Reference Profile Series: The Maverick Manager
Unlock the secrets of the Maverick mindset and transform your workplace dynamics with our fascinating exploration into the Maverick Reference Profile. Ever wondered what drives these innovative and independent thinkers to push boundaries and embrace challenges? Join us as we promise to unravel the core traits of the people who push the boundaries!
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The Bosshole® Chronicles
"Reference Profile Series: The Maverick Manager"
Original Publish Date: 2/18/2025
Hosts: John Broer & Sara Best
John Broer: Welcome to all of our friends out there in The Bosshole Transformation Nation to another reference profile episode of The Bosshole Chronicles. This is your co-host, John Broer, and joining me today is none other than the remarkable, amazing Sara Best, my good friend and business partner at Real Good Ventures. We're going to continue with the reference profile series and today we're going to be talking about the Maverick reference profile. These have proven to be really interesting. We get a lot of requests from people say, hey, when are you going to do my reference profile? And we will get to all of them.
But I want to remind everybody if you want to know what your predictive index reference profile is, just go into the show notes. There is a link. You can complete the assessment. It will take you less than 10 minutes and we will send you your one page reference profile description. It's incredibly insightful. This is based on nearly 70 years worth of validated science and it's at the heart of much of the analytical work we do at Real Good Ventures. So let's jump into the Maverick Manager reference profile right now.
The Bosshole Chronicles are brought to you by Real Good Ventures, a talent optimization firm helping organizations diagnose their most critical people and execution issues with world-class analytics. Make sure to check out all the resources in the show notes and be sure to follow us and share your feedback. Enjoy today's episode.
Sara Best: Hello John, how are you today?
JB: I’m good, Sara. What's going on?
SB: Well, it's always exciting to spend time with you, and today is yet another Reference Profile episode. I'm excited, this one generates a lot of conversation at Team RGV.
JB: Yeah.
SB: We do not have one of these on staff. However, you and I have determined that this pattern is my shadow pattern. Is that what you call it?
JB: You're adjacent to this pattern.
SB: My adjacent pattern which, by the way, John. What is it today? What are we talking about today?
JB: We're going to be talking about the Maverick reference profile and, yes, you are Maverick, adjacent, simply because your pattern is almost getting close to that. And we talk about the reference profile neighborhoods. You're in the Persuader neighborhood, I'm in the Captain. Maverick is somewhere very close to where we are. Yeah, let me tell you a little bit about the Maverick and then, Sara, you can talk about the drives, needs and behaviors, like the average pattern and the needs and behaviors associated with it. So a Maverick is an innovative, outside-the-box thinker who is absolutely undaunted by failure. And as you think about the Maverick and we talk about the width of a pattern, the wider the pattern, the more intense these characteristics and these traits become. That is absolutely true. But the undaunted by failure is just something that is totally inherent in the Maverick. So how do you recognize the pattern, drives, needs, behaviors of a Maverick?
SB: Yeah, you betcha, John. The Maverick pattern is pretty distinct and easy to detect. It has high dominance, so strong amounts of the drive of dominance, which is the drive to exert influence over people and things. It has high degrees of extroversion, so a stronger drive in connection and working with and through people. Lower degree of patience, the patience factor, which is that drive for consistency and stability. And very to extremely low formality, which is the drive to conform to rules and structure. Hence the name Maverick.
Everybody knows the Top Gun story and how the character, aptly named Maverick, tries really hard to stay within the rules but just can't because they don't fit the way he works. So that's very true about the Maverick drives, needs, behaviors. We talk about the needs of the Maverick. Get this, most significant for the Maverick is that need for independence and control of their own activities. They're strategic, big picture thinkers. They like opportunities to interact and work with and through people, but they're pretty task focused, we would say John, and when it comes to the pace with which they work, it's faster than average. So very results oriented, very proactive. Their needs for freedom from repetition, action and variety are high, like adrenaline junkie. Think of that term. And then, lastly-
JB: That's a good term, yeah.
SB: Yeah, yeah, it's true, the dopamine hit. What else is there? What else can we accomplish? Or take out of the sky, or whatever you might say? And then, with formality, there's a need for freedom from rigid structure expression, able to put your own thumbprint on things. You have your own rule book. If you're a maverick, there are rules. You may even know of the rules, but they don't necessarily apply to the world that you see. How's that? Drives and needs.
JB: Okay, good, how about the behaviors that we're likely to see.
SB: Undaunted, so very resolute, autonomous, sometimes aggressive and controlling, confrontational, unyielding, self-reliant, yet innovative, directing and challenging. These are things we would see in that higher dominance. They're sociable, stimulating. They can be eloquent, animated, compelling, eager to talk to people. They're definitely, we'll say, high-strung, hurried, intense, fast paced, abrupt, rapid. When it comes to the pace of things, let's go, lastly, with formality, unstructured, instinctive, impulsive, improvising. I always like to say here John too, you've said this before it's not that these things are good or bad. The connotation of the words that we might be using here may be negative but it's really only meant to describe the intensity of those drives.
So how's that for behaviors?
JB: I think that's great and, as a reminder to everybody, you can go in and if you don't have your reference profile, go into the show notes there's a link to get your reference profile and understand not only yours but obviously the people around you. That's the reason we're doing this series. But the other thing, Sara, as we talk about the pattern of a Maverick and any profile, the wider they get, all of these things become more intense. So you could have a very narrow pattern, Maverick manager, and they still have these same drives, needs, behaviors, behaviors. They're just less intense. So I think you probably you were using a great set of words and and it covers a range but the wider it gets, the more intense it gets.
And one thing that's really unique about the Maverick pattern the classic pattern tends to be higher dominance and then, behind that, still high extra version, but the dominance tends to be higher than the extra. Then, behind that, still high extroversion, but the dominance tends to be higher than the extroversion, which creates what we call an A over B. It's called a factor combination, meaning they are task-focused. However, it is possible to have a Maverick whose extroversion is higher than their dominance and so you have a more people-focused Maverick, and so within the world of Mavericks there is a little bit of a distinction there and that can make a big difference in terms of how they show up to other people.
So, related to that, let's talk a little bit about their signature work styles. So how do, in general, how do Mavericks communicate? They tend to be forceful and direct and can be very animated and telling, so making more statements than asking questions. In terms of communicating, now, again, I believe that is influenced by that task focus versus the people focus, and that's why I wanted to make that distinction. It relates to delegating. They freely delegate, generally with loose follow-up. I mean, you know again, yeah, go ahead and do that and I may or may not follow up on it with. With regard to decision-maker, you just said this can tend to can be very innovative, confident decision-maker, simply because they are so comfortable with risk, which gets us to the fourth signature work style. How do they deal with action and risk? They think risk is necessary, the end justifies the means, and quick to act.
So you and I share this in common with Mavericks, because it's like, well, if we make a mistake, we'll just make another decision and that can make sense to us. It's like, yeah, no big deal. One of our favorite, between Sara and me, one of our favorite phrases is we'll figure it out. You know, if it doesn't go right, we'll figure it out. Well, we have a couple of teammates for whom that is a little disconcerting. Sometimes it's like what are you talking about? Let's think this through. It's like nah, we don't need to think this through too much. We share that, in common with the Maverick. What about some of their strengths and common traps? Things that can trip them up?
SB: Strengths for the Maverick include, you know, when the heat gets turned up they get better. So it responds positively to challenges and pressure, which I think about kind of. I love a deadline, I don't mind a crisis that requires immediate action because, much like the Maverick, you know we're kind of wired to respond. Maverick has a strength there. Another strength is they're visionary and they include people in the vision that they can easily draw and cast and plan and they're very goal oriented.
So, one thing you can count on from a Maverick is give them some KPIs and let them go. Like give them the reins, they're going to achieve those most likely, John. Some common traps that we see with the Maverick is they could be tough minded and stubborn perhaps, or confident overly confident in their own ideas. They can be intolerant or very frustrated by slowdowns and delays, and they may not adhere to direction or structure.
JB: May not.
SB: They may not, they often do not and they need to be reminded to listen to other people's perspectives, so that high dominance and low, low patience make it easy for the maverick to just charge on through without remembering to listen and take into account other people's perspectives.
JB: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when you mentioned the drives and that formality, being on the low side, pushing things forward and, at the same time, for those people that are needing some follow-up or needing some continuity or structure, that is an adaptation that is going to be helpful for Maverick managers, because if it doesn't happen, you might realize that there are so many loose ends out there that nothing is really getting finished.
You know, there are a lot of incomplete things that are happening and, again, none of this is right, wrong, good or bad. It's just a matter of understanding who you are, and so, if you are a manager and your reference profile is a Maverick, you want to have the reins. I mean, this is how you like to work. You want to take action on your own ideas and initiatives. Sometimes it might seem a little defiant of now we're going to go in this direction, not that direction, like independence and flexibility, and you just need to be reminded of the details. Their goal orientation is strong, but they may overlook the details, and if you're a manager, you can't do that. That's an adaptation that is so absolutely critical.
SB: Yeah, I think there's a risk there for the Maverick manager, especially if you're high dominance over extroversion, which means you're more focused on the work than the people.
JB: Right.
SB: Doesn't mean you don't care about the people, but you're charging ahead. You have to be willing to adapt both your pace and how far out you're looking, so that the people you manage have clarity and know, within the you know, they know about what they need to be doing today. Maverick managers also need to develop a comfortability with having presence with their team.
You don't just get to give people the assignment and then go off and do your thing. You need to continue to check in with people, and I was thinking about PI, perform Shameless. Plug right here, John, for the greatest module we've seen on the Predictive Index platform since its inception, because it brings it all together. It's a system that a Maverick manager could absolutely work within. We would call it an existence system for a Maverick manager, so that his or her direct reports might know each and every day what's expected. It's not cumbersome, it doesn't pull the maverick down. It just creates a system whereby they can track these things and be more effective for their people.
JB: Oh yeah, for sure, for sure, and we'll put some information in the show notes about, actually we'll just do that because Perform is an amazing platform for managers. So, yes, that's a great call out.
SB: Yeah, what if you're managing Mavericks?
JB: So, as it relates to having Mavericks on your team, in terms of motivating and recognizing them, they like individual recognition for tangible results and accomplishments. They want their independence. I mean they will, let's just face it. They'll take their independence because that's how they're wired. But the opportunity, what with some opportunity to interact with people, I think the higher that extroversion even that extroversion, higher than the dominance, will drive that and give them variety in their work.
If you're giving Mavericks just repetitive, consistent work, they will just totally get bored and they'll go find something else to do. And so, in terms of how you want to manage them that is one aspect of it relative to providing direction and feedback, just clear expectations and what good looks like, and that there are rules and structure. Just realize that naturally, adhering to rules and structure does not happen for a Maverick. Some Mavericks it's easier because that formality isn't quite as low. But you will need to provide that frequent check-in, informal check-in, but also sort of always keep track of where those metrics are and put them in the right position to flex their innovative style and let them learn from failure rather than being critical.
SB: And I think that's huge, that's huge.
JB: Yeah, I think the positive you know feedback, constructive feedback, lands differently with all of the reference profiles. All of that information is obviously available through the information that you get when you're learning about your reference profile, but that's why it's so critical.
SB: Yeah, yeah. I just want to add to I know that low formality patterns like the Maverick tend to be a little bristly at authority. So a point you made a second ago I think is worth acknowledging again, John, that as the manager of a Maverick, you know they don't need to be, you know micromanaged.
They don't and you said you know. Let them learn from their mistakes versus offer the criticism. There's nothing better than a crash and burn and doing a debrief to figure out what they would do differently because they're not going to respond well to a barrage of you need to do this. You didn't do this. Now it's time to do this.
I think the other thing to recognize is there is a limitation to the amount of structure that Mavericks can successfully operate within and, John, I'm thinking of an example you and I both know about. It was an organization that required a certain level of performance from a key player, and the key player kept totally going outside the lines, acting in obnoxious ways, and they recognized they needed the talent, they needed what this guy was able to do. But in order to not lose their own minds and not suck the life out of the rest of the team who actually a team of people who actually were doing what they were supposed to do they created kind of like a happy medium. They created some guardrails, whereas this person didn't need to adhere to every single expectation, but there were some non-negotiable expectations that left a little room for flexibility and leeway. So the non-negotiables were what the performance standard was created by, and other things you know were then more appropriately allowed, if that makes sense.
JB: Yeah.
SB: I love that example. One more example I want to share with you. I was just talking recently with a former client who has worked in the sales industry and he has been a sales leader. He's a wide pattern Maverick. He has been frustrated by the pace inside several organizations within which he's worked, which is normal in the corporate environment. You know, there's a structure that we follow, there's a bureaucracy, there's the process that we need. He was debating at this next chapter, you know, in his career. Should he just go back out to having a territory and going after the sales on his own, because he's wired for that, or should he, you know, look for a position that would allow him to have influence over people? Mm-hmm, territory to track your prospects that does not excite him. And I think that's just another really good example of you know how we can deploy the skills and capabilities of a Maverick.
JB: Yeah.
SB: Does that resonate?
JB: Oh, for sure, for sure. Well, and then I think about how to you know, if we, as we start to think about coaching Mavericks this reminds me, for example, your comment reminds me ask them how they can be a role model and change agent for those who find change to be more challenging. So, while they are out there in front and they have some complimentary people around them that can shore up that lower formality and focus on detail. Mavericks are exceptionally comfortable with change and risk, and so how can they help others? Maybe see it a little bit differently. You're never going to pull, like our process and precision reference profiles up into the you know, innovation and agility group where the Maverick lives with us. But that is one of those things where you're playing to their strengths but, at the same time, how do their strengths help others understand how it all works together? Yes, because the change readiness that is a huge thing related. We've done podcasts and we've done episodes on that.
The reference profiles absolutely help others understand their change readiness. A couple of final things when it comes to Mavericks. Encourage them to think carefully about when a more conservative approach is the right one.
So, sort of dialing that back. Just because you are comfortable, highly proactive, comfortable with the risk, is not an excuse to say I'm just going to go out there. It's like the Wild West. It's not help them adapt. And again, we're not asking people to change. Circumstances change. We're helping people understand the power of adaptation which is manageable and then finally help them understand how their informal nature could possibly be a detriment to their reputation if it is seen as unprofessional or distracting to others. And I'm thinking about a couple of individuals whom I like very much and respect and they are mavericks and I do know that they this is a constant challenge for them. They are perceived negatively in some ways within their workplace because of this informality and sort of this. You know, damn the torpedoes, I'm just moving forward and it's like there's a time for that and there's not a time for that. Does that make sense?
SB: Oh, it absolutely does, I'm thinking of one particular client slash friend who's very self-aware of the Maverick nature of his work and his team also reminds him comment. You know frequently about the informality and the. What happens with the informality, John, is that the people who are more producing and stabilizing hold formality in a higher regard. So if they don't see that from a Maverick leader, they tend to lose respect and trust.
JB: Yeah.
SB: So Mavericks might be the ones who have to adapt the most when they're managing people different than when they're the CEO of a company. By the way, which the Maverick pattern is fairly common as a higher level leader pattern because they're results oriented. There's research that would indicate people get promoted beyond the manager level not because of their emotional intelligence but, more because of their ability to get done.
JB: Yeah, yeah, well, can you expand on that a little bit, because I think this is one of the unique things. Over the years, we've been doing this a long time and we have worked with, I mean, thousands and thousands of different people with different reference profiles. It's interesting the Maverick reference profile is about 3.6, a little over 3.6% of the human population.
SB: Mm-hmm.
JB: However, you would think it was much higher by how they show up. You know what I mean. And when Sara says not unusual to see a maverick as the CEO, senior leader, of an organization, because they want to do things their way and they're so highly proactive and comfortable with risk how they present to people around them. It'sso highly proactive and comfortable with risk how they present to people around them it's very easy for people to go oh, that's a go-getter, let's get that person into management or let's give that person more responsibility. And which is a really, really bad conclusion to come to, because it's not that they can't do it, but if we're talking about job fit, let's be a little bit more thoughtful about that, because, to your point, we could have a maverick and the worst thing we could do this is actually the case for everybody is put them into a management or supervisory role, because that's the only way to progress in a company. That's why we say you should have Maverick very robust individual contributor pathway, because you just gave an example of a maverick that's saying I don't know, I'm not sure I want to do this. I want to do something that allows me to really leverage those strengths, and it may still involve managing or working with a team, or it might mean being that individual contributor and just let them go, but through this data, you know what you're getting. Go ahead.
SB: In particular is the adaptation, which is emotional intelligence. And we know, John, people can lead from any pattern. There is no one specific pattern that is the right pattern for a leadership role. There might be a specific pattern related to the particular environment of a specific organization or a market or an industry.
But, in general, we know people can lead from any pattern. In the Maverick leader case, emotional intelligence can be tapped into several ways. Assertiveness, as an example Mavericks are generally highly assertive and drive forward. Highly assertive and drive forward. So moderate assertiveness combined with higher degrees of empathy, which means, oh, I'm stopping to listen and appreciate what the experiences of the people around me, so that I can make an informed decision, not just what appeals to me in the moment or what I think we should do, but it's representative of the needs of the people around us. So, as with any high-level leader position and, by the way, the research indicates that emotional intelligence is higher when you get to the manager level. So you have individual contributor, supervisor, manager, and that's where it peaks. So in Dr. Travis Bradbury's research on leaders with emotional intelligence, it peaks at the manager level and then it actually goes down from there Directors, VPs and CEO level. C-suite people tend to have less emotional intelligence.
For well, at least one reason is they get promoted because they get stuff done and they're results oriented and they have that drive, that nature of getting results drive that you know nature of getting results. So we can't overlook, you know, when there's a foundation of understanding of your own behavioral drives, then you got to look at your emotional intelligence competencies and say, okay, do I have enough of these to make sure I leverage my strengths in my behavioral drives and that I mitigate the potential downside? Those traps we talk about aren't necessarily a conviction. They're like hey, here's something you need to watch out for. And emotional intelligence skills like impulse control. Mindfulness allows a fast-paced high-level leader to breathe into a pace that people can keep up with.
JB: Sara, I have a question for you. Can you think of a consultancy that does a really exceptional job of combining PI behavioral data with EQ competencies?
SB: John, is this a commercial for Real Good Ventures? Because I think we do.
JB: Oh, I think I just backed into a commercial. I'm sorry. And the reason I bring that up is your work around that and competing and combining those two it's such a powerful combination. There's absolute.
SB: It's undeniable about how transformational it is when managers understand PI and EQ together the behavioral wiring and then also the EQ skills that are appropriate for you at the chapter that you're in.
JB: For sure.
SB: You're a supervisor, a manager, a C-suite member, an individual contributor, at whatever stage you're in. And let's just agree, John. I know we're going to have an episode here coming up in the not too distant future about the newest Gallup data on engagement, but we know that stress levels are high. Burnout is not getting better, necessarily. We're in this. It feels like a giant toilet bowl of issues in the workplace and with the workforce and for anybody out there who's listening, who says you know what. I don't really feel like that. I'm thrilled for you and I know there's organizations that are doing a lot of good things, but for our purposes this is a very unique time. So the skills of emotional intelligence, such as stress, tolerance and optimism and self-regard those are things that each individual needs to tap into and develop on their own.
JB: For sure.
SB: Because the world isn't going to give that to us. It's really important that we fortify our ability to be in this unique time that we're in.
JB: As Sara Best would say, this is an inside-out job.
SB: There you go.
JB: Yeah.
SB: Inside-out leadership.
JB: I listen, not well all the time, but I listen. Well, Sara, thank you again. I love these, I love these episodes and the response from our listeners has been great. Through the reference profile episodes, we've been getting requests hey, please do this one next, and we will get to all 17. But I would remind everybody, go into the show notes. If you don't have your reference profile, click the link. We'll send you your information. This is transformational data. We just happen to have a very reliable tool to be able to do that, and so we hope you will take advantage of that. But, Sara, thanks, and we'll keep these coming.
SB: Absolutely. See you next time.
JB: Thanks very much for checking out this episode of the Bosshole Chronicles. It was so good to have you here, and if you have your own boss hole story that you want to share with the Bosshole Transformation Nation, just reach out. You can email us at mystory@thebossholechronicles.com. Again, mystory@thebossholechronicles.com, we'll see you next time.
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