5 mistakes when defining objectives

Definitely, reaching the definition of the perfect objective is a challenge that very few tend to achieve on the first attempt. Unfortunately, many become frustrated on the way to OKRs. It is time to be patient, practice and practice until you can become skilled.

In my experience, I have been able to experiment with different ways of creating OKRs and, in particular, objectives. I have learned from multiple mistakes that I made unintentionally and that over the years I have been able to bring up in team conversations whenever possible. I am sharing with you the five most valuable lessons I learned when creating objectives with OKRs:

Defining your objectives without the involvement of your closest stakeholders.

Remember that you are part of a network. This implies a particular degree of connection with each person in your company. Definitely the closest stakeholders, between 3 to 5 of the most relevant, should participate in the definition of your OKRs.

Reach out to them and ask about their expectations around the focus of your work for the next period. It can help you align expectations with them and land the scope of your work.

Working with outputs on Outcomes.

It is very common for inexperienced people to define their objectives as tasks or projects (Example: Implement the transformation plan). OKRs have evolved and their focus is on being able to demonstrate the value contributed to the business.

In the example, the plan is just a means to a value end that could be profitability, time to market or operational efficiency. This is resolved by scaling that objective with a simple "Why?"

Low-memorability goals.

Each objective should remain in your team's mind. This means that the objectives should be short, simple, with few words and, above all, that they connect with your team. This is important; what is aspirational and dreamy is relevant, but often it stops being functional.

The goal should move you, inspire you to give your best. In Lean OKR we do not seek to increase operational efficiency, we seek time for each partner to have at least one month of vacation with their family.

Spend a lot of time defining the goal.

You could use the entire quarter just to shape your goals. You need to set a maximum time limit to devote to finding the best way to express your goal. Once that time is up, go ahead and do what you have achieved.

It is very common for beginner teams to spend a lot of time making their lenses look good. Remember that we need more functionally good lenses than aesthetically pleasing ones.

Thinking that we need great skills to work on OKRs.

Your OKRs won’t be perfect on the first try. My experience has taught me that we need two to three exercises to find a way to engage teams with their objectives.

Stakeholders, inspiring objectives, timelines, efficiency, learning; and yes, it seems like a lot, but with practice you will develop them in a better way. No one becomes a good sailor in calm waters.

Give yourself space to practice, look for good role models, explore communities, study about indicators, finance, accounting. Investigate Lean, Agile, portfolios, operating models, governance models, structural models, learn about cultural changes.

Involve your team in defining OKRs. There is a muscle to goal setting that only comes with practice.