Jacqueline (Jackie) Stavros

Faculty Advisor
Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit
Weatherhead School of Management

External Appointments

Professor
Lawrence Technological University (LTU)

Additional Information

Jacqueline teaches courses in management, organization development and change, strategy, leadership, and creating sustainable business value. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is the heart of all her research, teaching, and practice. Her passion is working with others to bring AI into their daily conversations and meetings to create productive and meaningful results. She is recognized for her creation of SOAR, a positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, and leading (www.soar-strategy.com).She has worked across all sectors and a wide spectrum of industries in over 25 countries using AI to affect the lives of thousands of people and their organizations improve capacity to thrive and increase performance. She works with organizations in leadership development, team-building, and strategic planning. She has trained thousands of people in the use and practice of AI, SOAR, and other strengths-based processes. Clients include: Ford Foundation, Flint Intermediate School District, Jefferson Wells, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Girl Scouts, Orbseal Technologies, Washtenaw Literacy, U.S. Army, automotive suppliers, healthcare centers, and education. She has written 6 books and over 70 articles and books chapters. Co-authored books include: Thin Book of SOAR: Building Strengths-based Strategy and Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement (www.conversationsworthhaving.today). Her work has been featured in ForbesDetroit’s Local 4, and many leadership blogs. Her research in Appreciative Inquiry and SOAR earned her the LTU’s Inaugural Presidential Research Award.

Jackie was introduced to Appreciative Inquiry by David Cooperrider and Ron Fry while working on her doctorate at CASE Weatherhead School of Management. Her dissertation: Capacity Building Using an Appreciative Approach: A Relational Process of Building Your Organization’s Future. She has earned her MBA at Michigan State University and BA at Wayne State University. She lives in Brighton, Michigan, with her husband, Paul; their kids, Ally and Adam; and Rex, a lovable dog.

Favorite AI PrincipleSocial Construction: Our words create our worlds … through our words we create our conversations, conversations create our moments and influence the world we live in.