Set team OKRs. Wave Nine does not recommend individual OKRs. Every person should know how their work contributes to the team's Key Results, but that does not require a personal set of OKRs.
Why team OKRs work better
- They encourage collaboration. Outcomes worth an OKR almost always need several people. Shared goals pull people together instead of into separate lanes.
- They keep the system lean. A company of 500 people with individual OKRs manages hundreds of goal sets. With team OKRs it manages a few dozen, and check-ins stay short.
- They avoid local optimization. Individual goals invite people to hit their own number even when it does not help the team.
- They stay out of performance reviews. Individual OKRs drift into evaluation and pay, which leads to safe targets. Wave Nine does not tie OKRs to compensation.
How individuals connect to team OKRs
People contribute through the actions they own. Wave Nine uses the OKRA formula: Objective, Key Results, Actions. Each Key Result has an owner, and each action has an owner and a due date.
Example for a social media team:
- Objective: Make LinkedIn our main source of new conversations with buyers
- KR1: Grow followers in our target segment from 4,000 to 5,200
- KR2: Increase the average engagement rate from 2.1% to 3%
- KR3: Generate 60 inbound demo requests from LinkedIn, up from 35
The content creator owns the action "test two new post formats per week", the analyst owns "rebuild the weekly reporting view", and the community manager owns "answer every comment within 24 hours". Everyone sees how their work moves the shared Key Results, and nobody needs a separate OKR.
What about personal development?
Development goals, such as improving presentation skills or learning a new method, belong in the regular development and feedback process with the manager, not in OKRs. Keeping the two apart protects the honesty of both.
Common objections
- "My role is not covered by any team OKR." Then most of your work is probably business as usual, tracked with KPIs. That is fine. Not all work belongs in OKRs.
- "Individual OKRs create accountability." Owners of Key Results and actions create the same accountability without multiplying goal sets.
- "We want everyone to feel involved." Involve people in writing the team OKRs. Ownership comes from shaping the goals, not from having a personal copy.
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