I attended a dinner in London recently and sat next to the CEO of a successful retail company. We got talking about our backgrounds, experiences, styles and what great business looks like. One thing we agreed on was that maverick leaders can change everything.

Apart from when it’s related to the Top Gun movies, the word ‘maverick’ often has negative connotations in business. People mistake it for cavalier, gung-ho, taking needless risk and so on.

Yet the maverick leader is none of these things. Instead, they take a non-conformist approach to work.

That’s not to say that they are difficult for the sake of it; they simply like to question the way things are done and have unique and creative ways of building team culture and of leading.

Rebels with a cause

Maverick leaders are those who invest in culture when their peers don’t see the value. They reject back-to-back meetings in favor of high value interactions. They are active listeners and observers. They have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening both internally and externally (inside and outside of their sector).

They look for opportunities where others only see problems and persist in pushing through bureaucratic barriers that serve to stem the flow of progress.

They understand that conventional wisdom often protects the status quo rather than driving new ways of thinking and acting, so they challenge processes that exist simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it”.

Research from Harvard Business School found that organizations led by maverick leaders demonstrated 34 percent higher innovation rates and stronger employee engagement compared to traditionally managed organizations. These leaders create psychological safety, allowing teams to experiment, fail and learn without fear of reprisal.

Leading with courage

Maverick leaders also recognize that culture isn’t a soft, fluffy initiative, it’s a competitive advantage. While others view culture as an HR responsibility, mavericks embed it into their strategic thinking.

They know that engaged employees deliver better results, and they’re willing to make unpopular decisions to protect that culture, even when it means challenging owners, shareholders or board members. This ensures they have the full trust of those that govern the business.

But what makes them truly distinctive is their courage. They don’t follow leadership fads or adopt trendy management speak. Instead, they lead with conviction, trusting their instincts while remaining open to being wrong. This vulnerability creates trust and loyalty that hierarchical command-and-control leadership can never achieve.

The maverick leader doesn’t seek to be different for the sake of it, they simply refuse to compromise on what they believe drives genuine performance: purpose, people and progress.

In a world that appears to thrive on conformity, the maverick leader is a rare commodity. Someone at peace with who they are – a shining light for others to follow.

Opinions expressed by The CEO Magazine contributors are their own.