You'll learn how to use Objectives and Actions to stay organised and focus your attention on the things that will have the most impact.





Why use Objectives?

Fundamentally, objectives are a way of communicating expectations. When you have clear objectives you will know what is expected of you and what success looks like, enabling and motivating you to stay focused on making progress. As you complete each objective, you'll also have a record of your accomplishments and contributions to reflect on.


Organisations tend to have quarterly or annual business objectives, although in certain roles project-based objectives are more common. Additionally, many people are working on objectives related to personal growth and development. In OpenBlend, you can easily create objectives for any type of objective, goal or priority you have.


Good practice for Objectives

  • The more clearly you can define the objective, the better. SMART is a good framework to use - see here.
  • Have 3 to 6 open objectives. If you have too many open objectives it's difficult to prioritise effectively.
  • Link your individual to Team or Company Objectives. If you've got your company and team-level objectives defined, you'll be able to see these in the Objective section in OpenBlend. Linking your own Objectives to these will help frame your work in the context of the wider goals of the organisation.
  • Use the Milestones functionality to break goals down into smaller, discrete steps to help you understand how the goal will be achieved, plan your work and track your progress.


Compared to Objectives, Actions are a way to capture simple tasks. These are usually quicker and simpler than objectives to complete.





Using Objectives and Actions in OpenBlend conversations

The GROW coaching framework supports conversations about objectives really well. Spend a good amount of time discussing the definition of the Objective and making sure you're both really clear on what is expected and how progress will be measured. Avoiding ambiguity at the beginning will help ensure everyone will be happy with the results. Celebrate progress, discuss options for tackling challenges and barriers, and agree a way forward.


Actions let you quickly capture any action items, tasks and "to dos" that come up in your conversation. Assigning these and giving them a due date helps create transparency and helps you to stay accountable to what was agreed in your conversation. You can then review any open Actions in subsequent conversations.



Difference between Objectives & Actions

Objectives are your bigger pieces of work, that you'll spend most of your time working on. Objectives often tie in with business planning cycles and you might have annual or quarterly objectives. Perhaps your Objectives relate to projects or long-term career or development goals.


Actions, on the other hand, are smaller tasks that are quicker to accomplish. Think of them as your "to do" list.



When you are ready, progress to the next section to learn about recognition and why it is important to driving performance and motivation. 
Next Section: Give Recognition with High Fives