Building Critical Thinking Skills to Solve Problems at Work

How to build critical thinking skills

Here are a few ways you can polish your critical thinking skills.

Practice active listening.

Practice actively listening by keeping an open mind and being attentive to those around you, from associates to executives. Listen to others to gain an understanding of each person’s individual perspective, needs and expectations, and show them empathy. 

“One of the biggest challenges we have is that we listen to respond instead of listen to understand,” said Michael Lopez, a career coach and leadership expert at Michael Lopez Consulting. 

This level of understanding will allow you to work together more effectively and make decisions that satisfy everyone. “Particularly in conflicts, we quite often will be formulating a response, or set of responses, based on the arguments of the other person,” Lopez said. “When we listen with the goal of understanding, we are far more empathetic. This allows us to connect with the experience of the other person.”

Ask critical questions.

Instead of taking information at face value, be curious and ask questions to ensure you have everything you need to make a well-informed decision. “When we listen to understand, we also ask better questions,” Lopez said. “Among the most important questions to ask is, ‘Do I have that right?’ That is a question that we ask after we repeat back to the person what we heard and ensure that we understand their experience.”

By asking open-ended questions, you offer an opportunity for further exploration. That’s because this type of questioning allows you to dive deeper and gain helpful insights that are useful for decision-making.

Vet new information.

Don’t assume all new information you hear is true. Instead, take time to vet it thoroughly by ensuring it’s up to date and comes from a trustworthy source. Look at the existing evidence and the new facts being presented. Then, question thought processes and consider whose voice is missing. According to Marie Joachim, an assistant professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship at the Essca School of Management, critical thinking is needed to navigate uncertain environments because this skill can help employees check the accuracy of information.

Consider more than one perspective.

Even if you feel you have the “right” perspective, consider all points of view to fully understand others and their reasoning. This will help you improve your working relationships, understand where your peers are coming from, and tailor your communication to their needs.

Question your own biases.

Even if we try to avoid it, we all have biases that affect our decision-making. “Our brain is constantly making guesses about what will happen next,” Lopez said. “What are these predictions based on? Our own experience. And this is inherently the challenge we have when it comes to new ideas, new information and, in extreme cases, information that directly conflicts with and/or disproves what we already know.”

By uncovering your own biases and being actively aware of them, you can grow as a critical thinker and work to keep them separate from your decision-making process. That’s why it’s so important for us to question our beliefs. “When we challenge our natural reactions — or more foundationally, our core beliefs — we trigger a neurochemical cascade that allows us to learn,” Lopez said.

Conduct research.

If there are any unanswered questions or gaps in the information provided, conduct research to further your understanding and reach a decision. When you’re researching, consider a source’s goal, and avoid any that are sales-based or ill intended. Don’t use social media to obtain information; stick to reputable publications, and cite their sources.

Form your own opinion.

Be an independent thinker, and form your own opinions by considering the information presented to you, including facts and evidence. Listen to and consider the opinions of others, but use deductive reasoning to form your own view. 

Employees, especially managers, should follow Margaret Mead’s quote “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think,” Joachim told business.com. For businesses, this means encouraging managers to allow employees to think on their own, rather than telling them their own opinions.

“Leaders that are able to not only encourage their teams to challenge their individual beliefs but that are also able to harness the power of diverse thought, get better outcomes,” Lopez added. “But teams and individuals must be taught how to do this. When we do this, we don’t just get more ideas; we get better decisions that have been pressure-tested with provocative thinking.”

How to use critical thinking to problem-solve

Here is a six-step problem-solving process to try with your team.

1. Name the situation.

When you state the situation, you present a single discussion point that everyone in the discussion can identify. This statement can be written on a whiteboard as a visual prompt so the team can focus on the point and redirect the discussion when the topic shifts. Critical thinking involves keeping an open mind about situations. By naming the situation, you help participants remember the group’s goal.

2. List all possible solutions.

Brainstorming takes place during this part of the process. There is nothing outside the realm of possibilities at this point in the discussion. When you open the conversation to unlimited options, you expand thinking beyond one person. The ability to expand your thinking offers many possible solutions that you may not have considered otherwise. 

Make sure all potential solutions discussed during this time stay on task for the situation that has been named in the first step. Critical thinking includes the ability to keep an open mind to other considerations and viewpoints without losing track of the end goal. 

3. Narrow your solutions to three options.

Everyone on the team needs to agree with at least one of the three options. Individuals who can find a compromise and create solutions from many perspectives are better equipped to bring a team together. Write each solution at the top of a whiteboard, and below each one, include a list of its advantages and disadvantages. Critical thinking skills allow you to look at situations rationally, without judgment. You can maintain a rational discussion when you bring consensus to a few intentionally chosen solutions.

4. Choose one option.

Based on a rational discussion about the situation, make a final choice that offers the best chance of success. Review this choice in relation to how well it solves the designated problem. Critical thinking skills help individuals use a more systematic method to come to conclusions. This reduces the chance of bad business decision-making based on incorrect assumptions and emotional reactions.

5. Devise a plan for implementing the chosen solution.

Your chosen solution should have timelines and a list that identifies which participants are responsible for each part of the final plan. Critical thinking skills include the ability to commit to the chosen solution. When participants are an integral part of the process, you increase their interest and attention to detail.

6. Complete the plan.

Some employees find this part of the process the most difficult. Think of the number of times a great plan floundered because there was no follow-up. Make sure each team member has a role that emphasizes their expertise and interests. Complete regular reviews of people and timelines for project management. Critical thinking involves the ability to see the value of the overall plan. At this point in the process, individuals should be able to see the value of the solution and have buy-in because they were part of the process.

This problem-solving process creates an environment where critical thinking becomes a working part of finding a solution. You may want to consider training for individuals who struggle with this method. You can also integrate this activity for making plans and creating a mission.

Why critical thinking is essential in the workplace

Critical thinking benefits organizations because it introduces a wide range of ideas and solutions, fosters teamwork and productivity, helps to resolve conflict, and improves employee engagement.

“Enhancing managers’ critical thinking skills can lead the way to strategic success by enabling them to acknowledge the impact of emotions, biases, assumptions as well as the nature of information, on a business decision,” Joachim said. “It is particularly relevant to manage the relationship with stakeholders or develop a new offering, making sure that the decisions are in line with what actors need and not based on a flawed analysis.”

Here are some additional benefits of critical thinking in the workplace.

Critical thinking is required in certain professions.

Critical thinking skills are necessary in many professions, particularly those based on research or that require deductive reasoning, such as finance, education, research and law. With critical thinking, employees can solve problems objectively by considering various perspectives and analyzing facts without bias, thus allowing for smart decision-making and problem-solving.

Critical thinking improves decision-making.

Those with critical thinking skills mull over their decisions thoroughly by researching, looking at information objectively, asking questions, and weighing the pros and cons before acting. 

“Critical thinking skills are essential for managers to [make] good business decisions,” Joachim said. “Poor decision-making often stems from flawed reasoning, emotional bias or incomplete understanding.”

This skill can help businesses thoroughly compare the risks and rewards of each decision. 

Critical thinking boosts happiness.

Critical thinking can create a happy and productive work culture, as it is empowering to have the skills to make your own, well-informed decisions. Those who possess this skill are more in tune with their goals, needs and personal ethics, and they have a better understanding of what needs to change to make themselves happy or grow. [Read related article: How Hiring a Chief Happiness Officer Can Save Your Business]

Critical thinking drives workplace success

Critical thinking is an indispensable skill in the workplace because it fosters better decision-making, problem-solving and collaboration. By encouraging employees to actively listen, ask critical questions, challenge biases and consider multiple perspectives, organizations can create a more thoughtful and inclusive work environment. 

Amanda Clark and Lynette Reed contributed to this article.