Most organizations set goals behind closed doors. Leaders decide priorities, a presentation is shown at an all-hands, and then teams go back to working in their own silos. It’s familiar, and also part of the problem.

That’s where OKRs, Objectives and Key Results,  come in and shake things up. One of the biggest shifts with OKRs isn’t the format itself (although that’s helpful too). It’s the transparency.

What Makes OKRs Different

OKRs are meant to be visible. Unlike traditional goals that stay hidden in leadership slides or buried in project plans, OKRs are designed to be shared across the company.

They make the company’s priorities open and clear not just at the top, but at every level.

Why Transparency Matters

When OKRs are transparent, they’re visible to everyone: from the CEO down to every team in sales, marketing, engineering, or operations.

That visibility creates three major shifts:

1. Trust grows. People know what leadership is prioritizing and why. No more guessing what’s happening at the top.
   
2. Silos break down. Teams can see each other’s goals. Marketing understands sales priorities, engineering knows what product is focused on, everyone can connect the dots.
   
3. Cross-functional goals emerge. Shared OKRs between teams become natural, not forced, because everyone is already aligned around the same big picture.
   
   

Publishing goals openly might sound like a small step. But in practice, it creates a massive cultural shift:

• Strategy becomes clear and accessible.
• Everyone understands how their work connects.
• Progress updates aren’t hidden; they’re part of the organization’s rhythm.

How to Bring Transparency Into Your OKRs

If you're getting started with OKRs or looking to improve how they're used across the organization, here are a few simple and effective ways to make transparency part of the process:

📢 Share leadership OKRs publicly and consistently

Leadership OKRs shouldn’t live in private documents or executive-only decks.

• Make them accessible in your OKR platform, company intranet, or team workspace.
  
  
• Introduce them in a town hall, all-hands, or department meeting to ensure everyone understands the priorities.
  
  
• Revisit them regularly (in quarterly reviews, monthly updates, or internal newsletters) to keep them top of mind.
  
  

🤝 Encourage teams to align their OKRs

Give teams the context they need to set their own OKRs that align with company objectives.

• Create space for teams to define their OKRs collaboratively.
  
  
• Share aligned examples to help guide the process.
  
  
• Keep team-level OKRs visible to others so everyone can understand how different functions contribute to shared outcomes.

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🔄 Make progress visible and part of the workflow

Transparency means teams don’t just see the goals, they see the progress, too.

• Use dashboards, regular check-ins, or even Slack updates to share progress, wins, and blockers.
  
  
• Include OKR updates in weekly meetings or monthly recaps.
  
  
• Celebrate movement, even if goals evolve or shift, openness keeps teams connected and engaged.
  
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OKRs are most effective when they’re not treated as a one-time exercise. Keeping them visible and discussed throughout the cycle helps reinforce priorities, supports alignment, and makes progress a shared responsibility.

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