April 24, 2025 at 9:00 am to April 25, 2025 at 12:00 pm PDT - Virtual Event
This workshop provides participants with a foundational understanding of the powerful SOAR framework—Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results—designed to enhance strategic thinking, strategizing, planning, and leading. Attendees will learn to recognize and harness their organization’s internal strengths, identify external opportunities, clarify their aspirations, and define specific results they aspire to achieve.
Through interactive discussions and practical examples, this workshop equips participants with the tools and mindset to adopt a proactive, appreciative, and positive approach to strategy development, fostering innovation, and driving sustainable growth within their organizations.
Whether applied to business, personal development, or team dynamics, this workshop serves as a gateway to unleashing the full potential of the SOAR framework. Utilize SOAR’s positive framework to enhance your ability to strategize, lead, and plan effectively.
SOAR WORKSHOP DATES & TIMES:
There are two workshops available for you to maximize your SOAR learning, planning, and application: Introduction to SOAR and SOAR Design. Below are the dates and times for both workshops. Please note: Introduction to SOAR is a pre-requisite for the SOAR Design Workshop.
INTRODUCTION TO SOAR April 24-25, 2025 9am-12pm Pacific / 12pm-3pm Eastern | SOAR DESIGN May 16, 2025 9am-12pm Pacific / 12pm-3pm Eastern |
Pre-requisite: None | Pre-requisite: Introduction to SOAR |
INTRODUCTION TO SOAR WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
SOAR, a positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, leading, conversations, and operating allows anyone at any level in an organization to create strategy and strategic plans.
The operating system of SOAR is Appreciative Inquiry, which is one of the most effective and widely used approaches for strategic change. You will learn how to engage your teams in strategic conversations using SOAR to:
- Increase engagement, productivity, commitment, and effectiveness at multiple levels in your organization.
- Develop strategies by providing a flexible approach that emphasizes strengths and opportunities, aligning them with aspirations and results.
- Create strategic plans with values, vision, mission, purpose, and goals.
- Promote positive and forward-thinking, appreciative mindset.
- Develop your personal strategic leadership development strategy plan.
SOAR is a valuable framework and approach for organizations looking to take a proactive and positive approach to strategic development, focusing on leveraging their existing strengths and external opportunities to achieve their aspirations and desired results.
As an Organization Development Consultant, I was thrilled to see a public offering for a SOAR workshop presented by Jackie Stavros, the creator of the framework. Having Melissa Robaina bring her expertise with Appreciative Inquiry was a real bonus! The workshop was content rich and the resources exceptional. I am glad I invested in this work and came away with more than I could have hoped for.
– Michele Hansen, Principal, Prismatic Business Solutions
INTRODUCTION TO SOAR WORKSHOP CONTENT:
Introduction to SOAR: Creating Strategies & Strategic Plans that Invite Innovation and Engagement consists of five (5) modules that will provide key insights, learnings, and tools that you can apply in your strategic leadership. Click the title of each module below to display its purpose and learning objectives.
PURPOSE:
Introduce the value of cultivating strategic thinking skills from an appreciative mindset.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Understand the importance of strategic thinking as cognitive process and mindset.
- Learn language of strategy and strategic planning.
- Share the history of positive organization science/scholarship (POS).
- Introduce Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as the operating system of SOAR.
PURPOSE:
Introduce SOAR framework and approach, its purpose, and how it can be applied in different contexts from strategy to strategic planning and leadership development.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Learn the essence and flexibility of SOAR.
- Understand the efficacy of the SOAR elements.
- Show how SOAR builds upon SWOT.
- Case 1: Strategic Conversation – Revitalization Strategy.
- Introduce 3 Key Strategic Factors of SOAR.
PURPOSE:
Learn how to apply SOAR at various levels in an organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Learn how to apply SOAR in:
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- every day strategic conversations.
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- coaching and mentoring others.
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- creating strategies (Quick SOAR).
- Case 2: SOAR: Creating a Strategy at Division Level.
- Case 3: SOAR: Strategic Coaching Approach to High-Performing Culture.
PURPOSE:
Learn how to use SOAR for system-wide strategic planning or change with the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) 5-D/5-I Cycle.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Learn how to involve stakeholder representation on your strategic planning team.
- Share the evolution of SOAR with the AI 5-D/5-I Cycle.
- Case 4: Creating a Whole System Strategic Plan.
PURPOSE:
Learn how to use SOAR at the level of self to develop effective leadership skills for your strategic leadership development plan.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Learn how to identify your values, vision, and mission with purpose.
- Identify your current strengths as a leader and what weakness you might wish to explore to turn it into an opportunity to cultivate a strength.
- Explore opportunities for leadership growth and development.
- Determine your leadership aspirations: what type of leader are you and want to further develop into?
- How to establish specific, measurable results you want to achieve in your leadership development.
- Formulate your leadership strategies, plans, and future learning resources.
This is a very practical workshop that focuses on helping you better understand the variety of ways SOAR can be used from a single person to a large organization. The instructor is focused on ensuring content is relevant to how you want to use SOAR. She provides many practical examples, article, and other learning materials to continue to explore and grow after the program is over.
– Andrew Whitis, Interim Executive Director, OhioNet
This workshop highlights the true power of SOAR. I left with a deeper understanding of the framework and how it can be used to improve organizational planning, strengthen teams and guide own own individual development.
– Sara Bozeman, Consultant, Office of Patient-Centered Care & Cultural Transformation, Department of Veterans Affairs
The ‘Introduction to SOAR Creating Strategy and Strategic Plans that Inspire’ training event was very good from start to finish as evidenced by comprehensive pre-training preparation, positive, energizing content that contributed to skills enhancement, glitch free Zoom technology, highly experienced trainers whose interactive training style provided ongoing opportunities for participation including trainee feedback and posing of questions. Post training reading materials were an indicator of going the extra-mile to enhance trainee’s competence and capabilities.
– Dennis Whitford, Owner/Operator, 2Thunder Consulting
Insightful and impactful — the SOAR sessions re-engaged and energized my thinking about how to apply appreciative inquiry in strategic situations to help individuals, teams, and organizations reach new heights.
– Pam Cash, Co-Founder and Chief of Positive Change, Next Ascent, LLC.
I really appreciate The Center for AI offering such a phenomenal program on SOAR with Jackie and Melissa – WOW! Talk about time well spent — it was an absolute pleasure and privilege and will say that this offering is by far one of the ‘high points’ in my learning journey. Jackie is incredible and her generosity is unparalleled! From the SOAR Design workshop (from part II of the series), I delivered a ‘micro-SOAR’ and council members walked away from the session feeling seen, heard, and inspired. Huge kudos to Jackie for developing dynamic and profound SOAR framework, and her willingness to share her insights!!
– L. Barbour, Resilience Director, Optum Workplace Well-Being
ADDITIONAL WORKSHOP INFORMATION:
REQUIRED BOOK
The SOAR workshops utilize the book, Learning to SOAR: Creating Strategy that Inspires Innovation and Engagement by Jacqueline Stavros and Gina Hinrichs.
You will need to purchase this book prior to the start of this course. This short, easy-to-read book is available in electronic, paperback, or audio – please choose the format that best suits your learning style.
METHOD OF DELIVERY:
This workshop will be delivered via Zoom and will use various Zoom features, including the annotation tool. To maximize your learning experience, please participate using a desktop or laptop computer. You will receive a Zoom meeting link in a separate email two weeks prior to the event.
LETTER OF COMPLETION
To obtain a letter of completion from The Center for Appreciative Inquiry, each participant must actively participate and complete the workshop. Letters of completion include your name, date of your training, and number of classroom hours earned and will be presented to participants after the training.
WORKSHOP OFFERED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:
WANT TO TRAIN A TEAM OR GROUP?
This workshop can be delivered for groups and organizations who wish to train a large number of individuals on the SOAR framework to support their strategy and strategic planning efforts. Please complete the CONTACT US form to receive more information about hosting a private course for your group.
AI Practitioners
MELISSA ROBAINA, MBA, founder of Appreciative Inquiries, LLC and COO of The Center for Appreciative Inquiry, has over 15 years of experience empowering individuals and communities through Appreciative Inquiry to foster engagement, innovative dialogue, and sustainable change. In March 2023, she developed and launched the Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry, a self-directed program exploring foundational theories, principles, and the 5-D process through immersive exercises. Melissa’s expertise in designing strengths-based engagements, her passion for empowering individuals, and her ability to create transformative solutions make her a sought-after leader in the field. Learn more about Melissa >>
JACKIE STAVROS, DM, passion is working with others to create purpose and meaningful results for positive change. She is recognized for her creation of SOAR, a positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, conversations, and leading. She is co-founder of Conversations Worth Having Institute. She is professor and management consultant in the College of Business and Information Technology at Lawrence Technological University. She is a Faculty Athletic Representative at LTU, where she enjoys working with student athletes to empower them to navigate and advocate for themselves. She inspires them with lifework. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in management, organization development, leadership, and strategic management. Learn more about Jackie >>