Dynamic Relationships

Jackie's passion is working with others to discover their strengths, identify opportunities and create a plan with meaningful results for positive change! She is internationally recognized for her creation of SOAR. SOAR is a profoundly positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, and leading that focuses on strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results in strategic conversations (www.soar-strategy.com). The heart of the SOAR framework is Appreciative Inquiry (AI), one of the most popular approaches to positive change - that is bringing out the best in people, their organizations, and communities. For over 25 years, Jackie has been integrating these strengths-based, whole system practices into her research, teaching, training, coaching and consulting work to strengthen relationships, impact performance, and create meaningful change.She works with organizations to help them get organized and focused for sustainable growth. Through executive coaching and whole system change methods, she helps organizations identify and articulate their values, vision and mission statements, strategy, and strategic initiatives and build collaborative teams and communities for results-oriented action. She has worked across all sectors including for-profit, non-profit, governmental, and a wide spectrum of industries. Jackie is a professor at Lawrence Technological University (LTU) College of Management and has been honored with the LTU Inaugural Presidential Research Award. She is also Senior Appreciative Inquiry Strategist for Flourishing Leadership Institute and a member of the Appreciative Inquiry Council of Practitioners for the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry and Taos Institute. Prior to joining LTU, her industry work includes manufacturing, automotive, banking, technology, education, healthcare, government, and professional services. Jackie has co-authored many books, book chapters, and articles including: Appreciative Inquiry Handbook: For Leadership of Change, Dynamic Relationships: Unleashing the Power of Appreciative Inquiry in Daily Living, Thin Book of SOAR: Building Strengths-based Strategy, and upcoming book, Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement. She has presented her research and work in over 25 countries. She is a keynote speaker on AI, SOAR, positive approaches to leadership development and change. Jackie earned her Doctorate in Management from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Her Dissertation topic: Capacity Building Using an Appreciative Approach: A Relational Process of Building Your Organization's Future. Email: jstavros@comcast.net