Douglas B. Allen and Dwight W. Allen, Formula 2 + 2: The Simple Solution for Successful Coaching. Berrett-Koehler, 2004.
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LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Coaching is a hallmark of the transformational and empowering leadership philosophies, and Kenneth Blanchard is perhaps the most noted author on that subject. Written by a father and son team as part of the Ken Blanchard Series, building on the principles of Blanchard’s One Minute Manager (see original volume). The goal is to make performance reviews a positive and beneficial experience rather than a dreaded experience. The 2 + 2 metaphor can be a bit misleading, but it means focusing feedback on the one or two most important successes you want to reinforce as well as the one or two most important opportunities for improvement. The authors highlight five practices of coaching: balance, timeliness, focus, specificity and follow-up.
- Balance is giving both encouragement and suggestions for improvement.
- Timeliness is providing feedback as close to the incident as possible.
- Focus is narrowing your list to the one or two most important behaviors.
- Specificity is providing specific examples of the behavior you are describing.
- Follow-up is an intentional effort to integrate the five practices into an executable system.
For a closer look at Blanchard’s theories behind empowerment, see Leading at a Higher Level. Also, Heart of a Leader is an excellent distillation of Blanchard’s philosophy into thirty-six principles. Three Keys to Empowerment presents a helpful plan for putting the empowerment philosophy into practice.
Please consult the following Ministry Resource Guides for help in navigating Blanchard’s many resources:
- Empowering Leadership – Includes several works by Blanchard, along with titles by Stephen Covey, Warren Bennis, James Kouzes and Barry Posner.
- Servant Leadership – Lists volumes by Blanchard and related works by Robert Greenleaf, James Hunter, Bill Hybels, and others.
- Situational Leadership – Describes the Situational Leadership model and lists relevant texts by Ken Blanchard and his associates.
Publisher’s Description
Even the best managers often view employee coaching and feedback as necessary evils, tasks to be done with little enthusiasm and as rarely as possible. Formula 2 + 2 provides managers with a simple yet powerful approach to revolutionizing feedback conversations and making them a regular and even welcome part of their duties. Based on the assertion that feedback is most effective when motivated by a spirit of helpfulness and a sincere desire to help employees succeed, the book explains five concepts – timeliness, balance, focus, specificity, and follow-up – that transform correction into encouragement, build an atmosphere of trust, and create positive and productive performance evaluations. The simple steps outlined in Formula 2 + 2 result in a more engaged and productive workforce and a more effective manager.
About the Authors
Douglas B. Allen is Associate Professor of Management at the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business. He is also a guest professor at Renmin (People’s) University Business School in Beijing, China. He has consulted with and conducted training programs for many organizations including Nokia, Amoco, Boeing, Chrysler, General Electric, and Honeywell.
Dwight W. Allen is Eminent Scholar of Educational Reform at Old Dominion University. He was previously director of teacher education at Stanford and Dean of Education at the University of Massachusetts. He is the author of nine books, including American Schools: The $100 Billion Challenge (with Bill Cosby).
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