What Makes a Good Objective?

Your objectives should be:

High impact

Achieving a team objective should impact your organization. The achievement should be worthy of a celebration. Avoid creating “business as usual” objectives. We define “business as usual” objectives as those written based on what the team believes they can achieve without changing their behavior. Outcomes of this process are to help the team evolve, continue to innovate, and drive efficiency.

Clear

Use clear language. A team member should be able to understand and explain the team objective. Achievement of the objective should be obvious if the team meets the key results.

Time bound

A team objective should have a short and strict time frame. Shorter time frames will help the team focus and reduce uncertainty. In addition, you can adjust course if the team does not meet an objective or circumstances change so you can meet your overall organizational objective.

Aligned

A team objective should align to one of the organizational objectives as well as complement other team objectives. The sum of the supporting team objectives should ensure the organization achieves a top-level objective. However, depending on the organizational objectives, some teams may create a “local” objective that is not directly aligned. In general, more than 60% of the team objectives should align to one or more of the organizational objectives.

Achievable

In creating a team objective, you must consider how you will determine what success looks like. A team will measure success through the key results. You need to consider if there is a set of key results that if achieved would fully realize the objective. In some cases, it maybe easier for a team to determine the key results first, and then set the objective.

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