Questions to help your clients SOAR

Imagine being able to help others reach their full potential and achieve their goals with ease. Coaches are able to do just that using a variety of tools and coaching models – this gives a structured and purposeful approach to coaching that ensures both the coach and client stay on track towards their desired outcomes.   

Models not only provide a consistent framework for coaching, but also enable coaches to evaluate their effectiveness and make meaningful improvements over time. With coaching models as your guide, you have the power to positively impact the lives of those you coach and help them unlock their true potential. Other than using the GROW model, I also mix up my coaching approach and models depending on whom I’m coaching with.    

When coaching with High Performance Teams or clients who have high performance as their outcome my approach is about unlocking the full potential of that individual, team or organisation and achieving greatness.    

One of my go-to tools for this is S.O.A.R:-

• Strengths:  e.g. What three adjectives describe you at your best? What makes you/your team unique?
• Opportunities: e.g. Where do you see that you have a contribution to make? How do you reframe challenges?
• Aspirations:  e.g. Where do you want to be in a year’s time? What are the things you haven’t experienced yet that you want to?
• Results: e.g. What would success look like/how will you measure the results?

SOAR is a strategic planning tool that combines the best of data analysis and human innovation to create a truly energising vision for the future. It takes “appreciative enquiry” and applies it to strategic thinking and conversation.

Unlike the traditional SWOT analysis, SOAR draws on the experiences and ideas of staff at all levels of the team or organisation. By tapping into the collective wisdom and aspirations of the team, you can identify the strengths and opportunities that will propel that team or organisation forward. But it isn't just about identifying what's already working. It's about taking a positive, proactive approach to transforming weaknesses and threats into opportunities. 

With SOAR, you can coach others to build a culture of appreciation and inquiry that fosters continuous growth and innovation.

The advantages that I have found using SOAR are as follows:

• Ease of comprehension and user-friendliness are the hallmarks of this framework
• Suitable for both individuals and groups, this framework serves as a foundation
• Differing from most strategic frameworks, it incorporates measurable objectives alongside business and market data
• By correlating strengths with ambitions, the direction of the business becomes clearer through the use of this framework.

SOAR creates a shared vision that inspires and empowers everyone to contribute their best work. By mapping strengths with aspirations, you can gain a clear understanding of the direction your client needs to take to achieve success.  

Check out our downloadable “Action Learning Sheet” for more information and remember, if you are a Coaching Academy student coach, please only use the GROW model for your practical assessments.