well with Game Changers because (as a Socialised Maverick, I understand very well the Game Changer mind set), I provide the strategic input that they lack and the insistence that they implement what they dream! My Play Maker profile enables me to see the connections of what they dream and the alignment of the strategy, I show them how they can influence change.
It’s a great partnership.
As with other Change Maker roles, my proclivity to concurrently see (and solve) a problem or dynamic from the view of a Strategist, Game Changer, Implementer, Polisher and Play Maker, ensures that I connect the dots, fill in the gaps that the other person (or team) has and lace it with some ‘good old fashioned’ maverick energy!
Wow, no wonder I enjoy doing what I do!
So, I’m pondering, are you interested in solving that problem that you have been wrestling with? Are you yearning to shake up what you do? Do you need to know how to maximise your strengths, so you can make the most earth shattering impact?
Then contact me and let’s have a lot of fun solving your most engaging problem.
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