What makes a military leader a maverick?

Robert Harvey's biographical range is recommended, although many of its subjects do not fit the title. Cochrane is the clearest maverick in the list, while Washington, Nelson, Wellington, Sturdee, and several others do not become mavericks merely through success or fame. Here, a maverick sees a problem differently, accepts calculated risk, and rewrites the usual approach while retaining enough discipline to make the new method work. Rommel is placed closer to a commander who sometimes benefited from chance, while Slim exemplifies recombining formations around their actual strengths. The distinction separates effective, lucky, or unconventional leadership from a marketable label.