Critical thinking refers to the analysis and evaluation of different points to form a decision or judgment. Whether a person’s position in a company is a starting manager or a CEO, critical thinking skills in the workplace will always be an asset.
It’s a vital part of the success of a company. In order to make the best decisions, all employees must have the skills to think critically. So, what critical thinking skills are good for the workplace and how can we apply them?
Here are some of the things you can do develop critical thinking in the workplace:
- Evaluate
Look at the problem and name the situation. Focus on the situation and evaluate all the available data given. Critical thinking involves being able to look at all the angles of an issue and evaluate properly.
Evaluation also means seeing the situation’s place in the bigger picture. How does this situation affect the company? Critical thinking isn’t just focusing on the situation; it’s being able to see the situation from all possible points of view, with the bigger picture in mind.
- Keep goals in mind
All companies may differ in terms of the goals that they have. One way of practicing critical thinking is to keep your company’s goal in mind. Don’t lose track of the ultimate objective.
Act upon that objective and make sure that all decisions that are going to be made are aligned with that. By keeping the goal in mind, the best solutions can be set up because we can make sure that all of those follows the company’s best interest.
- Look past biases
The only person who can tell his or her biases is the person itself. One way of improving critical thinking is by knowing your biases and looking past them. Decisions should always remain impartial and should always be in line with the company’s best interests and goals as aforementioned.
- Observe and ask questions
Another one of the crucial critical thinking skills in the workplace is the ability to not just accept something at face value. A critical thinker keeps an open mind about the situation. Remember that it’s important to see all possible point of views. You can do exactly that by asking questions and gathering more information! This is done in order to see all the angles people might be seeing.
Be open to points, suggestions, and further information presented by co-workers or employees. Always keep an open mind.
- Identify as many possible solutions as you can
Keeping an open mind about the situation also means keeping an open mind about the solutions. List all the possible solutions. Weigh them and find out the pros and cons of each one.
All actions have their corresponding consequences, so you need to know what entails each possible solution. For example, you may need to find out if the solutions are going to have long-term benefits or cause problems in the long run.
Don’t just be open to more information from employees and co-workers; be open to possible solutions from them as well.
- Narrow down the solutions
Now that the items in your list of solutions come with pros, cons, and possible consequences, the next thing to do is to shorten the list. Narrow it down to the best ones. Critical thinking involves finding a way to compromise and merge different solutions together to form the best one.
This will be able to practice rational decision making. Critical thinking heavily involves the ability to think rationally – take in all the possible solutions and from there look for the best ones.
- Decide on a solution and implement it
Critical thinking doesn’t simply involve thinking of a solution. It also involves making that decision and implementing it properly. After evaluating which in the list of solutions is the best one, implement it.
The implementation of the decided action is one of the ways to see if it really is the right decision. A critical thinker will see if the solution is working, if it’s not, put a stop to it and try a different choice of action.
One crucial critical thinking skill is learning from mistakes. If one decision doesn’t work as well as expected, don’t simply give up. Instead, keep looking for a decision that will suit the situation best.
- Accept and encourage feedback
A part of learning from mistakes is to acknowledge mistakes in the first place. Before we learn from them, we find out what they are first. So, encourage feedback from the people involved in the situation.
Accept lapses and know that not everyone thinks critically 24/7. No matter what position a person has in the company, he or she is still just a person. We all make mistakes.
What sets critical thinkers apart is that they accept mistakes and learn from them. Fail fast, learn even faster.
Listen to the feedback from the people around. Don’t be afraid to ask what can be done better next time? What can be changed?
That sums up some of the critical thinking skills in the workplace. So, how can we apply them?
One of the most important ways is to keep them in mind when making decisions. Often, people can become pressured by time, peers, and or the expectations set by bosses or the people who count on them.
An integral part of learning and applying these critical thinking skills in the workplace is by giving oneself the time to think. When faced with a decision that requires critical thinking, remember the skills needed.
Don’t make hasty decisions. Don’t decide just for the sake of deciding. Set time for thinking and absorbing all information. Evaluate, and follow the steps and skills outline in this article.
Critical thinking skills can be used in every position in a company, so it’s important to have all employees, team members, or workers to have these set of skills. Employers value those who have the ability to think critically, especially in times of need.
Whether you’re a CEO or a start-up manager, critical thinking is a skill that will be used for life. For companies to run smooth, the right decisions should be made thousands of times.
Developing critical thinking skills in the workplace creates better workers. Better workers mean better work. Better work means a better workplace.
