#AvoidBurnout
The Problem with Heroes in Agile
09 May 2025
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com
Introduction
In many organizations, heroism is celebrated. The person who stays late to finish a critical feature or who seemingly saves the sprint or deployment is often praised as indispensable. In Agile environments, however, that kind of heroism is often a red flag.
Agile values sustainable pace, team collaboration, and continuous improvement—not last-minute rescues. When a team depends on heroics to meet its goals, it’s likely a sign that something in the system is broken. This article explores why "heroes" can be a problem in Agile and what should be valued instead.
🚩 Why "Heroics" Are a Problem in Agile
1. Systemic Failure Indicator
If someone needs to stay up late or pull off a last-minute save, it’s typically not a sign of excellence—it’s a symptom of upstream failure. Maybe the sprint was overloaded or the team didn’t get the support or clarity they needed. Whatever the cause, relying on heroics signals that planning, process, or collaboration broke down.
2. Violation of Sustainable Pace
One of the core principles of Agile is maintaining a sustainable pace. The Agile Manifesto emphasizes sustainable development. A process that routinely requires people to go above and beyond, especially through long hours or high stress, can’t last. Burnout isn’t a theoretical concern; it’s a predictable outcome of unmanaged expectations and unchecked hero culture.
3. Masking Deeper Issues
Heroics often act as a smokescreen for larger dysfunctions. When one person is always stepping in to save the day, the team may be avoiding necessary conversations about:
If the "hero" keeps solving the symptoms, the root causes often go unaddressed, and the cycle repeats.
4. Knowledge Silos
Heroes frequently emerge because they hold critical knowledge or capabilities that others don’t. This creates dependency and undermines the Agile principle of shared ownership. If success hinges on one person, the team becomes fragile. What happens if that individual takes a vacation? Or burns out? Or leaves? High-performing Agile teams are resilient, not reliant.
5. False Sense of Success
A sprint that "succeeds" because one person pulled an all-nighter isn’t a real success. It’s a short-term win at the cost of long-term stability. These situations can distort metrics, mask delivery risks, and foster a misguided sense of performance. From the outside, everything looks fine—but it’s a brittle system waiting to break.
✅ What to Promote Instead
If heroics are a symptom of dysfunction, what does a healthy Agile practice look like? It resembles this:
1. Good Planning and Refinement
Teams need an appropriately-refined backlog, clear priorities, and achievable sprint goals. When the work is well understood and scoped appropriately, surprises decrease, and heroics become unnecessary.
2. Team Collaboration and Swarming
Work shouldn’t fall on one person. Promote collaboration through techniques like pair programming or swarming on high-priority items. Shared ownership reduces bottlenecks and increases collective learning.
3. Working at a Sustainable Pace
A consistent, manageable velocity is better than boom-and-bust cycles of burnout. Encourage teams to commit to what they can realistically deliver and improve incrementally.
4. Continuous Improvement and Retrospectives
Use retrospectives to identify root causes of stress, blockers, or missed work. Then take real action. Continuous improvement isn’t about putting out fires—it’s about building fire-resistant systems.
5. Cross-Functional Skill-Building
Encourage knowledge sharing and skill development. When teams invest in cross-training and mentoring, they become more adaptable and less dependent on individual heroes.
🧭 Final Thought
Agile should not require routine heroics. It’s about teams delivering value together in a sustainable, adaptable, and resilient way. When heroics are needed, they should prompt a deep look at what made them necessary.
So the next time someone "saves the day," ask: What system failure required that save in the first place? Then fix that.
More
Read on for…
Bibliography
Based on Scott M. Graffius' experience—and inspired by insights from Jim Highsmith’s Agile Project Management and other resources listed in the bibliography—this article explores why real agility emerges from adaptive, resilient teams and systems—not individual saviors.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius sparks breakthroughs in AI, agile, and project management/PMO leadership as a globally recognized practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and international public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $2.3 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of three books.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
Thought Leader | Public Speaker | Agile Protocol Book | Agile Scrum Book | Agile Transformation Book | Blog | Photo | X | LinkedIn | Email
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, May 9). The Problem with Heroes in Agile. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/problem-with-heroes-in-agile-by-scott-m-graffius.html.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
DOI: (coming soon)
Content Acknowledgements
Names and marks are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Introduction
In many organizations, heroism is celebrated. The person who stays late to finish a critical feature or who seemingly saves the sprint or deployment is often praised as indispensable. In Agile environments, however, that kind of heroism is often a red flag.
Agile values sustainable pace, team collaboration, and continuous improvement—not last-minute rescues. When a team depends on heroics to meet its goals, it’s likely a sign that something in the system is broken. This article explores why "heroes" can be a problem in Agile and what should be valued instead.
🚩 Why "Heroics" Are a Problem in Agile
1. Systemic Failure Indicator
If someone needs to stay up late or pull off a last-minute save, it’s typically not a sign of excellence—it’s a symptom of upstream failure. Maybe the sprint was overloaded or the team didn’t get the support or clarity they needed. Whatever the cause, relying on heroics signals that planning, process, or collaboration broke down.
2. Violation of Sustainable Pace
One of the core principles of Agile is maintaining a sustainable pace. The Agile Manifesto emphasizes sustainable development. A process that routinely requires people to go above and beyond, especially through long hours or high stress, can’t last. Burnout isn’t a theoretical concern; it’s a predictable outcome of unmanaged expectations and unchecked hero culture.
3. Masking Deeper Issues
Heroics often act as a smokescreen for larger dysfunctions. When one person is always stepping in to save the day, the team may be avoiding necessary conversations about:
- Inadequate collaboration;
- Lack of cross-functionality;
- Poor backlog refinement; or
- Weak technical practices.
If the "hero" keeps solving the symptoms, the root causes often go unaddressed, and the cycle repeats.
4. Knowledge Silos
Heroes frequently emerge because they hold critical knowledge or capabilities that others don’t. This creates dependency and undermines the Agile principle of shared ownership. If success hinges on one person, the team becomes fragile. What happens if that individual takes a vacation? Or burns out? Or leaves? High-performing Agile teams are resilient, not reliant.
5. False Sense of Success
A sprint that "succeeds" because one person pulled an all-nighter isn’t a real success. It’s a short-term win at the cost of long-term stability. These situations can distort metrics, mask delivery risks, and foster a misguided sense of performance. From the outside, everything looks fine—but it’s a brittle system waiting to break.
✅ What to Promote Instead
If heroics are a symptom of dysfunction, what does a healthy Agile practice look like? It resembles this:
1. Good Planning and Refinement
Teams need an appropriately-refined backlog, clear priorities, and achievable sprint goals. When the work is well understood and scoped appropriately, surprises decrease, and heroics become unnecessary.
2. Team Collaboration and Swarming
Work shouldn’t fall on one person. Promote collaboration through techniques like pair programming or swarming on high-priority items. Shared ownership reduces bottlenecks and increases collective learning.
3. Working at a Sustainable Pace
A consistent, manageable velocity is better than boom-and-bust cycles of burnout. Encourage teams to commit to what they can realistically deliver and improve incrementally.
4. Continuous Improvement and Retrospectives
Use retrospectives to identify root causes of stress, blockers, or missed work. Then take real action. Continuous improvement isn’t about putting out fires—it’s about building fire-resistant systems.
5. Cross-Functional Skill-Building
Encourage knowledge sharing and skill development. When teams invest in cross-training and mentoring, they become more adaptable and less dependent on individual heroes.
🧭 Final Thought
Agile should not require routine heroics. It’s about teams delivering value together in a sustainable, adaptable, and resilient way. When heroics are needed, they should prompt a deep look at what made them necessary.
So the next time someone "saves the day," ask: What system failure required that save in the first place? Then fix that.
More
Read on for…
- Bibliography
- About Scott M. Graffius
- How to Cite This Article
- And more
Bibliography
Based on Scott M. Graffius' experience—and inspired by insights from Jim Highsmith’s Agile Project Management and other resources listed in the bibliography—this article explores why real agility emerges from adaptive, resilient teams and systems—not individual saviors.
- ATACC Group (TAG) (2024). Experience Learning. Talk by emergency response physicians Dr. Mark Forrest and Dr. Halden Hutchinson-Bazely for TBS 24 Switzerland Conference. Available at: https://scanfoam.org/experience-learning-atacc/.
- CFO South Africa (2021, August 19). Webinar: Agile Leadership Unlocked [Video]. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJZiitw5tHo&t=359s.
- Farr, J. V., & Brazil, D. M. (2012, September 5). Leadership Skills Development for Engineers. In IEEE Engineering Management Review, 40 (3): 13-22.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2018, October 18). Agile Scrum Helps Innovators, Disruptors, and Entrepreneurs Develop and Deliver Products at Astounding Speed Which Drives Competitive Advantage [Presentation]. Talk delivered at Techstars Startup Week Conference. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25009.12647.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2019). Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2021, February 27). Are You Realizing All the Benefits from Agile? [Video]. Talk at the Scottish Summit Technology Conference. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVxtgLHqFMk.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2021, October 5). Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility for Happier and More Productive Teams [Presentation]. Talk delivered at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE Day 2021 Conference. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.13140/RG.2.2.20055.19365. DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20055.19365.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2024, September 10). Broadcom Features Scott M. Graffius' Intellectual Property. Available at: https://www.scottgraffius.com/blog/files/broadcom.html.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2025, January 7). Scott M. Graffius’ Phases of Team Development: 2025 Update. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/phases-of-team-development-update-for-2025.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33705.30564.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2025). Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum. Seattle, WA: Amazon Digital Services.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2018, April 29). The Importance of Managing Work in Progress (WIP). Available at: https://www.scottgraffius.com/blog/files/Importance-of-Managing-Work-in-Progress-WIP-in-Scrum-Projects.html.
- Highsmith, Jim (2009). Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products—Second Edition. Addison-Wesley.
- Kerzner, Harold (2022). Innovation Project Management: Methods, Case Studies, and Tools for Managing Innovation Projects—Second Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
- Morsa, Luigi (2022, July 7). Agile. Creativity. Innovation. Available at: https://blog.iil.com/agile-creativity-innovation/.
- Schleckser, Jim (2019, December 24). Why Heroic Efforts Are Damaging Your Company Growth. Inc. Available at: https://www.inc.com/jim-schleckser/why-heroic-efforts-are-damaging-your-company-growth.html.
- Somers, Meredith (2023, November 30). Our Top 5 'Working Definitions' of 2023. MIT Sloan School of Management. Available at: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/our-top-5-working-definitions-2023.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius sparks breakthroughs in AI, agile, and project management/PMO leadership as a globally recognized practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and international public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $2.3 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of three books.
- Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (paperback ISBN-13: 9781533370242) (Kindle ebook ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY), received 17 awards.
- His second book is Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (paperback ISBN-13: 9781072447962) (Kindle ebook ASIN: B07R9LJLPJ). BookAuthority named it one of the best Scrum books of all time.
- His third book—his first work of fiction—is Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum (Kindle ebook ASIN: B0F2SJ83WT) (Audible audiobook ASIN: B0DJG163R5).
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BMC Software,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Tennis Association,
- Veleučilište u Rijeci Croatia,
- Verizon,
- Virginia Tech,
- Warsaw University of Technology,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
Thought Leader | Public Speaker | Agile Protocol Book | Agile Scrum Book | Agile Transformation Book | Blog | Photo | X | LinkedIn | Email
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, May 9). The Problem with Heroes in Agile. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/problem-with-heroes-in-agile-by-scott-m-graffius.html.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
DOI: (coming soon)
Content Acknowledgements
Names and marks are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.