About Maverick Leadership
Matt Denham
I love learning, my career was spent building and developing high-performance sales and marketing teams in the consumer products and edtech industries. The majority of my time was spent in edtech, specifically in the higher education market. We called it the ‘accidental career’ as rarely did anyone aspire to have a career selling course materials/technology to professors, and most people stayed. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be paid to speak with professors about their course materials on beautiful campuses daily? Being immersed in academia and surrounded by some of the best minds in learning and cognition paved the way for my passion in learning and human performance.
We are now in what many are calling the 4th Industrial Revolution. Millions of jobs are being eliminated and millions of jobs will be created, most of which we haven’t even considered yet. Now more than ever, a growth mindset is critical for everyone, especially leaders.​
Leaders are learners.
While my leadership journey began in consumer products, it absolutely accelerated in edtech. My career was marked by taking on hard assignments: business turnaround/change management, reorganization, layoffs, launching new divisions/teams.
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There’s experience, then there’s experiences. The former is measured simply by time. The latter is characterized by high stakes moments when judgment, knowledge, skills and character traits like integrity, empathy, emotional intelligence, courage and others are put to the test. I’m fortunate for the opportunities to have led in just about every challenging dynamic there is. These high stakes moments (experiences) accelerated my leadership development.​
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Leaders develop their people.
I learned a lot through trial and error, seeing and emulating great leadership and certainly learning what poor leadership looks like, but that isn’t enough. All of the great leaders will tell you they had great mentors and coaches along the way. Fortunately, I've had great mentors - both formal and informal who've provided insight, perspective, guidance and that challenged me appropriately along my leadership journey. Leadership is a craft or skill which can be learned by anyone.​
Leadership doesn’t require a title. I was inspired by my mentors to teach and to use the “experiences” I had gained along with any insight, perspective and knowledge to pay it forward.​
This is the genesis for Maverick Leadership.
The mission is simple - to build extraordinary leaders.
The vision is bold - become obsolete.​
Too often, we conflate management with leadership. We lead people and manage tasks, but leadership is about people. The only sustainable competitive advantage an organization has is their people, culture and leadership. Prioritize this and you and your organization will be well on your way to winning the long game.
I am originally from Oklahoma - Boomer Sooner - and attribute much of my sensibilities and strong work ethic to this heritage. My career has taken me to just about every time zone in the U.S. and I've traveled to every state. These experiences have not only provided a cadre of friendships around the nation, but also fueled my curiosity and passion for learning as well as an openness to different cultures and different points of view.
When I'm not working, you can usually find me on the golf course, photographing wildlife (really, chasing bears), or working on the property here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Western Carolina.
Interested in learning more about how we can work together to ensure you and your teams are prepared to engage, lead, and inspire your organization to fulfill its mission and vision? I’m easy to find and easier to work with. I look forward to hearing from you.​
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Matt Denham