Personally I think there's room for both the genius jerk and the uninspired socialite, but each is only suitable in the right place.

If I want a highly technical engine developed and I'm convinced the workload is manageable I'd be happy enough hiring Ted Bundy if I could lock him in a broom cupboard and leave him to get on with it. If I want a work-a-day front end developed for a straightforward DB app then I'll take the uninspired socialite. If the former's got more social skill than they need or the latter has more technical then that's a bonus, but it's not the requirement. What I don't want is the genius jerk destroying my team if I don't need to leverage his genius or the uninspired socialite delivering me a second class engine if I could have locked him in a cupboard and not cared whether everyone think's he's a thoroughly smashing chap.

One thing I wall say, in my experience mavericks are rarely the genii they think they are. Usually they're just people who haven't spent time interacting with and learning from their peers to realise how fundamentally dumb the latest idea they're floating (and the word "floating" is particularly apt there) to the world actually is. If you think you know better than everyone else you're probably wrong. You might not be... but you probably are and you ought to at least entertain the possibility.

Hey, Pat, I hope that doesn't mean what I think it might. I just thought I'd say that I thought you were one of the better DBA's I've worked with. Pragmatic enough to get stuff done and tough enough to curb my worst excesses. I'd definitely work with you again:-)