And if I share KRs, what do I do?

OKRs are a vehicle of value. They represent the value of our work through objectives and key results based on Outcomes. These can contain a series of indicators that can represent that organizational benefit or the value delivered to a client (internal or external).

Obviously, being a network of services that generate value, it is very common that within the same sub-system (teams from the same area), there is a need to work under one or several indicators together.

What I do?

The fact that you have identified these types of dependencies already speaks quite well of your OKR governance model (if you haven't noticed yet, it's time to pay attention to it). It's a great first step.

Remember that OKRs are an excuse for teams to talk. Well, I think you can guess what the suggestion is. Gather the teams involved in separate conversation spaces to reach consensus about their contribution as a team to that common indicator.

Each of them must arrive at these spaces with defined proposals for their estimate regarding the proportion that the team will generate around that indicator. Remember that OKRs are about consensus and not democracy.

Example:

The company's commercial area has 4 teams (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Hermes), which have the goal of generating operational savings of $1.20 MM (KR of the commercial area).

Each team analyzed internal capabilities around budgeted and planned work for the quarter and concluded that: Zeus would bring in $200K, Poseidon $320K, Hades $180K, and Hermes $450K.

In this case, the sum of the individual contributions of each of the teams makes a total of $1.15 MM.

In this example, several things can happen. The first is that the business area's key result is updated to a less ambitious target with the operational savings indicator.

The second is for the team to better distribute its capabilities or add more capacity (budget and/or people) to generate additional actions that allow for a readjustment of capabilities that brings them closer to the figure.

Finally, another possibility is to assume that 9.6% as an aspirational risk and seek to make that key result challenging (but understanding that there are possibilities that it will be met). This decision is made in conjunction with the Commercial leaders, based on their priorities.

Indicators that lead to averages (average service time, staff satisfaction, service NPS, for example) can follow the same distributive logic.

Recommendations:

1. Try to continually map situations like this across teams when defining your OKRs. Depending on the size of the teams you have doing OKRs, it is sometimes necessary to have dedicated people or people with this responsibility in the company.

2. Constantly promote contrasting OKRs with the work planned for the quarter (capacity analysis).

3. Have spaces and times set aside for these types of conversations. You can use a space in your QBR to set up these conversations (Set aside days for these sync days).

4. Do it before you get approvals, never before.

5. If no agreement is reached, it is important to have a leadership figure who can make decisions in case consensus is not reached. Set a timebox for these meetings.

6. Always look for efficiency.