According to our landmark, multi-year Workplace Accountability Study involving over 40,000 participants, only 15% of organizations clearly define and effectively communicate the Key Results they need to achieve to be successful. It is not surprising, then, that the single most difficult obstacle in building greater alignment and accountability in organizations is having Key Results that are not clearly defined, effectively communicated, or properly tracked. Leadership, in the simplest terms, is about defining Key Results.
Key Results are those most important objectives that are prioritized as strategically essential to the organization’s success and which must be achieved. They should be memorable, measureable, and meaningful for everyone in the organization, so that every person can easily connect his or her daily work to the Key Results:
| • | Memorable results can be easily remembered and regularly used to guide daily actions. Everyone should be able to repeat what the Key Results are. | |
| • | Measureable results can be effectively quantified and frequently checked. If you can’t measure it, you can’t move it. | |
| • | Meaningful results are prioritized. |
Our research shows that people who have a crystal clear understanding of their organization’s Key Results consistently demonstrate higher levels of accountability for achieving those results than do people who do not have a clear understanding of their organization’s Key Results. People hunger for more clarity around the organization’s Key Results because they want to be successful, and they want to take greater accountability for what matters most to their organization.
