I found both of these articles interesting. The first, talks about the value in firing an expert prima donna because of the problems they cause, despite their skills.
I’ve worked with some prima donnas, and they can be toxic. The can be protective of information, refusing to help others understand how something works. They do this because they don’t want someone else, of lesser ability, screwing it up.
Then, Tony Robinson had a rebuttal, looking at this from the prima donna’s angle.
https://startupsventurecapital.com/you-fired-your-top-talent-i-hope-youre-happy-cf57c41183dd
The problem with Rick becoming a prima donna wasn’t just on Rick, it was management’s failure to manage the team with a long-term approach, likely sacrificing the future to meet short-term needs. When things fall apart, instead of accepting their contribution to the problem and learning from it, they fire the person they were counting on to bail them out.
Good management doesn’t let prima donnas exist for any length of time, and certainly doesn’t promote their growth. It’s management’s job to improve collaboration and sharing of work. No one should be allowed to “own” a design or implementation, hw or code. If engineers are allowed to do that, it’s management that’s the problem. The prima donna is just a symptom.