6. OKR Superpowers

Transcript

We often talk about some of the key benefits of OKRs are that they give organizations a sense of focus, a sense of alignment, commitment, and ability to track and stretch the organizational capabilities. 

If we look at the whole area of focus, OKRs by their very nature force us to make choices. They limit the amount of objectives that the organization can have. Typically, there should be no more than, maybe, five objectives happening in the organization at the one time or at the individual or the team level – the sense being that if everything is important, nothing is important.  

OKRs develop a sense of focus and they force individuals and organizations to prioritize. Once the OKRs are defined they are then executed throughout the organization. 

Alignment is created at all levels in the organization. Individuals try and link their day-to-day activities to the company’s wider vision. 

Teams and departments are encouraged to come up with their own goals and their own objectives, and by doing so, this sense of focus leads to the next, what we often call the “superpower” of OKRs – commitment. 

The organization and the individuals within it become more committed to achieving those goals. When goals are clearly defined, there is a sense of transparency to ensure everyone is working towards the OKRs as a team. 

Using organizational OKRs creates a culture of communication by tracking those objectives. It also gives great transparency and people are motivated to do theirs. 

However, leadership is still important. Regular check-ups should be scheduled at least once a week with individuals to make sure everyone in the organization is on the same page, to ensure that we don’t go back to creating independent silos at a functional level. 

This then leads to stretching. OKR’s by their nature, tend to be ambitious. They push people out of their comfort zone. Very often they empower people to get a sense of what’s possible.