The Case for Divas
Why the most unconventional people often create the greatest progress...
We all know the stereotype. The diva. High-maintenance. High-opinion. High-drama.
But I want to talk about a very different kind of diva – the kind Eric Schmidt celebrated, the kind high-performing companies quietly rely on, and the kind many of us (myself included) probably recognise more than we admit.
A diva, in Schmidt’s framing, is not a tantrum-thrower. It is not a disruptor in the negative sense. A diva is someone whose talent, originality, and ambition run so hot that they sometimes appear to bend the world around them. Not through entitlement, but through momentum.
And in my experience – across Product, across PE-backed transformations, across moonshots, across tech teams navigating the AI shift – divas are often the difference between slow progress and step-change progress.
So I want to reclaim the term. Not soften it, not sanitise it, but rewrite it.
Here is my version:
A diva is someone who cares so deeply about the craft, the mission, or the standard that they refuse to settle.
They might be intense.
They might be demanding.
They might sometimes forget to hide how much they care.
But they raise the bar…
They see angles others miss.
They find opportunities others step over.
They dare to imagine better.
And in environments where the average gravitational pull is towards safe, steady, and incremental, we need more of that.
Why divas matter
In high-ambition companies, value creation rarely comes from consensus. It comes from tension. Curiosity. Discomfort. Challenge. Vision. And divas bring all five.
Here is what I have seen, time after time.
One - Divas challenge assumptions everyone else quietly accepted
They walk into the room and point at the thing no one has questioned for 10 years. They do not do it to be provocative. They do it because they cannot help themselves. They are wired to optimise, to push, to ask why not?
Two - Divas raise the tempo
They create pace simply by existing. Teams work harder, not because of pressure but because of proximity. You notice the lift.
Three - Divas create opportunity density
They make leaps – sometimes messy, sometimes chaotic, but almost always transformational. They spot new product vectors, new propositions, new monetisation angles, new markets.
Four - Divas attract talent
High performers love working with high performers. A single world-class individual changes the whole hiring curve of a team.
Five - Divas shift culture from “that will be hard” to “let’s do it”
This matters more than any strategy document. A diva’s belief is contagious.
So what do we do with divas?
Most companies try to tame them. Slow them down. Fit them into a template.
Rein them in to make management easier. This is a mistake.
The right response is to channel their energy, not suppress it. To build an environment where their ambition compounds rather than combusts.
It takes thoughtful leadership, strong peers, clear outcomes, and a culture that values output over optics. But when you get it right, the return on investment is enormous.
Rebranding the diva
I would like to offer a replacement term. Not to make it softer, but to make it more accurate. Introducing… The Divergent Driver.
Someone who:
Sees the world differently
Demands better
Imagines bigger
Works at a different frequency
Is occasionally intense because they are genuinely invested
Brings an outsized positive impact when properly supported
Not everyone needs to be like this. Nor should they be. But every meaningful company has at least a few Divergent Drivers running around the building, pulling the future forward faster than everyone else thought possible.
And if you do not have any... You may not have enough ambition in the system.
A personal note
I am not saying I am a diva. I won’t name the (brilliant) divas I have worked with. But I can say this: I have spent my career around Divergent Drivers, and they are often the most energising, inspiring, catalytic people in the room.
If this resonates with you – as a leader, founder, Product person, investor, operator – you probably have a few of these people in your ecosystem too.
The question is not whether you have them. It is whether you are getting the best out of them. Which brings us to the paid-subscriber resource…
Paid Subscriber Exclusive
The Diva Value Framework
How to spot them, support them, and get the very best out of their energy
This resource is written for founders, Product leaders, managers, and investors who want to work with high-impact Divergent Drivers without burning out their teams or losing the magic…
How to spot them, support them, and get the very best out of their energy
For those of you who are paid subscribers, here is the deeper, more practical bit. This is the part leaders ask me for privately: how do you actually work with someone whose talent is immense, whose impact is undeniable, and whose style is… intense?
Here is the framework I use with clients.
