Four Different Ways OKRs Align

Four Different Ways OKRs Align

One tricky part of using OKRs is achieving alignment. There are some critical aspects to alignment that I want to share to make sure you’re making the most of this Superpower.

As you begin the cascade and ladder process, first decide how many layers of OKRs you want for your organization. For small teams, it’s probably best to stick to one layer only. As you grow, you might want to add another layer: a North Star for the whole organization, plus another set of OKRs for cross-functional goals.

Once you’ve got the hang of OKRs, it’s fine to add layers. Some create OKRs at the team level, and others take it all the way down to individual OKRs. However many layers you settle on for your organization, try to limit yourself to as few OKRs as you can. That will keep your team focused and the process more manageable.

Now that you’ve decided on the number of layers of OKRs, let’s take a look at four cascading scenarios and how to handle them.

You might inherit:

• all of your Objectives
• some, but not all of, your Objectives
• a conflicting Objective
• no Objectives

Inheriting all of your Objectives

Let’s start with the first case, where a team is given a complete set of Objectives. The leader is telling the team, “Please concentrate on these and no others.” They want to focus on getting more done on just a few things.

Inheriting some of your Objectives

The most common scenario is for a team to inherit some top-line Objectives, but to have room for one or two more. Or maybe the cascaded Objectives don’t cover all of the team’s priorities for the cycle. When the team writes an additional Objective, it lets leaders know that critical priorities have been left out. Don’t assume your leaders already know! This is your chance to surface those priorities and align.

Inheriting conflicting Objectives

There’s also a chance that your team will be given an Objective that conflicts with your understanding of the priorities. This is the best time to raise the point with your team, management, or your leadership. By resolving conflicting Objectives during the Cascade, you’ll prevent problems later in the cycle.

Let’s say you propose an Objective and the leader agrees that it’s important. The leader may agree to deprioritize other work this cycle. Congratulations! You’ve just aligned around what matters most. Now let’s say they don’t agree with your proposed OKR. Congratulations! You’ve still gotten more clarity about the leader’s priorities.

These are the Superpowers of focus and alignment in action.

If your team doesn’t inherit a full set of Objectives and has room for more, first take a look at other teams’ OKRs. Determine if you have a shared interest. If so, ladder to it. If not, fill out your remaining slate with your top priorities top priorities, making sure you’re fully aligned within your own team.

Inheriting no Objectives

Finally, let’s say a team doesn’t inherit any of the cycle’s top-line Objectives in the cycle. Does that mean the team is unimportant? Absolutely not! In fact, they’ve been given a great opportunity – the freedom to craft a full set of their own OKRs.

We generally suggest that you look at other team’s OKRs to spot synergies or conflicts. But if the coast is clear, this could be an opening to set an Aspirational OKR to explore and innovate. Apply this guiding principle: How can you make the maximum impact on the organization’s future?

Skillful laddering is a sign of a vibrant organization.