Divas are among the toughest office personality types. Their lack of self-critique combined with a lot of sensitivity make them a ticking time bomb in the office. Just 33% of all employees enjoy the luxury of working in a single office. The rest splits the office with at least one other person. Divas need the undivided attention of everybody present. Like the self-proponent, Divas like to be at the center of attention.

Characteristics

First of all, the female character Diva does not mean that only women can be assigned to this office personality type. There are also male representatives of these species. Regardless of gender, Divas:

 love it when everything revolves around them and they get the attention of everyone else

This ego-centrism ensures that this personality is very similar to the self-proponent.

Furthermore, they are extremely sensitive and emotional personality types that always require to be treated with velvet gloves. This is particularly true when it comes to criticism and feedback.

Divas can not handle criticism well! In addition, anything – noise, warmth, cold, hunger, thirst, a sleepless night, annoying customers – can cause the Divas’ mood to shift within seconds.

Emotional stablility

The search for recognition and the attitude of being infallible are the reason why Divas are always a bit better than the others. If they were, then they would have been promoted. In their opinion, they should take over the project management. After all, they are the only ones with the required qualifications.

In other words, a lack of self-assessment is just as much a characteristic of the divas as a permanent degradation of the colleagues. Therefore, the potential conflicts lurk in all their glory.

At the same time, it is also clear that the Divas are only conditionally capable of working in a team. Certainly not if they subordinate themselves and leave others the precedent. Even worse, they realize it only when they meet another Diva.

For the rest of the workforce, the following applies:

heads down! there might be shrapnel flying

Since they are incredibly dominant and extremely vulnerable, they cannot tolerate any threat to their status or competition. Therefore, staffing personnel that value balanced working environment should ensure clear separation of responsibilities.

At a glance

• Egocentric
• Dominant
• Emotional
• Quickly in a bad mood
• Addicted to attention
• Extremely sensitive
• Vulnerable
• Deals poorly with criticism
• Is extremely convinced of his / her ‘infallibility’
• Can be difficult to subordinate
• Is only conditionally team-capable

How to deal with them?

Dealing with Divas requires a lot of sensitivity. A wrong word could turn out that Divas lose their minds. If you want to criticize a Diva, plan it in advance. If you want to limit the damage, you should structure the criticism by first showing what the Diva has done well first.

This may be the best approach to ensure a pleasant working environment. If there’s a question of problem-solving in the team, ring fence the Diva and put him / her in charge. Such affirmation ensures that they do not create problems.

However, if decisions are to be made, their decisions must be accepted by others. Teamwork almost always implies democracy. In this scenario, the Diva personality type may face conflicts. So, critically reflect the role that Divas play in decision-making before engaging them in this process.