Once in a while teams have what I call a “prima donna”. It’s a person who is important to the team and is thus being supported in an extensive manner.

I’ve often seen them appear in teams in which a person established herself as irreplaceable. Such teams feel dependent on their “prima donna”.

Another variant of this can happen when the team pays extra attention to making sure that everyone feels well.

I noticed this is a meeting I attended lately, a mixed crowd was present. Some of the participants belonged to the team and others were outsiders. The boss was sharing an explanation and doing so noticed that one of his team members might understand that statement as a critique. He immediately interrupted himself sharing with the team member concerned that she had been doing everything right.

It’s a signal that the team might have switched from cooperation to over protection.

The problem in such situations isn’t the prima donna. It’s the way the team works together.

When you see a prima donna’s search for the fear and the stress in the team.