What is the importance of information for developing critical thinking among employees at workplace?

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While most of our everyday brainpower is dedicated to automatic and routine tasks, employees with sharp critical thinking skills are an essential.

It’s so important that some thought leaders believe a lack of critical thinkers could contribute to business failures.

As a business leader, you might be asking:

1. Is it possible to teach employees critical thinking?
2. How can I assess a person’s critical thinking skills?
3. What are the necessary steps in critical thinking?
4. How can managers improve critical thinking skills in employees? 

To frame the conversation, let’s define what critical thinking is.

What is critical thinking, and why is it important?

Critical thinking is the ability to organize information logically to make a reasoned judgment. It involves the evaluation of data sources, facts and other research to make a reasonable conclusion by “connecting the dots.”

Critical thinking in the workplace means sorting among useful and arbitrary details to come up with a big-picture perspective that leads to an impactful decision or solution to a problem.

If you find yourself stuck in your career path, many times, it’s due to a lack of critical thinking.

Critical thinking skills are immensely valuable to employers because these employees often become high performers.

Can you teach critical thinking skills?

The answer is yes – you can teach critical thinking. It’s a skill that can be acquired and practiced. Over time, employees can become proficient.

The first step in teaching critical thinking starts with building an awareness of what it is.

There are many resources, courses and books available that teach these skills.  

Encourage employees to begin their education on critical thinking by:

• Reading a book
• Researching online resources
• Taking a class 

Initial awareness can then lead employees to find opportunities, including critical thinking exercises, to practice their new skills.

However, there’s more involved than just learning about critical thinking. Employees must also possess certain traits.

How do you assess a person’s ability to think critically?

Improving an employee’s ability to think critically involves more than their scoring well on job-specific hard skills such as software knowledge, writing ability or mathematical aptitude.

Employees also need emotional intelligence (EQ), the suite of soft skills in demand along with critical thinking, creativity and active listening.

To assess those employees who can develop critical thinking skills, start by looking for the desirable traits critical thinkers possess: 

• Curious and interested in learning more
• Sees connections between two different pieces of information that point to a trend or observation
• Open-minded listener eager to hear different perspectives
• Self-reflective in examining their own biases or prejudices
• Naturally creative in crafting solutions
• Self-confident, as confidence is essential in thinking independently, presenting conclusions and making decisions

The bottom line is to look for a healthy combination of interpersonal skills and cognitive intelligence. These employees have a higher potential for critical thinking than those who excel only in the technical sense.

Be aware of employees who may be deferential to the point of stifling their critical thinking skills. Encourage them to appropriately challenge authority and think outside the box as opposed to getting things “right.”

While some people are more inclined to catch on than others, most employees will benefit from critical thinking training. 

What steps are involved in critical thinking?

Coaching your workforce on critical thinking takes time, as there are different skills needed throughout the process.

Here are the five steps to deliberate thinking:

1. Ask basic questions when you set out to solve a problem.

Forming a hypothesis or proposing an explanation based on limited information is a starting point for any analysis.

2. Collect all information needed to prove your hypothesis.

This could include data that might show a broader range of possible causes and effects.

 Thorough data collection can take time and considerable effort.

3. Question underlying assumptions and examine accepted beliefs.

Look critically at processes that have “always been done this way.”

Try to break complex topics into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it.

4. Evaluate all existing evidence and be open to revising your hypothesis.

Pull in related information for a more systemic, broader understanding of the issue.

5. Develop conclusions based on data and present recommendations.

Drawing conclusions is the final and most crucial part of critical thinking.

How can you coach employees on critical thinking skills?

After the employee has read a book, taken a course or researched online resources to learn what critical thinking is, you can help them understand how critical thinking is used in the workplace. 

1. Discuss their everyday tasks and have them identify which require critical thinking.
2. For the highest priority tasks, ask them to launch the five-step approach to solve a problem that they’re facing.
3. Remind them to examine their cognitive biases. In other words, our brains naturally take mental shortcuts to explain what’s happening when there is limited information. Work to overcome this.
   
4. Reinforce their efforts as they look for insights and think about possible conclusions. Help them become a problem solver by encouraging their efforts in proposing a solution.
5. Offer feedback and help them formulate their thoughts once the employee has preliminary conclusions. Even experienced critical thinkers can struggle with clear communication when it comes time to present findings. 

Don’t be surprised if the person is afraid or nervous. It takes confidence to be a critical thinker, especially when failure is a distinct possibility.

Those who take to critical thinking often enjoy stewing on the problem before reaching conclusions, but they often won’t shy away from making a decision.

These employees typically show signs of a budding high performer. They look for challenges, ask to be on exciting projects and are curious about the strategic direction of the organization.

Not everyone will be confident enough to embrace the final step in critical thinking – making a decision and taking action. In this case, identify the employee’s strengths and reassign them to the position that is a better match. 

In summary

With so many changes in the workplace, almost everyone needs to be a critical thinker. Possessing critical thinking skills will help pave the way to retention and upward mobility for your workforce.

If you’d like more insights into developing a talent strategy for your company, download our complimentary e-book: How to develop a top-notch workforce that will accelerate your business.

Critical thinking is one of the most highly sought after skills in the workplace. Critical thinking skills allow a person to analyse information, arrive at conclusions and make sound decisions. Applying critical thinking in the workplace is an essential skill everyone should be trying to improve. It can set you apart as a leader, improve the quality of your work, and the perception those higher up the chain have of you. So what is critical thinking, and why is it important in the workplace?

Although it sounds negative, critical thinking is not about being cynical or resistant. Critical thinking in the workplace is a deeper level of thinking where we question, analyse and draw conclusions about information and evidence. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of critical thinking is "the process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you." Essentially this means to think about something without falling prey to personal bias or doing things the way they have always been done.

Top companies are placing increasing importance on critical thinking skills in business. Business success depends on a person's ability to learn quickly and perform in jobs requiring decision making and problem-solving. To keep up with the rapid advancements in technology and rapidly changing business environments, businesses need critical thinkers to make reliable decisions and ensure the company moves forward.

Why is Critical Thinking Important in the Workplace?

Critical thinking skills are valuable in all roles in an organisation. These skills enhance communication, creativity and problem-solving. Thinking critically in the workplace allows you to connect ideas, evaluate arguments, find errors and solve complex issues. The workplace is packed with situations that require teams and individuals to approach complex problems and solve them using new and innovative approaches. Employees who can communicate and relate with coworkers, develop strategies and overcome issues are more likely to succeed. 

Critical thinking is especially important in three areas of business:

• leadership
• problem-solving
• communication

Leadership

Leaders often need to think critically when making decisions that impact the business. They need to employ critical thinking skills when considering situations and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions. Critical thinking is an essential skill for successful leadership.

Problem Solving

Problems arise within all organisations daily. Some have a straightforward solution, whereas others require a more complex approach. As a business leader or employee, it's essential to think critically when facing more significant issues. Thinking critically will enable you to produce several alternative solutions to a problem, ensuring that the decision made is best for the company overall. 

Enhances Communication

There is a strong link between critical thinking and communication. Applying critical thinking skills to communication allows you to consider the perspectives of others, anticipate how they might respond and formulate the most appropriate response. This leads to effective communication and improves productivity.

How to Improve Critical Thinking in the Workplace

Here are the top three ways to improve critical thinking skills in the workplace to become a more effective employee:

1. Ask Questions
2. Consider the Source
3. Research

Ask Questions

Questioning is an essential skill to develop if you are trying to perfect your critical thinking skills. When presented with a problem, asking questions will help you understand and evaluate it. Questioning is a great way to learn more about a situation and help expand how you think about things.

Consider the Source

Uncovering the source of information can help you understand the motivation or perspectives behind it. When learning or problem-solving, you should consider the source's motivation and evidence to support their argument. Examine if there may be other possible solutions or perspectives.

Research

Once you have questioned the new information and considered multiple perspectives, you need to form your own opinion and act on the information. If it's a common issue or situation, you can research using the internet or discuss it with others who have also encountered the same problem. Search for reputable information from sources like news sites, educational institutions and nonprofit organisations

How to Measure Critical Thinking

There are several critical thinking tests to measure critical thinking skills in the workplace. The most applicable test to the workplace is a reasoning test. Reasoning skills play an essential role in workplace tasks requiring different elements of intelligence like critical thinking, problem-solving and tasks involving creativity. A reasoning test enables employers to assess critical thinking skills in the workplace.

Critical thinking and reasoning processes require active and thorough processing of information by collecting, analysing, conceptualising, combining and assessing it. Many jobs performed in organisations require these skills. Although we can develop these skills, a person with advanced reasoning skills is likely to perform more effectively in tasks requiring reasoning skills, such as critical thinking.

Every person is unique, and so are our reasoning skills. Genetics, education and intelligence all contribute to our level of reasoning skills. A reasoning or cognitive ability test is designed to assess critical thinking skills. The reasoning test will produce an assessment of our current level of reasoning skills, what this might look like in practice and which reasoning skills we may want to develop. As we can learn any other skills, we can also learn reasoning skills if we want to.

Examples of Critical Thinking the Workplace

There are many critical thinking in the workplace examples. Some of them we do regularly and may not identify them as critical thinking skills. 

Employees in the construction industry or in health and safety departments often need to complete risk assessments. This requires them to consider the situation before them, identify potential hazards and predict areas that may produce a level of risk. Risk assessments require employees to think critically about the information from multiple perspectives, such as the types of contractors entering the site, evaluate possible risks and overcome these problems

Multiple roles and industries require the analysis of data. These include accountants, business analysts and marketing strategists. While digital applications can collate large data, only humans can analyse and interpret what the data may be telling us. For example, a digital marketing strategist looks at website data, infers what it means, and develops a strategy to improve. This process requires marketing strategists to apply critical thinking skills to evaluate the situation.

One of the fundamental elements of critical thinking is being able to look at a situation objectively. This is also fundamental in recruitment. Recruiters and HR Managers need to analyse several CVs and other information objectively to identify the ideal candidate for the role. Demonstrating the ability to hire without considering age, gender, and other factors shows the ability to think critically.