OKR methodology: What it is and how to implement it in our company – Part 3

If management by objectives is more than 70 years old and is not a subject alien to any business administration manual, what makes internet searches on OKR methodology have grown by 272% since 2018, being today at its highest point of popularity?

This article is the third in a series of publications (read previous post) that will guide you to adopt in your organization the OKR methodology (Objectives and Key Results), which promises to be a management system conducive to achieving achievements so far not occurred.

The quickest answer on why the OKR methodological framework is trending, may be that Google has confessed that they managed to be the company they are thanks to this methodology, being today a tool used by other heavyweights in the software industry, such as Spotify, Amazon or Twitter.

What makes this tool so effective? How can you successfully apply it in your organization? I invite you to answer these questions together.

As a first step to answer our questions we must place OKR management under the umbrella of agile (you can read about it here). Calibrated and our GPS in agility, we will see that the success in the implementation of OKR is due to the continuous exercise of three factors:

1. Definition of a convening purpose.
2. Alignment and coordination of the entire organization.
3. Exercise of people-centered leadership.

OKR and purpose: what organization do we choose to be?

If we make a superficial review in terms of traditional management, the proposal is to focus on a medium-term strategic plan (which rarely considers the complexity with which we work) which will be context to the objectives defined in senior management and we will share the rest of the organization in cascade effect.

Without ruling out this process, the management view proposed by OKR seeks to ensure greater
inspection and adaptation
facilitated by the
statement of purpose,
responding to why do we do what we do?

Thinking of purpose as the apex and first step of a system of objectives, makes this tool can be implemented in any organization regardless of its morphology: pyramidal, holacracious, product tribes, etc.

Take the time to write a well-defined purpose,

• Why do we exist as an organization?
• What organization do we want to be?
• What is the impact we seek to achieve on our customers?
• What do we need to commit to to achieve this?

To read more about purpose and how to start thinking about it, we always recommend to the teams and companies with whom we work Simon Sinek’s book, Start with Why

, or in its most immediate and visual version, his 2010 TED talk.

Stopping to consider these questions will allow us to mark the north of future activities, recognize what is relevant and focus on indicators aligned with our vision as an organization and not on the actions chosen for it. This way of management gives the organization greater flexibility, putting the desired achievement at the center of the scene, accepting the possibility of adverse results and inviting us to adapt and try again.

Alignment and Coordination: Achieving the OKR methodology

Having clear our destiny, the next step is to align ourselves all to it.

The challenge in alignment is to understand that each decision has an opportunity cost related to it, that is, when I choose to do A I stop doing B.

Each department, management and team must focus on the purpose already committed, this being the priority and accepting that the rest can wait.

It is essential to ensure that everyone knows the objectives of the company. Do not underestimate communication, talk about them as many times as necessary, make your OKR management part of your routine and not an isolated conversation in a monthly report meeting.

Once aligned, we have to ensure coordination, since it will not be enough for all levels of the organization to apply OKRs without them being synchronized and with true synergy. It should not be the case that the objectives and key results of one team are contradictory or to the detriment of the metrics of another team. The invitation is to see the organization as a single system, the success of an area or management is irrelevant if the whole does not present satisfactory measures of value for the organization.

To practice more coordination, you could:

2. Encourage cooperation: It may be useful to set objectives that cannot be met unilaterally by a single area without the collaboration of another. A strategic-operational model that promotes cooperation between leaders who share roles, responsibilities or hierarchy, but not departments and functions. We seek to break down silos, open dialogue between teams and create organizations that weigh more the capture of organizational value over the mere fulfillment of a KPI.
3. Exercise transparency: Each OKR, its objectives and results, is accessible. Transparent means that we hide nothing, without reservation, there are no cards up our sleeve. Regardless of the role and position we occupy, the rules of the game are clear, we all know where we are going and we work together to achieve it.

In the management of objectives under an OKR system, transparent and collaborative, we all participate in their drafting, as in the proposals of initiatives for their fulfillment.

This way of working seeks to generate greater commitment and involvement of people in the growth of the organization.

From hierarchical leadership to servant leadership

You already know in what direction and direction you are heading and you have committed to other sectors and people in favor of OKR compliance, now it is only necessary to ensure the execution of initiatives and tasks that guarantee the metrics sought.

If OKR is a methodology under the umbrella of agility, we must accompany our leaders towards agile leadership that facilitates the proposed learning process.

Unlike hierarchical leaders, agile leaders:

• They promote the generation of proposals and ideas by their teams.

We won’t be able to awaken the potential of OKR with leaders who only give executive orders, saying what and how to solve the day’s work.

• They awaken through question and reflection a greater degree of collective consciousness and greater autonomy of people.
• They recognize in the continuous feedback the opportunity for growth and development of the talent of their team, not waiting for the annual review proposed by the organization to celebrate an achievement or point out the gaps in expectations.

We talk little about exclusive characteristics of the OKR methodology but about the conditions to be taken care of for a successful application. It is that to achieve extraordinary results it will not be enough to DO things in a different way, but it will be necessary, in some aspects, to BE a different organization.

On this path, what actions do you take to mature your organization? Do you have an Agile Coach to accompany the implementation and organizational learning? Do you constantly train your leaders on trends like OKR and other management tools? Do you design a culture that promotes innovation?

Do you want more information? Check out our services and let us advise you on everything related to an effective Agile transformation. Or if you wish, we can offer you an Agile consultancy at no cost to help you in the transformation of your company.