Achieving group objectives can be difficult if you don’t approach them correctly. To be successful, you need to set team objectives to promote collaboration and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

In this article, we’ll list expert tips for achieving group objectives in addition to examples of group objectives that you can reference when building your own. By the end of this article, you'll have everything you need to successfully set and achieve team objectives!

What are group objectives?

Team objectives or group objectives are a list of goals that teams use to measure performance. Many organizations require these goals to be SMART and use this framework as a means to provide direction and avoid chaos. These objectives are also meant to be achieved by a collective or a specified team. Setting these goals can act as a motivator to boost performance and help teams succeed in the workplace.

If you’re responsible for setting your group objectives, it’s important that you do so diligently. You should consider everyone’s strengths, preferences, and capacities. When setting your collective goals, it's best to reference the proper steps for setting goals and creating an action plan (some of which we’ve mentioned below).

8 tips to achieve group objectives

1. Set clear goals and objectives

You can’t achieve your group objectives if you don’t first take the time to set clear goals and objectives. Getting clear on your goals and objectives will ensure everyone’s on the same page and ready to tackle the same goals. Ensuring everyone is on the same page right out of the gate will also create a sense of alignment and cohesion. It’s proven that teammates work more efficiently when working towards a shared goal or North star.

2. Assign deadlines

Without deadlines, your teammates may lack a sense of urgency. Implementing concrete deadlines will ensure your teammates know exactly how much time they have to work on the collective goals and objectives. From there, everyone can work backwards to create a strategy or long-term plan that contributes to completing the group objectives.

Setting deadlines also ensures that your teammates are able to take control of their work. Having all the necessary details means teammates are able to move forward efficiently without confusion. As a result, complex or meticulous plans or tasks are able to be completed and delivered in a timely fashion.

3. Create SMART goals

As stated above, it can be difficult for your teammates to work on group objectives if they’re not clear on what’s expected of them. Creating SMART goals will help your teammates be prepared to fulfill specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals. Specifically, using the SMART framework will give you and your teammates a clear sense of direction so you can stay organized and work efficiently towards reaching your collective goals.

4. Track OKR progress

If you don’t take the time to track your progress, you’ll never know how far you’ve come. Tracking your OKR progress ensures you’re able to nip any potential issues in the bud. If you fail to track your progress, you may not realize that your teammates aren’t fulfilling their duties. Tracking your progress and zeroing in on key benchmarks will ensure you’re able to gauge success and make adjustments if your team isn’t on track.

Learn how to track objectives in Fellow: