What is an OKR Master & OKR Coach? We offer both: your certification and the booking of our OKR experts.

Are you an OKR expert?

Are you interested in working with us as a freelancer or in a permanent position? Then send us your CV, your project portfolio, especially information about your OKR experience, as well as your LinkedIn link. Tell us why you want to be one of the OKR experts, what you find special about OKR and what you would improve about OKR.

We look forward to seeing you!

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This is an OKR Master, Coach or Process Owner

Tasks within the company or organization

The main person responsible for introducing or scaling OKR in a company, who drives and monitors the OKR process in a company, is called the OKR Master, OKR Coach or OKR Process Owner.

This is:

We differentiate between the tasks of the main person responsible in connection with the individual teams and with the company as a whole.

We, the OKR experts, also like to call this role OKR Process Owner – OKR PO for short – others call the role OKR Master, Coach, Shepherd, Expert, Manager, Ambassador, Facilitator or Champion.

Introduction in companies – OKR process optimization as continuous work – In-house training in the OKR method on site or remotely

The role includes the introduction of OKR in companies and in new departments or teams – the training of new employees as well as the optimization of the application of OKR – including the optimal creation of OKR targets. If you want to introduce OKR in your company, you need OKR Coaches or OKR Masters with sound training and practical experience.

History – the OKR method has evolved

It is interesting to note that this role has not been around that long.
Andy Grove’s
approach has developed in companies in an evolutionary way – and in the beginning, the role was hardly given any importance and was not mentioned for decades.

The role model – the Scrum Master and the agile approaches of Scrum

The
Scrum Master
was the role model for the OKR Master, Coach and OKR Process Owner. The roll designation has been known since 1995. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland developed Scrum as an “agile framework” in the 1990s and published the Scrum framework in 1995 in an OOPSLA conference paper.

The understanding behind the Scrum Master role corresponds very well to our understanding of the role of an OKR Master, the role of the OKR Coach or OKR Process Owner. It follows the
agile manifesto
for organizational development and is also systemic in the sense of Niklas Luhman’s systems theory. Both roles require an agile mindset.

Our claim – more than just knowledge of the OKR method and practical experience

An OKR Master, Coach or Process Owner must not only have technical and methodological expertise, but also emotional intelligence, strong empathy, excellent communication skills and a solid personality profile. He/she should also be familiar with the agile and lean world. Ideally, he/she should even have worked as an Agile Coach or Scrum Master.

Challenges – managers and employees in transition – an exciting topic

As an OKR Master, Coach or Process Owner, you will be confronted with resistance and develop an eye for the challenges. Managers need to change their leadership style from transactional to transformational leadership – OKR Masters/Coaches can support managers with OKR – also through individual coaching. More self-organization and personal responsibility is demanded of employees. The OKR Master, Coach or Process Owner must understand, accompany and support all of this. Agile methods require an agile introduction – the journey is the destination.

Training incl. Certification – more than OKR Setting optimal targets and formulating optimal OKR sets

We train you to become an OKR Coach/Master including OKR certification – from practice for practice. Although we attach great importance to the formulation of optimal OKR sets, the training goes far beyond this.

Sufficient time around the cycle change – good planning, set appointments early, ensure participation for a smooth process

The job as OKR Master, Coach or Process Owner is not a full-time job – but it does require a certain time investment. You must have enough time, especially around the OKR cycle change, with a cycle duration of 3 months around the quarter change. It is important to clarify whether you can deal with the issue during this time and fulfill the task. Good planning is the be-all and end-all: dates must be set early for OKR meetings so that managers in particular can attend OKR meetings such as OKR Planning, Review and Retrospective and a smooth process is ensured. The participation of all required participants must be ensured.

Establishment of an OKR Community of Practice (CoP) to exchange information, experiences, tips & tricks and best practices with others

As an OKR Master, Coach or Process Owner, you network with OKR Masters or colleagues in the same role to exchange experience, tips & tricks, e.g. for setting optimal OKR goals, information, reading articles, templates and much more. Sharing experiences with other participants in the OKR process and with other CoPs from similar companies and organizations is also useful and of enormous importance for the success of OKR in the company. All networking opportunities should be utilized.

Should you become an OKR Master / Coach as a manager?

We do not recommend performing the role as a manager – even if you have completed OKR Coach/Master training. Because conflicts of interest are inevitable. The advantage of OKR Coach/Master training as a manager is that you understand and internalize agile leadership – we have a special seminar format for managers for this purpose.

Which employees are predestined for the topic of OKR Master / Coach? The perfect target group

All employees who have undergone training and further training in agile topics are predestined as a target group: Scrum Master, Scrum Product Owner, Agile Coach, Systemic Coach, Lean, Kanban, SAF®.

Put into practice immediately – the journey is the reward – it’s the application and practice that counts

After the OKR Coach/Master training, the aim is to put what you have learned into practice immediately.

OKR Coach/Master training for entry into the OKR world

You can choose an OKR Coach/Master training course to get started in the world of OKR or our book“OKR in 30 minutes“, our OKR video courses or our 1-day OKR seminar for users and decision-makers.

Conclusion – please complete sound training

The OKR Coach or OKR Master plays an important role in the introduction and scaling of OKR. Sound training is the be-all and end-all. OKR can fail because the people involved have too little methodological knowledge or experience. That is why we ask that they complete a sound training program. The investment pays off quickly.

Questions and answers about the OKR Master and OKR Coach

What is an OKR Master?

An OKR Master is a person who has extensive expertise in the implementation and management of the OKR method (Objectives and Key Results). This role goes beyond a simple understanding of OKR basics and includes in-depth knowledge of applying, monitoring and optimizing the OKR process in different types and sizes of organizations. The OKR Master often serves as an internal or external consultant who supports teams and managers in the development and implementation of their OKR sets.

What characterizes a good OKR Master or OKR Coach or the role?

A good OKR Master or OKR Coach is someone who has in-depth knowledge, expertise and practical experience in OKR methodology, excellent communication and facilitation skills. She/he should also be open to feedback and committed to continuous improvement. He/she should also have strong empathic skills and a solid personality profile. Knowledge and experience in agile methods or lean are an advantage, such as working as an Agile Coach, Scrum Master or Scrum PO.

Where did the idea of the OKR Master or OKR Coach come from?

The role model for the OKR Master or OKR Coach was/is the Scrum Master. The role of Scrum Master has been known since 1995. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland developed Scrum in the 1990s and published the Scrum framework in a conference paper in 1995 – the agile manifesto in 2001.

Should managers be OKR Masters or OKR Coaches?

In principle, it makes sense for managers to have sound knowledge, expertise and practical experience in the OKR methodology. However, they should not perform the role in their own team, as this can lead to conflicts of interest. There is no reason why you should not work in another team or department, provided the team agrees.