Objectives are goals, projects, or achievements that will make a difference in your work life.
They define how you want to spend the energy you have beyond the day-to-day tasks of getting work done.
An objective can be as big as starting up your own company or as small as learning or trying something new. If it won’t make a difference in how you work, or how you or your company performs, it’s not an objective. If it’s business-as-usual, it’s not an objective.
It has to have tangible or visible benefits that are unambiguous and that others can see. It has to create value for you or your organization. Objectives help you get noticed and help your company grow in ways that others notice.
It’s not easy to write good objectives. Taking time to think through what you want–and why you want it–will help you write better objectives.
In this section, you will find prompts to get you started thinking about what makes your goal important in the world. If you take a little time to answer these prompts, it will help you articulate a goal that will inspire you and others.
At the end, there is a link to MY OKR Sheet, where you can finalize your thoughts. Fill out the OKR sheet and have it ready for our first OKR conversation.
Objectives Have Types and Levels
There are different types and levels of objectives. Each one helps you work and grow in a different way. Below are the basic levels and types of objectives.
Committed or Aspirational Objectives
Committed objectives are goals you agree to complete. If you need to organize a major event, plan or execute an ambitious sales plan or promotion, or any other important work imperative, creating a committed objective will help you focus on getting it done.
When you make a committed goal, you commit yourself to doing whatever it takes to complete that part of your job.
Aspirational objectives are goals you are committed to reaching for, even if you’re not sure you’ll get there. They are moonshots. They help you stretch and grow beyond your comfort zone. You might not make it, but if you make even 70% of an aspirational goal, by definition you will have achieved something beyond what is normally expected of you. Aspirational goals are exhilarating and powerful.
People learn most when they take on a project or experience where there is a 33% to 50% chance of failure.* If there is a more than 50% chance of failure, most people just stop trying. If there is less than 33% chance of failure, most people find it too easy and lose interest.
When you step outside your comfort zone to take a risk that’s within your tolerance, you’ll learn what it takes to get to the next level. The performance conversations you have with me will help you handle the risks and identify resources needed for overcoming obstacles.
Company, Team, or Personal Objectives
If you’re an executive, owner, or manager, you might make a company or team objective. This will ask your employees or team to pitch in to take it on as common goal. It’s a way to ask your whole team or company to own the objective with you and adopt their part of it.
When everyone is working toward the same goal, there is a powerful multiplier effect for success and achievement.
When you have a team or company objective, it’s important to let individuals define their own KRs. They have to figure out their own way to contribute to the goal.
Talking with team members about what they will accomplish, how they will contribute, and why it matters for the team, creates alignment and inspires employees to engage in meaningful work. Transparent and aligned OKRs clarify the conversation.
In coaching conversations, we’ll discuss how to best implement team or company objectives and explore how to maximize alignment and employee engagement.
Personal Objectives might include your contribution to team or company objectives. They might also be a new project or idea that you are passionate about and feel will benefit the company or team or yourself. You can choose when your work is aligned to a larger objective or on its own.
You might also have a personal growth objective that will improve your ability to function and contribute. This might be an emotional intelligence goal, a health and well-being goal, or a learning goal. All these goals benefit you personally and improve how you show up at work.
Quarterly or Long-Term Objectives
Objectives should be big, at least big enough to occupy your energy for three months. But they can be much bigger.
Quarterly objectives, like rolling out a sales strategy, or a new product launch,help you focus energy away from mundane and routine tasks like email and meetings.
Long-Term objectives can last a few years, like starting up a company, doubling revenue, creating a product line that performs exponentially better. Long-term objectives will spawn quarterly objectives that will make up the smaller steps leading to ultimate success.
No matter what level or what kind of objectives you have, you must feel an emotional or professional stake in them. You have to care about them. To participate in MY OKR Project, you must have one aspirational goal.
Ready to start writing your OKRs? Download this Objective Sheet to put it all together.
*The Leadership Machine, by Michael Lombardo, Robert Eichinger.