OKRs and Change Management: Change That Sticks – Rolling Out OKRs with ADKAR | McKenna Agile Consultants

Rolling out Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is far more than just setting better goals. It represents a fundamental transformation in how your organization thinks, prioritizes, and executes its strategic objectives. In essence, it is about effective strategy execution. However, change doesn’t occur simply because a new framework has been introduced. Real change happens when people understand the shift, believe in it, and are equipped with the skills and tools to act differently. This critical aspect is where change management plays a vital role, yet it remains the part most organizations tend to overlook. OKRs are often introduced in the context of broader organizational change, where aligning people and processes is essential for success.

Frequently, organizations launch OKRs with an initial burst of training and templates but fail to secure the emotional buy-in, behavioral shifts, and structural support necessary to make OKRs stick. This article unpacks how to avoid that common pitfall by leveraging the ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) as a robust change management process. These change processes provide structured methods that guide transformation and help reduce resistance.

For each stage of ADKAR, we will share practical tactics, agile approaches, potential pitfalls, and success enablers based on our experience working with companies and teams worldwide. Whether you are leading the transformation or experiencing it firsthand, this guide will help you embed OKRs as a dynamic, people-centered, and resilient approach to strategy execution. Embedding OKRs in this way fosters a cultural shift towards greater agility and adaptability, encouraging continuous evolution and a mindset that embraces change.

Drawing on our expertise in helping organizations adopt agile execution practices and align their strategic ambitions to measurable outcomes, we show how integrating agile principles such as adaptive planning, empowered teams, and continuous learning ensures your successful OKR implementation. Strategic planning plays a crucial role in guiding both OKR adoption and change management, ensuring long-term resilience and success.

Introduction to Change Management

In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, organizations are constantly challenged to adapt to new technologies, shifting markets, and innovative ways of working. Change management is the structured approach that enables organizations to navigate these transitions effectively. By implementing a robust change management process, companies can guide their change initiatives with clarity and purpose, ensuring that every step of the change process is managed efficiently.

Effective change management is about more than just introducing new systems or processes—it’s about preparing people for change, minimizing resistance, and fostering an environment where transformation can thrive. A well-designed change management process provides the structure and support needed to help individuals and teams embrace new ways of working, ensuring that change initiatives deliver lasting results. In a world where the pace of change is accelerating, organizations that invest in effective change management are better equipped to remain competitive and resilient.

Understanding OKRs

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are a proven goal-setting framework that empowers organizations to define ambitious objectives and track their progress through measurable key results. The OKR framework provides a structured approach to setting and achieving goals, ensuring that every team and individual is aligned with the organization’s broader vision.

By clearly articulating objectives and linking them to actionable key results, organizations can drive successful change initiatives and foster meaningful progress. OKRs help break down complex goals into manageable steps, making it easier to monitor outcomes and adjust strategies as needed. This structured approach not only clarifies priorities but also enables organizations to respond quickly to new opportunities and challenges, ensuring that change initiatives are both effective and sustainable.

Setting Change Management Objectives

Establishing clear objectives is a cornerstone of any successful change management process. Change management objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, providing a clear direction for the change initiative.

Involving key stakeholders in the objective-setting process is essential for building commitment and shared understanding. When everyone knows what the change initiative aims to achieve and how success will be measured, it becomes easier to coordinate efforts and track progress. Setting clear objectives and key results creates a transparent roadmap for change, enabling organizations to monitor outcomes, make necessary adjustments, and celebrate achievements along the way.

What is the ADKAR Model?

The ADKAR Model is a widely recognized change management framework developed by Prosci. ADKAR describes five essential building blocks that help organizations, teams, and individuals navigate change effectively. Organizational changes often fail because companies focus solely on the big-picture transformation and neglect that real change happens one person at a time. ADKAR addresses this by focusing on individual transitions, enabling a robust change management process.

The acronym ADKAR represents:

• Awareness: Understanding why the change is necessary.
• Desire: Wanting to participate and support the change.
• Knowledge: Knowing how to change and what to do differently.
• Ability: Having the skills and developing the desired behaviours aligned with organizational goals to implement the change.
• Reinforcement: Ensuring the change sticks and becomes part of the organizational culture.

By focusing on these five elements, ADKAR provides leaders and teams a practical way to drive successful change initiatives that align with organizational goals.

The Problem We’re Solving With ADKAR for OKRs

Many organizations face common challenges when rolling out OKRs without an effective change management approach:

• Employees are unaware of why OKRs are being introduced or how their roles connect to the organizational objectives, making the change feel confusing or unnecessary.
• Even when aware, teams may lack the desire to change their established ways of working.
• Staff often don’t know how OKRs should be written or integrated into their daily activities.
• Execution becomes fragmented and unmeasurable, causing old habits to persist and new behaviours to fail to take root.
• Without ongoing reinforcement, any initial gains fade, and the organization reverts to business as usual.

These challenges are especially relevant for organizations aiming to implement OKRs successfully and for organizations seeking effective change management strategies to achieve their goals.

Implementing OKRs with the ADKAR Model

A is for Awareness – Why OKRs, and Why Now?

Why Awareness Matters

Organizations don’t fail due to a lack of strategy; they fail because they cannot execute their strategy effectively. Research from Harvard Business Review shows that 67% of strategies never make it off the page. OKRs are designed to bridge this gap by aligning focus, prioritizing what matters, and delivering measurable outcomes.

Creating awareness means more than announcing the introduction of OKRs. It involves helping everyone in the organization see the problem with the current approach and believe in the opportunity that OKRs provide. This shared understanding of the “why” behind the change is crucial. Without it, OKRs become a compliance exercise rather than a transformative shift in how organizational goals are pursued.

3 Practical Tips to Build Awareness

1. Lead with Stories, Not Slides
   Use compelling narratives to illustrate companies that failed to execute strategy effectively and those that succeeded by adopting OKRs. Sharing real stories makes the need for change relatable and tangible.
2. Use Data to Show the Gap
   Leverage analytics and feedback to highlight where current processes fail to connect strategic objectives to day-to-day work. For instance, AI tools can analyze survey data to reveal misalignment, offering leaders concrete evidence to justify the change.
3. Make it Personal and Urgent
   Engage leaders to communicate the urgency and importance of adopting OKRs through authentic, emotional messaging rather than impersonal memos.

Success Enablers

• Craft strategic narrative campaigns that emotionally link OKRs to the company’s mission and the challenges of the ever-evolving business landscape.
• Produce ‘Why Now’ videos from senior leaders to emphasise urgency.
• Implement fast feedback loops to gauge understanding and adjust messaging accordingly.

Failure Risks

• Treating OKRs merely as a performance measurement tool instead of a strategic shift.
• Relying on top-down, abstract communication that feels transactional.
• Failing to communicate the consequences of not adopting OKRs.

Awareness lays the foundation for change by building clarity and alignment across the entire organization.

D is for Desire – Making OKRs a Shared Ambition

Why Desire Matters

Awareness alone doesn’t create change. People need the desire to embrace new ways of working. Resistance is a natural human response, not a barrier to be ignored. Desire transforms understanding into commitment and active participation.

For OKRs to succeed, teams must see the value in adopting the framework and feel motivated to engage with it. Agile principles emphasise that change works best when it is co-created and relevant to those affected.

3 Practical Tips to Build Desire

1. Build Excitement
   Use motivational videos and engaging communications to inspire enthusiasm around OKRs.
2. Connect OKRs to What People Value
   Address the “what’s in it for me?” question by understanding employee needs and showing how OKRs bring clarity, autonomy, and alignment to their roles.
3. Enlist Managers and Team Leads
   Empower mid-level leaders with tools and coaching to champion the change and address resistance within their teams.

Success Enablers

• Conduct Personal Relevance Workshops where teams identify how OKRs solve their unique challenges.
• Facilitate Cross-Functional Strategy Labs to co-create OKRs, fostering ownership.
• Provide Middle Manager Toolkits with coaching scripts and success stories.
• Amplify peer voices rather than relying solely on executive messaging.
• Launch opt-in pilot programs to build early momentum and gather insights.

Failure Risks

• Teams feeling forced into OKRs without context or choice.
• OKRs perceived as just another top-down fad.
• Lack of leadership vulnerability and openness during adoption.

Desire ignites the spark for change, making OKRs feel like a shared ambition rather than an imposed mandate.

K is for Knowledge – Teaching the What and How of Objectives and Key Results

Why Knowledge Matters

Desire without knowledge leads to confusion and stalled progress. People need the practical knowledge to write effective OKRs, use them for decision-making, and incorporate them into their daily workflows. This knowledge bridges the gap between inspiration and action.

Learning should be continuous, contextual, and role-specific to support continuous improvement and effective strategy execution.

3 Practical Tips to Build Knowledge

1. Tailor Learning to Roles
   Deliver role-specific training for executives, team leads, and individual contributors to address their unique perspectives and responsibilities.
2. Work on Real OKRs Together
   Facilitate collaborative workshops where teams draft actual OKRs, fostering hands-on learning and experimentation.
3. Equip with Tools and Resources
   Provide accessible knowledge bases, micro-learning videos, and just-in-time resources that employees can use as needed.

Success Enablers

• Use real organizational key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals to demonstrate transforming vague intentions into measurable key results.
• Run OKR Myth Busting Series to clarify misconceptions.
• Offer micro-learning videos tailored to specific OKR activities.
• Create role-specific learning paths.
• Engage teams through challenges and alignment games.

Failure Risks

• One-off training sessions without follow-up or reinforcement.
• Training focused solely on writing OKRs, neglecting their use in decision-making.
• Confusion between OKRs and KPIs or projects.

Knowledge empowers teams to move from compliance to competence, embedding OKRs into everyday work.

A (the second A in ADKAR) is for Ability – Making OKRs Work Every Day

Why Ability Matters

Understanding OKRs is not enough; teams must be able to apply them effectively. Execution requires practice, rituals, and psychological safety for experimentation. Without this, the OKR process remains theoretical and disconnected from real work.

Building ability involves reducing friction, fostering collaboration, and embedding OKRs into regular workflows.

3 Practical Tips to Build Ability

1. Run Regular Check-Ins
   Maintain alignment and momentum with weekly or bi-weekly OKR sync meetings.
2. Create Safe-to-Fail Environments
   Encourage experimentation without fear of failure, promoting learning from mistakes.
3. Coach in the Flow of Work
   Provide ongoing support and guidance to help teams integrate OKRs seamlessly.

Success Enablers

• Assign dedicated OKR coaches to support teams during initial cycles.
• Integrate OKRs into existing planning cadences and portfolio rhythms.
• Use feedback loops and retrospectives to foster transparency and continuous learning.
• Employ visual tools like Kanban boards to track progress and dependencies.
• Free up time by reducing low-value meetings, enabling focus on OKR activities.

Failure Risks

• Lack of time and space for teams to engage with OKRs properly.
• Siloed reviews that miss strategic alignment.
• Review sessions treated as performance evaluations, discouraging ambition.

Ability unlocks execution by equipping teams to act with confidence and agility.

R is for Reinforcement – Keeping OKRs Alive

Why Reinforcement Matters

The first OKR cycle is only the beginning. Without reinforcement, initial progress fades, and old habits return. Embedding OKRs into the organizational rhythm ensures long-term sustainability and continuous alignment with strategic objectives.

3 Practical Tips to Reinforce OKRs

1. Celebrate Wins and Progress
   Recognize learning, collaboration, and outcomes to motivate ongoing engagement.
2. Run Quarterly Retrospectives
   Regularly reflect on what worked and what didn’t, fostering continuous improvement.
3. Build a Community of Practice (OKR Champions)
   Identify passionate individuals to act as internal coaches and change agents.

Success Enablers

• Host regular strategy showcases where teams share insights and outcomes.
• Maintain an internal learning library with real OKRs, stories, and retrospectives.
• Conduct maturity check-ins every six months to adapt support.
• Celebrate aspirational goal-setting and transparency, not just success.

Failure Risks

• OKRs forgotten after initial cycles.
• Early wins not acknowledged or shared.
• No accountability for maintaining OKR quality and usage.

Reinforcement embeds OKRs into the company culture, transforming strategy execution into an ongoing, adaptive practice.

Measuring The Success of Your OKR Implementation

No change effort is complete without measurable learning loops. Begin with an OKR maturity assessment to benchmark awareness, capability, and alignment. Establish internal OKRs for the rollout itself and monitor key metrics aligned with each ADKAR stage.

Our AI-powered OKR Maturity Assessment Tool helps organizations track progress, identify gaps, and adjust their approach to ensure long-term success. Tracking OKR progress ensures alignment and continuous improvement by making results visible and supporting regular check-ins throughout the change management process.

Setting change management OKRs and relevant key performance indicators for your rollout helps maintain focus and drives continuous improvement throughout the OKR cycle.

Change Management Template and Cheat Sheet

To support your journey, our comprehensive OKR Change Management Cheat Sheet and Template provides a structured, actionable plan to drive real results. This resource guides you through integrating OKRs with a robust change management process, engaging key stakeholders, and navigating potential challenges.

Don’t leave change to chance—download your free template today and transform how your organization approaches transformation. Your future self will thank you for having a clear roadmap when change gets challenging.

Final Thoughts

OKRs are more than just a goal-setting tool; they represent a mindset that translates strategic intent into agile execution. The ADKAR model helps you build awareness, ignite desire, impart knowledge, develop ability, and reinforce the habits that matter most.

Start with a clear purpose, equip your teams with the necessary skills, and embrace agile methods. This is how strategy gets done—and done well.

Curious about where your organization stands today? Try our OKR Maturity Assessment Tool and take the first step toward embedding OKRs that truly deliver sustainable change and operational efficiency.