My Team Can’t Agree on Our Key Results — And We’re Running Out of Time. What Now?

You’re in the middle of your OKR workshop. The clock is ticking. And your team can’t agree on what the Key Results should be. Sound familiar?

Disagreements over Key Results (KRs) are common — especially when different stakeholders bring different priorities, expectations, and interpretations of success. But when you’re running out of time, it’s critical to find a productive way forward without sacrificing alignment or clarity.

Here’s how to handle the situation and still walk out of your workshop with a usable set of OKRs.

First: Acknowledge the Disagreement — and Pause the Debate

When tensions rise and time is short, the worst thing you can do is try to force a decision through ongoing debate. Instead, hit pause.

Take a step back and align on what you're trying to achieve with this Objective. Go back to the core question:
“What does success look like at the end of this quarter?”

This helps reframe the conversation from what we should track to why we’re tracking it in the first place.

Use a “Parking Lot” Approach

If the group is truly stuck, agree to park the disagreement for now — and move forward with a placeholder KR that:

• Reflects a general direction
• Can be refined within 48 hours
• Doesn’t block progress on the rest of the planning

This avoids wasting workshop time while giving the team space to revisit the issue with a clearer head (and less pressure).

Align on the Measurement Criteria

Sometimes, the problem isn’t the goal itself — it’s how to measure it.

Ask the group:

• “Is this result measurable?”
• “Can we objectively say whether we’ve achieved it?”
• “Does this measure an outcome or just an activity?”

Use these filters to eliminate poor KR candidates and narrow the list.

Choose One “Primary” Key Result

If your team can’t agree on multiple KRs, focus on selecting just one critical outcome that defines success.

It’s better to walk out with one solid KR than to settle on three weak or confusing ones. Once the main result is clear, secondary KRs can often be derived more easily.

Use Draft Language (It’s OK to Be Iterative)

Remind your team: OKRs are not set in stone. You can write them in draft form and give ownership to one or two team members to finalize them post-workshop.

Write something like:

“Increase customer engagement (exact metric TBD by Wednesday).”

This lowers the pressure to be perfect on the spot and acknowledges that refining language is part of the process.

Agree on Ownership — Not Just Metrics

A common blocker is that no one wants to “own” a particular KR.

Resolve this by assigning clear owners before leaving the workshop. Let those individuals finalize the metric details, but ensure the group agrees on the direction.

Ownership is what turns ideas into execution.

Final Tip: Don’t Let Perfection Block Progress

When time is tight, aim for clarity over consensus.

It’s more productive to walk out with 80% alignment and a plan to iterate than to leave with nothing because you wanted 100% agreement.

Remember: the purpose of OKRs is to provide direction, not to resolve every detail in a single meeting.

Summary: What to Do When Your Team Can’t Agree on KRs

• Pause the debate and revisit the objective
• Use a temporary placeholder KR
• Filter out weak KRs using measurement criteria
• Focus on one primary outcome if needed
• Draft, don’t perfect — refine later
• Assign ownership for follow-up
• Prioritize clarity and direction over consensus

Need Expert Support for Your Next OKR Workshop?

If your team struggles to align on outcomes, Wave Nine can help.‍

Book a discovery call with our OKR consultants and learn how we guide leadership teams through high-stakes OKR alignment in record time — without compromising clarity or buy-in.

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