What type of maverick are you?

What type of maverick are you?

There are 4 types of people in the world, they are the Conformists, the Maverick Behaviourists, the Extreme Mavericks, and the Socialised Mavericks. What type of maverick are you? Each type has its own personality, preferences, and behavioural traits. Out of the 4 types of people, only 1 of the types does not show any maverick traits.

Mavericks are wilfully independent people who have a particular way of thinking, strategizing, demonstrating their capabilities and have a unique ability to use power to their advantage. When you know what type of person you are, even a Conformist! then you can understand which interventions to utilise, to enable you to achieve the success in life that you truly deserve.

Knowledge of the type of person you are, will enable you to fully consider your best pathway to success (however you define success); and help you understand why you act in a certain way. When you understand the four types of people, you will also appreciate the best way to influence them.

Below is a brief description on the 4 different types of people. More information can be found in my book The Maverick Paradox: The Secret Power Behind Successful Leaders.

The Conformist

The Conformist is comfortable with the status quo and prefers structure and routine. They dislike the fact that mavericks do not follow the rules and do not appear to suffer any consequences for not doing so. When in positions of power they will rely on legitimate authority (i.e. using their role title of Manager to ensure compliance); rather than the more subtle power bases.

Conformists are extremely resistant to change and prefer roles which emphasise high stability and known factors. They will quickly assimilate themselves into the prevailing culture around them, preferring not to stand out or be known to disagree with people in positions of power; if this disagreement means there is some personal risk involved.

Conformists tend to be extrinsically motivated and are keen to please others, especially if they hold positions of authority over them. They can be relied upon to do the work that is expected of them.

Maverick Behaviourist

The Maverick Behaviourist has a Conformist personality, although in areas that they want to be successful (such as work) they ‘borrow’ the traits of the Socialised Maverick. Therefore they will eschew routine and bureaucracy and break rules to ensure that objectives are delivered. They will seek to cooperate with others as a default and will collaborate where necessary.

Maverick Behaviourists will tend to have large and engaged networks and are always willing to learn new things and develop themselves further. They have more successes than failures and are able to influence others to achieve the greater good. Maverick Behaviourists can be encouraged to be more maverick (wilfully independent) and will ultimately deliver amazing results. On the flip side they can be intimidated to become more Conformist which will result in a great deal of unspoken distress and disengagement. A great loss to the workplace.

Extreme Maverick

An Extreme Maverick is very charming and will use manipulation to get their own way if necessary. Extreme Mavericks have a large circle of friends and impressive networks; they are well connected.

They are blunt and believe in ‘brutal honesty’ even if that honesty hurts others.  Extreme Mavericks are highly successful and competent in their field of expertise. They have many admirers and enjoy impressive levels of autonomy. Extreme Mavericks have a reputation for getting things done, breaking rules and taking excessive risks to ensure that they are successful. They are known for going ‘rogue’ and are not concerned with the consequences of their actions.

They have a high degree of self interest although they are exceptionally loyal to their inner circle. This type of maverick believes that ‘the ends justify the means’. Extreme Mavericks allow their emotions to overshadow their objectivity and can often revel in their tactlessness.

Socialised Maverick

A Socialised Maverick is execution and output driven, they dislike people that talk about things but do not complete or deliver. Socialised Mavericks believe in mitigation but never excuses, they will go the extra mile to ensure that they deliver what they promise and expect others to do the same.

They are ethical and have a reputation for honesty, as well as getting things done in the timescales that they’ve agreed. Loathing routine and bureaucracy they will break rules to ensure an objective is achieved.

Socialised Mavericks need to be in positions where they can influence others and are natural leaders with a transformational leadership style. They have a strong sense of justice, a need for integrity in others, and prefer to collaborate to achieve the greater good. Socialised Mavericks have learnt to be tactful and have a high degree of emotional awareness.