Ah.
There are team players and there are not team players and then, there are the mavericks.
Mavericks are defined in the Oxford Language dictionary as: "an unorthodox or independent-minded person."
There comes a point in any evolving team where somebody doesn't play for the team, where an individuals' ego will come first above all.
They will be quick to shout their success, quiet to hide their failures and if discovered will swiftly point fingers and play the blame game.
Failure
Failure will never be their fault, and if you are near any buses be careful as you may soon find yourself under one.
Who are the Mavericks
Sometimes this person can be your boss, sometimes your colleague.
These people fill their team-mates with dread.
Often these mavericks are short burns, disruptive storms that soon move on to pastures new.
"Thank goodness" the team think.
But can we actually learn from them?
The philosopher and writer George Bernard Shaw once said that progress only ever comes as a result of unreasonable people bending the world to their will.
Often these disrupters come in and make change occur.
Whilst there is no evidence that these "freethinkers" are cleverer or have more new ideas than anyone else, they tend to be more forceful in character and (as a result) things tend to move forward or change more quickly.
Learn From Them
There is no place for toxicity at work, however, next time you encounter one of these disruptive whirlwinds, listen to what they have to say.
Follow how they get things moving forward.
Watch them, observe them and learn from them before they blow themselves out.
Take the good bits from them, and use the good bits for the benefit of the team and the business.
Drop the bad bits and the bad behaviours. They're not needed.
Toxic players do need to be removed, but with the right mind set you can still learn from them.
That way, perhaps you can make these mavericks team players after all.
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If you have issues in your team or you have a maverick impacting negatively, then you may find that these courses can help.
Developing Good Employee Relations
