The Janitor at NASA

In the early 1960s, during the height of the space race, President John F. Kennedy toured NASA headquarters. The country was locked in fierce competition with the Soviet Union to put the first man on the moon, and the stakes couldn’t have been higher.

As JFK walked through the facility, he paused when he noticed a janitor sweeping the hallway late in the evening. Curious, the President stepped over and asked, “Why are you working so late? What are you doing here?”

Without hesitation, the janitor looked up and said, “Mr. President, I’m helping put a man on the moon.”

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ScrumMasters and Office Politics

The art of pushing through a battlefield with only your laptop in hand — office politics. You can see on this battlefield, the Scrum Master, a leader without any official authority. The person people listen to when they feel like it, but takes all the blame when things go awry.

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Team Dynamics - The Soloist - Mike Cohn

It’s always great when a high performer joins a team. A true star can elevate everyone through their attitude, ability, and commitment.
Think of them like a brilliant musician in a band—a lead guitarist or vocalist who’s not just talented, but who listens, collaborates, and knows how to bring out the best in everyone else. They don’t just shine—they make the whole group sound better.
But sometimes, the high-performing teammate turns out to be more comfortable as a soloist.
Soloists want to stand out—but often at the expense of the ensemble. They can sometimes play over others, ignore the rhythm of the group, and expect the spotlight on every track. They might be technically excellent, but they’re out of sync.
These kinds of high performers sometimes overvalue their individual contribution and subtly (or not-so-subtly) expect special treatment: the final say in decisions, the best projects, or freedom from feedback and constraints. When they take risks and things go wrong, they assume their talent will shield them—leaving the rest of the team to clean up after the show.
The difference between a true bandmate and a soloist isn’t skill—it’s orientation. One makes the team tighter. The other plays their own set.
That’s where the Scrum Master comes in.
A good Scrum Master notices when someone’s out of sync and steps in early—before the rhythm breaks.
Rather than act on their own opinion, the Scrum Master should have the private conversations necessary to confirm that the rest of the team also feels the soloist is throwing off their rhythm.
If the feeling is widespread, then the Scrum Master should have a private conversation with the soloist about any behavior that is detrimental to the team. If, for example, a diva is ignoring what the team selected during sprint planning and instead chooses to work on pet projects, the diva needs to understand that’s not acceptable.
If a private conversation doesn’t help, the Scrum Master can escalate the problem to the solist’s functional manager. Consider including the soloist in that conversation so that there’s no miscommunication and everyone is on the same page.
Don’t let one person throw off the rhythm of the whole team. To succeed with agile, we don’t need virtuosos; we need great bands.

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