Aligning work to goals for companies and leaders
10 min
By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
- Explain the characteristics of effective organizational goals
- Summarize how to align goals with the company’s mission and vision
- Demonstrate how to set outcome-focused goals using frameworks such as OKRs
Transform goal setting in your organization
Goals can be a powerful accelerator for organizations when they’re done well, but a bad goal can be worse than no goal at all. Vague, unmeasurable, or irrelevant goals can demotivate teams and waste effort. The best goals are North Stars for companies, teams, and people; clear, collaborative, and motivating.
👇 A good goal is outcome-focused, limited in scope, collaborative, and reviewed regularly.
Company-wide best practices
Company-wide goal setting is about establishing clear, measurable objectives that guide everyone in the company toward shared outcomes. When goals are aligned across teams and departments, they create a unified direction, ensuring that individual and collective efforts contribute to the company’s broader mission.
👉 For example: At Atlassian, company-wide goals – such as “improve team collaboration for remote workers” – are set at the executive level and clearly linked to the company’s mission of unleashing the potential of every team. These goals are cascaded down to departments: for example, the Confluence team might focus on launching new features that make remote documentation easier. Every project proposal must show how it supports a company goal, and progress is tracked transparently in shared Confluence spaces and regular all-hands meetings.
👇 Explore company wide best practices below.
- Align goals with the company’s mission and vision: Every goal should directly support the company’s overarching mission and long-term vision. Embarking on new projects is an exciting time for most teams, so make sure they are clear on how their projects support wider company goals.
2. Cascade goals across teams and departments: Break down company-wide goals into team and individual objectives to ensure alignment at every level.
3. Foster collaboration and transparency: Encourage teams to share progress, challenges, and learnings openly.
Leadership best practices
Leaders need to set clear expectations and connect every project or task to broader company objectives. That way, they can make sure teams understand how their efforts contribute to overall success.
👇 Explore leadership best practices below.
1. Make goals outcome-focused: Outcome-focused goals encourage teams to think strategically about the end result rather than just the process, promoting innovation and efficiency.
2. Rank goals in order of priority: Clear prioritization of goals empowers everyone across the organization to make consistent decisions about which problems to solve first.
👇 If you’re struggling to prioritize all that you want or need to do, try the $10 game.
3. Review and evolve goals quarterly: Goals should remain relevant and reflect current priorities. Outdated goals lose their power to motivate and guide teams.
👇 Click the numbered icons below to explore the benefits of regularly reviewing goals.
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4. Celebrate achievements and learn from setbacks: Recognize progress and use setbacks as learning opportunities.