"The high-maintenance employee is the tail that wags the dog," says Leviss, the author of "High-Maintenance Employees," which argues the best employees are also the most difficult. "They lead and achieve. They are innovators, and the people who are most often responsible for a business's success."

In the real world, being high-maintenance often carries a negative connotation — people who are annoying, egotistical and need validation at all times.

That may be true, but Leviss argues those are not necessarily bad tendencies in the workplace — as long as these people's strengths are allowed to blossom and their weaknesses handled appropriately.

Of course, the first order of business for a boss is to determine which of her employees are H.M. Leviss lists the top 10 traits — demanding, poor team players, uncompromising, disrespectful, intimidating, emotional, uncooperative, defiant, erratic and driven to succeed.

Leviss is quick to stand up for these defiant souls.

"Yes. They take more effort to manage, and there is a greater risk that they will fail — in a big way," Leviss says. "But if you manage them correctly, these are the people that can move your company more quickly to results, close business fastest and find new and better ways of doing things that put you in front of the competition."

Because, she says, these people typically are decision-makers, goal-oriented and results-driven.

They're ready to prove themselves so they can move up. The key is to determine where — and if — they fit into an organization, says Mark Haering, senior partner with Princeton Search Group, an executive-recruiting firm in Indianapolis.

"We have to do a pretty in-depth read in terms of personality when it comes to potential job candidates," he says. "These people might require a little more attention and a little more support."

More business & technology headlines...