What OKRs Mean for Middle Managers
Jeff Gothelf
Teaching executives to simplify prioritization and decision-making by putting the customer first.
We spend a lot of time defining what Objectives and Key Results are, how to write them and why they are important. What we don’t address directly is the impact OKRs have on the job description of a middle manager. These folks are no longer individual contributors (but they were likely IC’s not too long ago) and they’re not “executives” quite yet either. They lead teams that can be cross-functional or discipline-specific helping them achieve very specific deliverables. At least, that’s how it used to be.
OKRs Change How We Assign Work to Teams
Traditionally middle managers translate strategic direction from their leadership teams into tactical deliverables for the teams they manage. The measure of success is output — preferably on time and on budget. Features are scoped, planned and lined up against specific milestones. The middle manager ensures the team is on plan and on target and communicates this back up the chain.?
OKRs don’t have features as their success criteria.?They target meaningful changes in customer behavior. This means that middle managers no longer tell teams what to do. It’s up to the teams to determine which features they’re going to implement in service of the outcomes defined in their key results. Of course it’s up to the teams to communicate their plans clearly to their middle managers and ensure they’re aware of any scope or feature changes. However, a key part of what it meant to be a middle manager goes away with OKRs.
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What’s My Job Then if I Don’t Tell People What to Do?
Given that many middle managers worked for years to get where they are, it’s natural that they may feel some trepidation about this sudden change in their job description. Without explicitly giving the teams a set of requirements to work on, here’s what a middle manager does in an agile environment that has embraced OKRs:
You’re No Longer a Glorified Project Manager
Instead of fixating on dates and deadlines, a middle manager working with OKRs focuses on facilitation. What can you do to make your teams more successful? How can they better understand what they’re supposed to achieve and why it’s important? How can you ensure that learning and continuous improvement are the paths of least resistance? These are your new goals as a middle manager. It’s different from what you used to do but it’s a far more important job now.
Founder | Business Agility Coach | Executive Coach | Team Coach | Mentor | Podcaster
2 年Change initiatives will do better early if Managers get this, as opposed to feeling a sense of loss. There's so much more they are needed for in new ways of working.
Yea, yes, and yes. And yet, most don’t get it.
I help consultants, leaders, and coaches master strategic thinking & complex problem-solving with AI / Founder of The Career Accelerator leadership coaching community ↗?
2 年OKR’s are useful. Yet we still need to work on fundamentals. Mindest, Know-how, Trust and letting go of control.
I help aspiring PMs and product builders. Follow for actionable advice on product management and building AI SaaS products.
2 年If managers just focus on removing obstacles to team productivity they'd see a substantial increase in their team productivity. Many times just focusing on solving one problem consistently is the best thing you can do for your team.
This is interesting. I also experienced more trouble on the management level when OKRs were introduced (by the management level ??) than on the operational level. Can you identify how many managers can adapt in which timeframe? But with the photo, I've to protest. It's representing another issue we have to work on. Maybe next time support the change in society and choose an equal-level or opposite photo. Thank you ??