Obeya and OKRs: how OKRs make your Obeya even more powerful

5 September 2024 Synergy with LWO

For many who are already familiar with the power of Obeya, it is clear how valuable visual management can be for focusing teams on strategic goals. Obeya creates transparency, increases collaboration, and helps identify and solve problems quickly. But did you know that you can increase the effectiveness of your Obeya by adding OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)?

OKRs are a goal-setting framework that helps link clear, measurable results to the strategic goals displayed in your Obeya. In this article, you will learn how introducing OKRs into your Obeya environment will give you even more focus and action, so that you achieve your strategic goals faster and more effectively.

The basics of OKRs: from ambition to results

While your Obeya already helps you visualise strategic goals, OKRs add an extra layer of focus and measurability. OKRs consist of two main components:

  1. Objectives: This is the ambitious goal you want to achieve. It should be clear, challenging and inspiring.
  2. Key Results: These are the concrete, measurable results that indicate whether you are on track to achieve your goal. Each goal has 3 to 5 Key Results that clarify what success looks like.

The framework is simple, but that very simplicity ensures clear focus. By tying your goals and results together, you ensure that everyone on the team knows what they are working towards and how they can contribute to success.

Why OKRs enhance your Obeya

Obeya is already a great tool for visual management and team cohesion, but OKRs can help you get even more out of your Obeya. Here are some reasons why integrating OKRs improves your Obeya operation:

  • From strategy to execution: Obeya helps you put strategic goals on the map, but OKRs directly link measurable results to this. By visualising OKRs in your Obeya, you give teams not only direction, but also clear targets they can work towards. This makes it easier to turn strategy into action.
  • Continuous visibility of progress: The power of an Obeya is in visually tracking goals, and OKRs reinforce this by monitoring real-time progress. By making Key Results visible in the Obeya space, teams constantly see how far they are in achieving their goals and can make quicker adjustments when necessary.
  • Better prioritisation: Obeya provides overview, but OKRs help to prioritise. Instead of teams getting caught up in daily tasks, the combination of OKRs and Obeya ensures that everyone stays focused on key strategic priorities.
  • Increased accountability and engagement: With OKRs in your Obeya, it is clear to teams what results are expected. This transparency ensures that everyone feels responsible for their contribution and encourages engagement. Teams can monitor each other’s progress and, where necessary, help each other to achieve shared goals.
  • Quicker reaction to obstacles: By visually displaying the progress of OKRs in an Obeya, obstacles become visible more quickly. If a Key Result is not going according to plan, you can immediately analyse the causes and take action to improve progress. This prevents small problems from growing into major roadblocks.

How to introduce OKRs in your Obeya

If you are already working with an Obeya, you can easily integrate OKRs to strengthen your strategic processes. Here are a few practical steps to get started:

  • Define your Objectives and Key Results: Start by defining your key goals for the coming period. What do you want to achieve as a team? Make sure these Objectives are ambitious but achievable. For each objective, define 3-5 Key Results that are measurable and show whether you are on the right track.
  • Make the OKRs visual in your Obeya: Add your OKRs to the existing visual elements in your Obeya space. Use graphs, colours or other visual aids to clearly show where you stand in achieving your Key Results.
  • Schedule regular progress sessions: Organise weekly or fortnightly sessions where you get together to discuss progress on OKRs. Use the Obeya to view the status of each Key Result in real-time and discuss any obstacles.
  • Adjust where necessary: The strength of OKRs is that they are flexible. If you notice that your progress is stagnating, use your Obeya to analyse where the blockages are and how to adjust your approach. Responding quickly will prevent you from falling behind.

 

Conclusion: a new dimension of focus with OKRs in Obeya

Obeya is already a powerful tool for visualising strategic goals and bringing teams together. But by adding OKRs, you give your Obeya environment a new dimension of focus and measurability. OKRs not only help you set clear goals, but also ensure that teams have continuous insight into their progress and can respond quickly to challenges.

If you already work with Obeya and are looking for a way to achieve your goals even faster and more effectively, integrating OKRs is a logical next step. It provides greater clarity, better priorities, and increased team accountability. This is how you take your strategic focus to the next level.

 

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