Dear Potential Maverick Leader: My name is Jesvir Mahil, and I’m just like you. Different. Smart. Opinionated and courageous. Which is why I’ve always threatened the people I work for. If that sounds all too familiar, that’s because it’s a universal constant in businesses and organizations of all kinds. If you threaten the people who manage you, if you challenge them and compete with them for credit, sometimes if you don’t look, sound or act like they do, they’ll find a way to render you redundant or even invisible. If you let them, they can ruin your entire career. There are two ways to rise within the management ranks of an organization. One is by playing the game according to the rules, by not rocking the boat. The other is to learn how to rock the boat safely, so that instead of being regarded as less than a good fit for the organization, you are recognized as a maverick thinker, someone to watch, while remaining true to who you are, and in spite of how you look, sound and act. You don’t have to become something you’re not to succeed. You don’t have to sell out. And you definitely don’t have to fit-in to move up. In fact, if you know how to operate in a potentially The trick is knowing how to create the perception of an emerging star as you rock the organizational boat, rather than that of someone who doesn’t fit in. As a teacher, executive leadership coach and lecturer for the past 25 years, I’ve witnessed this scenario play itself out at all levels within organizations that are otherwise committed to a culture of equality and a level management playing field. But the fact is, the wording on an organizational values statement has little to do with the daily realties of the very human managers who run it. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the fate of potential maverick managers and employees who don’t look and act like everyone around them. And I’ve written a book about it called… “How To Rock The Boat… Safely!”
My book is an informative survival manual for people who see themselves as mavericks within an organization, and have aspirations of becoming a leader who will make a meaningful difference. A maverick is someone who operates according to their own rules, who makes their own way in a crowd of followers. A leader is someone who models best practices and motivates others to follow them toward success. A maverick leader is someone who achieves success not by following the rigid norms within an organizational culture, but rather, by creating and modeling a direct path of action that efficiently motivates others toward a common goal. And for that to happen, one has to enlist and/or work around those who might feel threatened by this approach. Maverick leaders are a rare breed. And they are among the most effective leaders within an organization. But they didn’t get there by accident. No, they achieved success by understanding how to swim with sharks who would just as soon devour them as manage them. In my book, “How To Rock The Boat… Safely,” I explore the landscape of organizational culture from all angles, allowing the maverick thinker to understand the variables and consequences that will dictate their career path. It’s not as much about answers – organizational culture is not and never has been a definitive science – as it is a catalyst for behavior modeling, about showing those who might otherwise threaten the people who manage them how to enlist their superiors as supporters and enablers. The book is both comprehensive and accessible In 24 chapters I cover the issues and realities that define the outcome of a career path: racism, betrayal, oppression and bullying, burnout, conflict resolution, trust, forgiveness, gratitude, responsibility… and much more. The cumulative effect is that of a graduate-level curriculum on management culture and human dynamics, one that gives the emerging maverick leader – even the organizational “trouble maker” – the awareness and the tools they’ll need to succeed. If you have your sights set on leadership, and if you’re someone who approaches your work with courage and a strong vision, then I encourage you to read “How To Rock The Boat… Safely” It just might keep you afloat long enough for your goals to become reality.
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