SOAR

SOAR beyond SWOT

SWOT is an age-old tool with an antiquated, binary premise that leaves the user stuck in the present—and its unresolved problems. SOAR encourages a positive attitude and pulls participants to be mindful, sense gaps, dream, play, and be sensitive to their environment.

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Strengths

Determining strengths is the ultimate kick-starter to any problem-solving conversation. This is a time to build confidence in what is already present.

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Opportunities

Often, what first comes to mind is not the whole picture. Recognizing the fullest context available helps to ground and launch creative effort.

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Aspirations

Desires, hopes, dreams, and imagination applied to a context pulls human beings to strive higher, dig deeper, discover more, and grow into their full abilities and intentions.

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Results

From a predictive—not reflective—lens, applying possibility thinking to results means not over-romanticizing what "success" might really mean. Perfection is not practical, so there is no reason to expect it.

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SOAR

SOAR (Strengths - Opportunities - Aspirations - Results) is a newer iteration of the very common SWOT (Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats) tool. SOAR is designed for collaborative dialogue and appreciative inquiry, recognizing that the weaknesses and threats components of SWOT naturally come up during conversation as relative antonyms of strengths and opportunities. While SWOT can be broken down into axis of (SW) internal-external (OT) and (SO) positive-negative (WT), SOAR can be broken into axis of (SA) internal-external (OR) and (SO) current-possible (AR).This tool is designed to be used in facilitation of solving a problem. When combined with the the Initiate - Inquire - Imagine - Innovate - and Implement paradigm, it can be used as a standalone model; alternatively, as is demonstrated in each detailed sub-section under the theme, "providing free tuition for all doctoral students at Buffalo State," this can also be used as a tool within other models and with other creative skills.

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Strengths

Determining strengths is an exercise that is most closely related to diagnostic thinking, as its purpose is to more completely comprehend a situation. Bringing mindfulness to the forefront helps to mitigate cognitive biases and blind spots and remain open to new perspectives. Sometimes, the greatest strengths are hiding in plain sight, and all it takes to notice them is a shift in perspective!For Example:
- Doctoral students attending Buffalo State would have more available financial resources
- Low-no cost doctoral programs engage a broader audience of potential students
- More applicants for doctoral programs often strengthens the average ranking / rating of any given applicant
- Less administration would be needed, so more time and resources could be put towards growth of programming

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Opportunities

Determining opportunities is an exercise that is most closely related to strategic thinking, as it identifies potential pathways to move towards the desired future state. Having the ability to sense gaps at this stage is pivotal, as often, the largest and most significant needs to improve or gaps to fill are where the greatest opportunities lie as well.For Example:
- To sustain a more diverse student body
- To support doctoral students with financial need without requiring time-consuming explanations
- To re-assess how many administrative staff are really needed to keep the institution running

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Aspirations

Determining aspirations naturally bridges two cognitive creative skills, visionary and ideational thinking, and two affective creative skills, dreaming and playfulness. Putting out-loud the hopes and dreams for how to navigate a situation are important, as they provide a direct on-ramp for less engaged community members to become more engaged in the problem solving process.To keep exploration of aspirations open-ended and most adaptable to divergent thinking, the way in which this part of SOAR is used can vary widely.For Example:
- Hope to gain international acclaim for have such a high-quality, low-cost doctoral program
- Hope to have doctoral students better enjoy the learning and research processes, when tuition would be covered
- Hope to make the doctoral student body and graduating cohorts more diverse and representative of the surrounding population

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Results

Determining results is all about anticipating what might happen, whether positive, negative, or neutral. This provides both be a self-reflective check that this is the correct path to proceed on and an exploration of unintended consequences. Having sensitivity to the environment at this stage is of particular value, as some realities with an intended result can be psychological or emotional, not just physical or financial. By thinking contextually about all potential consequences, the vision developed in the aspirational stage can be better grounded and supported by the team that wants to see it succeed.For Example:
- If all doctoral tuition was free, Buffalo State might risk further financial troubles or simply close entirely
- Doctoral students would share a more positive reputation of the school, as one that really cares about the financial well-being of its students
- Buffalo State could be expected to compete with institutions that offer funding packages