SOAR: A Framework to Build Positive Psychological Capacity in Strategic Thinking, Planning, and Leading

Measuring Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results: Psychometric Properties of the 12-Item SOAR Scale

“…The SOAR framework enhances strategic thinking, planning, conversations, and leading through a generative approach to inquire into strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and measurable results to shape a preferred future, allowing for positive changes in strategies, structures, business models, systems, people, and processes (Stavros et al, 2003;Stavros and Hinrichs, 2009;Stavros and Saint, 2010;Cole and Stavros, 2019;Stavros, 2020). SOAR has been contrasted to the classic SWOT diagnostic analysis that diverts organizational resources away from strengths and opportunities by a focus on weaknesses and threats.…”

“…These results support the construct validity of the SOAR Scale as a 12-item scale that validly measures four first-order factors: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. SOAR is conceptualized as a strengths-based framework for strategic thinking, planning, conversations, and leading (Cole and Stavros, 2019), in which strengths refer to an individual's "natural capacity for behaving, thinking, or feeling in a way that allows optimal functioning and performance in the pursuit of value outcomes" (Linley and Harrington, 2006, p. 88). In managing personal strengths, "Strengths [sic] do more than perform, they transform-strengths are what make us feel stronger and therefore magnify 'what is best' and imagine 'what is next' in order to create upward spirals.…”

“…A related construct to AI is SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results), a strengths-based framework for strategic thinking, planning, conversations, and leading that integrates the theory and practice of POS, positive psychology, and AI. SOAR leverages the two AI practices of generative 1 http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/intro/vision.cfm questions and positive framing (Cole and Stavros, 2019). While SOAR has been used by practitioners over the past two decades as a framework for building strategic capacity, psychological capacity, and resilience at the individual, the team, and the organizational level, its use in empirical research has been limited by the absence of a reliable and a valid measure of SOAR (Stavros and Saint, 2010;Stavros, 2020).…”

Positive Psychological Coaching Definitions and Models: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Therefore, careful consideration needs to be taken when setting goals. Cole and Stavros (2019) suggested that a positive strengthsbased approach should be used to manage such. They argued that clients use the SOAR framework to determine and translate the ideal vision into actionable goals through focusing on identifying the strengths they could use-, the opportunities available to aid in-, the aspirations they have from-and results associated with each goal they want to achieve.…”

Power on: The rapid transition of a large interdisciplinary behavioral health department to telemental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…10 In SOAR, changes are reframed as opportunities to innovate and meet organizational aspirations, a valuable paradigm in times of crises. 12 , 13 Conducting a SOAR analysis requires consideration of each element within the context of the organization as well as engagement of stakeholders at all organizational levels. 13 This article addresses gaps in the literature by discussing the transition to TMH during the COVID-19 pandemic through an organizational change lens.…”