More Prima Donnas Needed

I remember getting raked over the coals in a past-work life about my attitude towards my job. I had just been transferred to a new department in which I had no experience and was expected to take on tasks that I had no training for. I refused to take on the responsibility of those tasks because I knew if something bad happened on my watch, the sh*t was REALLY going to hit the fan, so to speak.

Anyway, my boss was away when I refused this task and when he got back from his trip, he ranted and railed against my refusal to accept the new job position. Somewhere during this he said "we don't need prima-donnas like you around here". I was prepared for the overall berating of my attitude and I parted ways with the company that very day - much to my relief.

The thing is, we DO need more prima donnas - there should be at least one in every department. This is the person who stands up and says "NO - THIS CAN BE DONE BETTER AND I WON'T STAND BY WHILE THIS (project/department/company) GOES TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET".

Okay - maybe we can do without the ego and posturing traditionally associated with the "prima donna personality", but we all benefit from the people who are passionate enough about what they're doing who push us to do better - to go beyond the mediocre and really achieve something worth doing.