Ótima reflexão em cima de OKRs e sua relação com estratégia.
Abaixo alguns highlights.
Common Pitfalls of OKRs in Practice
Too often, goals are written down but fail to drive action. Why? Because they’re imposed from above. Leadership defines objectives and key results, hands them down, and expects teams to execute.
High performing teams own the outcome
In the highest-performing teams, however, something stood out. They didn’t just talk about features or delivery dates; they could clearly answer four key questions:
- What is the organization's strategic goal?
- What part of this strategy is relevant to us?
- What can we really move this quarter?
- How will we know we’re making progress?
These answers weren’t vague. They were specific and grounded. As a result, these teams connected their daily work to broader outcomes—and it showed. Their decisions were sharper, their priorities clearer, and their code delivered real results.
Bridging the Gap: Strategy and Team OKRs
Great teams and great leaders bridge that gap by meeting in the middle. Strategy provides direction; Team OKRs create commitment.
This isn’t a cascade. It’s a conversation.
In high-performing environments, leadership shares intent—the challenges to solve, the opportunities to seize, the metrics to move. Teams listen, reflect, and define what they will own. As one team might frame it:
“Based on what we know and can influence, here’s what we believe we can achieve—and how we’ll measure progress.”
What Makes Team OKRs Different
With Team OKRs, the process looks different:
- The team defines the Objective, rooted in the strategic context. It’s not just a fancy slogan—it’s a clear and meaningful statement of what the team wants to achieve and why it matters.
- The team identifies Key Results—clear signs of progress that show real, measurable change. A Key Result often isn’t a KPI itself, but a movement in a KPI. It’s about direction and impact, not just numbers.
- The team commits to the outcome, not just doing tasks. They take real ownership, stay flexible, and focus on what truly brings value.
Leaders still lead, but their role changes. Instead of dictating the how, they clarify the why. They share direction, invite dialogue, and support teams in building real ownership.
From Strategy to Team OKR
Team OKRs don’t exist in isolation. They emerge from context—shaped by vision, guided by strategy, and grounded in reality.
This layered model shows how intent flows into action:
- Vision sets the long-term direction.
- Strategy defines current priorities.
- Team OKRs clarify what each team will own.
- Backlog connects intent to concrete work.
Each layer supports the next. When vision is unclear, strategy struggles to focus on what matters most next. Without a clear strategy, Team OKRs lose alignment and purpose. And when Team OKRs are vague, backlogs fill with scattered tasks rather than deliberate steps toward meaningful outcomes.
From Direction to Definition: Key Conversations
This timeline illustrates how strategy becomes meaningful team action:
- Strategic Alignment Workshop: Leadership shares intent, not deliverables.
- Team OKR Planning Workshop: Teams reflect and define what they’ll pursue.
- From Goals to Work: OKRs flow into backlog items and initiatives.
Align Up. Align Across: Building Strategic Alignment Without Losing Team Autonomy
This is what I call vertical and horizontal alignment.
- Vertical alignment connects a team’s OKRs to the organization’s strategic goals (some people call this connecting tactical OKRs to strategic OKRs). It answers a critical question: “How does our work contribute to the bigger picture?”
- Horizontal alignment ensures that teams working in the same business unit—or across units—coordinate and collaborate effectively. It asks: How do we support each other to reach shared outcomes?
The Team OKR Cycle
The Team OKR Cycle revolves around three key moments:
- Team OKR Planning (typically quarterly): A moment for alignment. The team connects with leadership, understands the strategic context, and defines its OKRs—clarifying what they want to achieve and how they’ll measure progress.
- Team OKR Check-in (weekly): A lightweight sync led by the team. They review key results, discuss progress, identify blockers, and adjust course as needed—catching issues before they derail momentum.
- Team OKR Retrospective (mid-cycle and end): A reflection point where the team looks back not just at delivery, but at impact. These retrospectives help refine both intent and execution for future cycles.
Team OKR Planning Workshop
One facilitation technique I often use is the Time Machine activity:
“Please enter the Time Machine. Imagine it’s the end of the quarter. You’re proud of what the team has achieved. What happened?”
Team OKR Check-ins
Teams ask:
- Are we making meaningful progress?
- Are we measuring the right things?
- What’s working—and what’s getting in the way?
- Do we need to adjust course?
Do Your Check-in with GRIP
To keep check-ins focused and actionable, I guide teams with a simple framework:
GRIP
- Goal confidence: How confident are we in reaching the Objective?
- Results progress: What’s the current status of each Key Result?
- Issues: What’s getting in the way?
- Plan forward: What’s next?
Team OKR Retrospective
At the end of the cycle, the team doesn’t just score the OKR—they reflect on the journey:
- Did we achieve what we set out to do?
- What did we learn?
- What surprised us?
- What will we do differently next time?
One format I often use mid-cycle is Attractors and Detractors, a simple yet powerful activity for unpacking the systemic forces influencing the OKR so far. It highlights:
- Attractors: What pulled us toward the OKR?
- Detractors: What pushed us away from it?
What Sets Great Teams Apart
The difference isn’t in the process or the tool. It’s in the mindset.
Teams that own their OKRs don’t just align with strategy—they shape it. They don’t just deliver outputs—they deliver outcomes.