Strong contributors, prima donnas and divas

Very useful, seldom irreplaceable, often difficult to manage, it is the collaborators who manage to bring excellent results, sometimes exceptional, working in an apparent state of relaxation, almost giving the impression of not working hard. When you want to plan a nice business improvement, it is useful to identify well the strong contributors, and among them the so-called prime donnas: they are aware of the value they bring to the company and tend to arrogate rights or to exploit in their favour situations in which they give a fundamental contribution. The one described is the type of prima donna from which one can benefit. The opposite model is that of the diva who always wants to stand out, often carrying out ideas or reasoning against logic and destabilizing the team environment.

It is advisable to always maintain a formally fair and moderate behaviour, especially in reference to the other team members, so as not to trigger feelings of resentment and jealousy.

Often the prima donnas do not like an increase in responsibility: their ambition does not expand outside their comfort zone. This aspect frequently leads to a contrast between their demand for above-average economic gratifications and the refusal to assume a role that would justify them: this sometimes creates distortions at salary level (upwards) that are sometimes not well accepted by peers.

Working with prima donnas

How can we nip in the bud disagreements, discontents and grudges against prima donnas, who often make more and apparently work less?

I like to think that working on the following aspects can facilitate teamwork:

1_ Assign diversified objectives

Depending on the skills, the assignment of objectives proportional to the abilities of individuals helps to clarify and also contributes to the willingness to improve. For example, a very good mechanical technician who works in a team with other less effective colleagues, may have as his goal the minimum level of efficiency compared to colleagues of the same line. By discussing with the team, clarity will need to be shed on leadership within the working group. Ambitious, measurable and achievable: the objectives must also be as stable as possible with fixed deadlines, on which to plan improvement actions.

2_ Working on humility

Improving the character of a prima donna: the importance of humility. On a professional level, those who have the most expertise often tend to keep their cultural / technical baggage for themselves: this behavior is part of human nature. This is perhaps an aspect that might be traced back to a distant survival instinct: the less you know compared to me, the more I flourish. Faced with a problem that is difficult to solve, often the star tends not to interact with the co-worker, showing a sense of detachment: "… I do it better and quicker, set yourself aside ...". It is one of the most complicated attitudes to correct: but not impossible.

There are no books on which to study how to become humble: to make a prima donna understand that humility pays, it will not be enough to explain it, but it is necessary to demonstrate it: this task goes to the "boss". We must grab the opportunities offered by working side by side and show that giving space to others, sometimes putting ourselves out of the spotlight, is not a sign of weakness, but the key element to the growth of colleagues and the company. If they see you doing it, slowly in turn they will learn to be humbler; it is a very gradual process, where a lot of patience is needed, and it is all the slower to learn the more knowledge is the result of years and years of experience in the field. When the prima donna understands that the main advantage of being better and smarter is to be able to pass it on to others, the peer relationship improves and the workflow becomes more fluid.

3_ Teaching to teach

It is not a given that those who know a lot and well, are able to teach effectively. Unfortunately, it is often just the opposite. A shy or introverted person will struggle with this; perhaps the difficulty of passing from “student” to “teacher” inhibits or intimidates; language difficulties; worry about not succeeding: these obstacles must be removed as naturally as possible, in a relaxed atmosphere, making sure that during the teaching phases, especially on high manufacturing lines, they are planned to minimize production slowdowns. In these cases, it is necessary to estimate the loss of efficiency, knowing that they are preparatory to improvement. If managers then had technical reference documents generated, as “ad hoc” standard procedures, it would be even better. Supervisors and managers should invest part of their time in drafting reference procedures that make the company safer; in fact, no company wants to depend on the knowledge of an “exceptional minority”: better to spread the information and make it easier to understand available to the “normal majority”

Whether or not to apply zero tolerance

Although prima donnas are an anomaly within most organizations, I personally tend to see them as more of an advantage, particularly if they can deliver innovative ideas. Not to mention companies that have made of genius, extravagance and thinking outside the box their workhorses: "work smart not hard" can be applied, but it remains up to the sensitivity of the manager to manage the balance between the value brought to the company and any potentially unwelcome behavior, usually by HR.

For many companies, being a prima donna is the main requirement to be hired: you work on a project, without time constraints, nor work planning, nor location: if you like your idea, if it is a harbinger of profit for the company, you are hired without many personal limitations; these are companies that usually are not engaged in manufacturing processes in the classical meaning, but in the provision of services: just one example above all... Google

When not to tolerate anymore

You cannot forgive everything when you are faced with inconvenient and unjustifiable behavior in front of the base. Constant delays in showing up for work, repeated absences, arrogant or unethical behavior, especially towards colleagues, are some examples that the manager cannot ignore, despite the concrete possibility of entering into conflict. Organization and its moral principles always come first. Recently I had to witness a case of layoff in which a senior employee, believing himself irreplaceable in the company, had managed to regularly enter the company very early (over an hour before the others) to organize the work of the whole team and to increase its efficiency. Actually, this did not happen, with the aggravating circumstance of an hour of overtime at the end to be able to complete routine tasks.

When the diva is a peer

When you work in a cross-functional group established at a higher level, it may happen that in the team, we find ourselves struggling with a "diva": at this point things might become complicated. Emotional behaviors, a tendency to pontificate and to draw conclusions without an unshakable database are behaviors that we must be ready and trained to live with. With patience and for the sake of rationality, discussions must lead to decisions shared by the majority. It helps a lot to have an impeccable technical knowledge about the subject, so that you can still guide the group towards positive solutions for the company. We have to "oppose" the diva's theses, often generated by the tendency to make a sensation, by means of circumstantial and irrefutable facts. I would suggest never to go into personal opposition, even when the temptation becomes strong: always aim for the result, without falling in the trap of reacting badly when we know we are right.

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