What if every participant in a parade decided to walk in their own direction?
What would happen?
Eventually, the procession would stop in its tracks.
What if your team at work was like that?
If everyone on the team started marching toward different goals, you wouldn’t be able to get the results you want.
If you’re a manager, it’s up to you to ensure that each member of your team is working on the same broader objectives.
By linking individual goals with those of the team, you can help improve productivity and drive better results.
One helpful way of connecting goals is through objectives and key results or OKRs.
Linking individual goals with those of the team — and by extension, the company — drives better results.
As a manager, you can effectively connect goals across your organization through Objectives and Key Results, or OKRs.
Originally implemented at Intel in the 1970s, creating OKRs is a popular leadership process for setting, communicating, and monitoring goals and results in organizations.
The aim of OKRs is to connect company, team, and personal targets in a hierarchical way to measure results. This allows all employees to work together in one unified direction — like a well-organized parade!
A key trait of OKRs is transparency.
Each individual must know what’s expected of them, so OKRs are kept public for everyone to see. That way, as your team moves toward its common goals, each member will know what others are up to and how they’re contributing.
OKRs usually consist of three to five high-level objectives, under which there are three to five associated measurable results.
As these results are gradually achieved throughout the quarter, their progress scores are filled in for all to see.
Cascading goals through OKRs can be a powerful motivational tool. By transparently tying employee performance to the success of the whole team, your broader mission becomes more actionable, and you can challenge and give a sense of ownership to your people.
When you set OKRs, make sure to communicate the constituent goals as clearly as possible. People can sometimes lose sight of the big picture, so revisit your OKRs with your team regularly.
Implement OKRs so that each of your employees understands how their work fits into the team’s broader objectives.
When every individual knows their role and has the motivation to do their best work, you’ll get the collective effort necessary to achieve your goals.
