## Problem
"When I was manager at Box, we had to deal with the bad behaviour of a developer. While he was technically excellent, he was difficult to manage because he regularly complained and wanted to prove he was right all the time. Basically, he knew that he was good and was behaving like a diva. Of course, he was often right, but in doing so, he was also consuming a lot of the manager's and the team's energy, and his behaviour resulted in reduced productivity."

## Actions Taken
"Because the developer was skilled technically, managers didn't want to let him to go, and they were too nice to him. They accepted behaviours from him that would have been intolerable from the rest of the team. Our managers finally decided to fire him, and realized that they should have done it a long time ago."

## Lessons learned
"With the benefit of hindsight, I think that they should have defined the culture at Box more clearly, for example by spotlighting the qualities required of a good engineer. They could also have organized one-on-one meetings more frequently, and drawn clear red lines."

Box manager's struggle with a difficult developer who consumed team energy and reduced productivity. Lessons learned include defining culture, frequent one-on-one meetings, and setting clear boundaries.

At Box, a manager had to deal with a difficult developer who was technically excellent but had a diva-like attitude. Managers were too nice to him and accepted behaviours from him that would have been intolerable from the rest of the team. He was eventually fired, and the lesson learned was that the culture at Box should have been more clearly defined, with one-on-one meetings and clear red lines.

A hardly-manageable rockstar dev

Problem

Actions Taken

Lessons learned

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