critical thinking in organizations

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills

• Matt Plummer

Critical thinking isn’t an innate skill. It can be learned.

Most employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and most managers don’t know how to provide specific instruction to team members in need of becoming better thinkers. Instead, most managers employ a sink-or-swim approach, ultimately creating work-arounds to keep those who can’t figure out how to “swim” from making important decisions. But it doesn’t have to be this way. To demystify what critical thinking is and how it is developed, the author’s team turned to three research-backed models: The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, Pearson’s RED Critical Thinking Model, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Using these models, they developed the Critical Thinking Roadmap, a framework that breaks critical thinking down into four measurable phases: the ability to execute, synthesize, recommend, and generate.

With critical thinking ranking among the most in-demand skills for job candidates , you would think that educational institutions would prepare candidates well to be exceptional thinkers, and employers would be adept at developing such skills in existing employees. Unfortunately, both are largely untrue.

• Matt Plummer (@mtplummer) is the founder of Zarvana, which offers online programs and coaching services to help working professionals become more productive by developing time-saving habits. Before starting Zarvana, Matt spent six years at Bain & Company spin-out, The Bridgespan Group, a strategy and management consulting firm for nonprofits, foundations, and philanthropists.  

Partner Center

Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

To Improve Critical Thinking, Don’t Fall into the Urgency Trap

Too often at work, people rely on expertise and past experiences to jump to a conclusion. Yet research consistently shows that when we rush decisions, we often regret them—even if they end up being correct. [i]

Why we hasten decision making is quite clear. We’re inundated with incessant distractions that compete for our attention, and, at the same time, we’re facing profound pressure to go faster and drive our businesses forward, even when the path ahead is unclear.

In the aftermath of information overwhelm, evolving technology, and rapidly changing business environments, people often unconsciously fall into a pernicious paradox called the “urgency trap.”

The Urgency Trap

The urgency trap, which can be defined as the habitual, unbridled, and counterproductive tendencies to rush through decision making when under the pressure of too many demands, is a paradox because it limits the very thing that could help us be more innovative, efficient, and effective: Our critical thinking.

The ability to analyze and effectively break down an issue to make a decision or solve a problem in novel ways is sorely lacking in today’s workforce, with most employers reporting that their employees’ critical thinking skills are average at best. [ii]

The good news? Critical thinking is a teachable skill, and one that any person can learn to make time for when making decisions. To improve and devote time for critical thinking at work, consider the following best practices.

1. Question assumptions and biases

Consider this common scenario: A team is discussing a decision that they must make quickly. The team’s options—and the arguments for and against them—have been assembled, but no clear evidence supports a particular course of action. Under pressure to move fast, the team relies on their expertise and past experiences to rapidly provide a solution. Yet, in the months following their decision, the issues that prompted the original discussion persist, and the team wonders why.

The issue here may be that the team failed to question their own assumptions and biases. Indeed, when we view situations solely based on our own personal experiences and beliefs, we limit our options and provide solutions that are often short-sighted or superficial. [iii] To improve critical thinking skills, we must step back and ask ourselves,

• “Am I seeking out information that confirms my pre-conceived idea?”
• “Am I perceiving a past experience as more predictable than it actually was?”
• “Am I overemphasizing information that comes to mind quickly, instead of calculating other probabilities?”

2. Reason through logic

When presented with an argument, it is important to analyze it logically in order to determine whether or not it is valid. This means looking at the evidence that is being used to support the argument and determining whether or not it actually does support the conclusion that is being drawn.

Additionally, consider the source of the information. Is it credible? Trustworthy? Finally, be aware of common logical fallacies people tend to use when trying to speed up decision making, such as false dilemma (erroneously limiting available options) and hasty generalizations (making a claim based on a few examples rather than substantial proof).

3. Listen actively and openly

When we’re in a rush to make a decision, we often focus more on how we want to respond rather than what the speaker is saying. Active listening, on the other hand, is a critical thinking skill that involves paying close attention to what someone else is saying with the intent to learn, and then asking questions to clarify and deepen understanding.

When engaging in active listening, it’s important to avoid interrupting and instead allow the other person to fully express their thoughts. Additionally, resist the urge to judge or criticize what the other person is saying. Rather, focus on truly understanding their perspective. This may mean practicing open-mindedness by considering new ideas, even if they challenge existing beliefs. By keeping an open mind, this ensures that all sides of an issue are considered before coming to a conclusion.

4. Ask better questions

In an article for Harvard Business Review, John Coleman, author of the HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose , writes, “At the heart of critical thinking is the ability to formulate deep, different, and effective questions.” [iv]

To ask better questions, first consider the audience for the question (who is hearing the question and who might respond?) and the purpose (what is the goal of asking this question?). Then, approach queries with rigor and curiosity by asking questions that:

• Are open-ended yet short and direct (e.g., “How might you help me think about this differently?”)
• Challenge a group’s conventional thinking (e.g., “What if we tried a new approach?”)
• Help others reconsider their first principles or hypotheses (e.g., “As we look at the data, how might we reconsider our initial proposed solution?”)
• Encourage further discussion and analysis (e.g., “How can we deepen our understanding of this issue?”)
• Thoughtfully follow up on the solution (e.g., “How do we feel about the progress so far?”)

5. Create space for deliberation

The recommendations outlined thus far are behaviors and capabilities people can use in the moment, but sometimes, the best solutions are formulated after consideration. In fact, research shows that a deliberate process often leads to better conclusions. [v] And sleep has even been proven to help the brain assimilate a problem and see it more clearly. [vi]

When issues are complex, it’s important to find ways to resist unnecessary urgency. Start by mapping out a process that allows several days or longer to sit with a problem. Then, create space in the day to formulate in quiet reflection, whether that’s replacing your first thirty minutes in the morning with thinking instead of checking email, or going on a walk midday, or simply journaling for a few moments before bed.

Critical Thinking Cannot Be Overlooked

In the face of rapidly-evolving business environments, the ability to make smart decisions quickly is one of a company’s greatest assets—but to move fast, people must first slow down to reason through pressing issues, ask thoughtful questions, and evaluate a topic from multiple angles.

To learn more about how organizations can enhance their critical thinking and decision-making skills, download the full paper: Who Is Really Making the Decisions in Your Organization — and How?

[i] Grant Halvorson, Heidi, “Quick Decisions Create Regret, Even When They Are Good Decisions,” Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/1758386/quick-decisions-create-regret-even-when-they-are-good-decisions .

[ii] Plummer, Matt, “A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills,” Harvard Business Review, October 2019. https://hbr.org/2019/10/a-short-guide-to-building-your-teams-critical-thinking-skills .

[iii] Benjamin Enke, Uri Gneezy, Brian Hall, David Martin, Vadim Nelidov, Theo Offerman, and Jeroen van de Ve, “Cognitive Biases: Mistakes or Missing Stakes?” Harvard Business School, 2021. https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/21-102_1ed838f2-8ef3-4eec-b543-d00eb1efbe10.pdf

[iv] Coleman, John, “Critical Thinking Is About Asking Better Questions,” Harvard Business Review, April 2022. https://hbr.org/2022/04/critical-thinking-is-about-asking-better-questions .

[v] Markovitz, Daniel, “How to Avoid Rushing to Solutions When Problem-Solving,” Harvard Business Review, November 2020. https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-to-avoid-rushing-to-solutions-when-problem-solving .

[vi] Miller, Jared, “Does ‘Sleeping On It’ Really Work?” WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/does-sleeping-on-it-really-work .

Let’s talk

Change isn’t easy, but we can help. Together we’ll create informed and inspired leaders ready to shape the future of your business.

© 2024 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Information
• Terms of Use
• About Harvard Business Publishing
• Higher Education
• Harvard Business Review
• Harvard Business School

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

The importance of critical thinking in the workplace

Critical thinking is one of the most sought-after skill sets in modern businesses. Actively encouraging critical thinking fosters a culture of adaptability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement that makes your business a great place to work while improving your bottom line.

But, anyone can list critical thinking skills on their resumes. So how do you find candidates who truly possess these abilities? 

We can help. Below, we teach you everything you need to know about critical thinking skills, ways to assess critical thinking in the workplace, and common pitfalls to avoid when attempting to hire critical thinkers. 

Table of contents

What are critical thinking skills, what you need to know about critical thinking in the workplace , when to hire critical thinkers, why it’s important to foster critical thinking practices in the workplace , how to find the best candidates with critical thinking skills, common mistakes when assessing critical thinking skills, find your next critical thinker with testgorilla.

Critical thinking skills are soft skills that enable employees to analyze, evaluate, and solve problems, and make decisions. These soft skills include:

Logical reasoning

Open-mindedness

Strategizing

Critical thinking isn’t about being critical for the sake of it. It’s about separating fact from fiction, identifying biases, and discovering connections between ideas.

For example, say you're in a team meeting discussing a new project proposal. A colleague presents an idea that seems groundbreaking at first glance. They say it will significantly cut costs, improve efficiency, and revolutionize your approach. 

Rather than immediately jumping on the bandwagon, the critical thinkers in the room would take a step back, asking questions like:

Has this been done before? If so, what happened?

What are the drawbacks to this approach?

Will this approach cost anything to implement?

What impact will this have on the overall project cost?

Asking these questions ensures that the chosen path is logical, effective, and well-thought-out.

Here are the top three things you should know about critical thinking in the workplace.

1. It’s one of the most sought-after workplace skills

72% of managers believe critical thinking is key to an organization’s success – but only half believe their employees actually show this skill. This highlights the importance of fostering a workplace culture that actively encourages and nurtures critical thinking skills. 

2. Critical thinkers make great managers

Many critical thinking skills – like problem-solving and communication – are textbook signs of a great manager. These skills enable managers to solve challenging problems, think outside the box, and confidently help their teams succeed in uncertain environments. 

3. Critical thinking keeps employees on their toes

Critical thinking fosters flexibility and adaptability in a changing business market. This enables workers to navigate uncertainties and evolving situations with agility. They can think on their feet, make decisions on the fly, and ultimately keep your business moving through uncertainty.

Critical thinking skills are universally valuable, making almost any time the right time to hire critical thinkers – regardless of the role or industry.  

To determine the best times to hire critical thinkers, consider doing the following: 

Regularly evaluate your strategic goals and challenges. Times of change, growth, or adaptation are typically when you need critical thinking the most. For example, during market expansion, product launches, or complex challenges, critical thinkers can provide invaluable insights and innovative solutions.

Read our guide on measuring critical thinking in the workplace . By measuring your current team’s critical thinking skills, you can determine if any important skills are missing from your company. Say your measurements reveal there’s a lack of creative decision-makers on your team. In that case, it might be a good time to look for candidates who demonstrate strong creativity and decision-making skills.

Critical thinking supports overall business success. Here’s why:

1. Encourages continuous learning 

Critical thinking encourages employees to actively challenge information, question their colleagues, and seek a deeper understanding of business activities. This encourages a culture of continuous learning. 

This culture fosters a dynamic and engaging workplace where intellectual curiosity thrives and your team actively seeks new ways of working. This leads to innovation, adaptability, and sustained success for your organization. In fact, Deloitte’s Leading in Learning report found that businesses that encourage continuous learning have 37% higher productivity and are 92% more likely to innovate than those that don’t. 

2. Encourages creative problem-solving

Critical thinking skills encourage employees to look at information in different ways and not accept data at face value. This automatically shifts their perspectives, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving. 

Businesses that value creative problem-solving can streamline business operations and reduce costs easily. 

For example, a creative problem solver at a retail business might implement a novel inventory management system using AI, significantly reducing waste and lowering storage costs. This forward-thinking approach not only optimizes resource use but also enhances the company's ability to respond rapidly to demand fluctuations.

3. Improves conflict resolution

Critical thinking encourages employees to respectfully challenge ideas – and it transforms every conflict into an opportunity for team growth and innovation. It can empower your team to address and resolve conflicts using strong reasoning, consideration of diverse perspectives, and collaboration.

For instance, when a team faces a disagreement on project direction, critical thinking enables them to evaluate all options objectively, leading to a consensus that aligns with the team's overall goals and values.

4. Supports ethical decision-making

Encouraging critical thinking forces decision-makers to defend their ideas, consider alternative perspectives, and address their biases. Inviting other colleagues to critique their ideas will highlight any moral gray areas and identify potential biases that may influence one's judgment. This encourages self-awareness and ensures decisions are objective and ethical.

For example, in a team meeting where a new marketing strategy is proposed, inviting critiques and alternative viewpoints can reveal overlooked ethical considerations or unconscious biases, leading to a more ethical final decision.

You can’t find candidates with critical thinking skills by scanning resumes. Instead, use these methods.

1. Use skills testing

Skills assessments are the best way to find candidates with demonstrable critical thinking skills. These tools reduce time-to-hire, remove bias from your recruitment process, and ensure that you're building a team with the proven ability to think critically in real-world scenarios.

For example, TestGorilla’s Critical Thinking skills test measures deductive reasoning, cause-and-effect thinking, and the ability to interpret sequences. 

2. Ask behavioral interview questions

After finding critically thinking candidates using skills assessments, you can use behavioral interview questions to validate candidates’ results and gain a broader understanding of their abilities.

Behavioral interview questions focus on uncovering a candidate's abilities, attitudes, and reactions in past scenarios. Ask a candidate to recall a time they exhibited a certain behavior or provide an example of a time they applied critical thinking skills in a challenging situation. 

Critical thinking interview questions might include:

Give me an example of a time you received unclear data as part of a project. What steps did you take to overcome this?

Describe a situation where you had to analyze complex information to develop a solution. How did you approach the problem, and what steps did you take to ensure your solution was effective?

Describe a situation where you had to adapt to an unexpected challenge. What was the challenge, and how did you adapt?

These require candidates to draw on their past experiences and provide concrete examples. They’re an effective way to understand how a candidate has used critical thinking.

3. Ask for evidence of continuous learning

Since critical thinkers actively pursue new understandings, they tend to be lifelong learners. So asking for evidence of continuous learning is a good way to spot critical thinkers. 

Try asking questions like:

I can see from your resume that you recently attended a course on managing conflict in the workplace. What did you learn in that course that you didn’t know before?

How do you keep updated with the latest developments in this industry? For example, is there a book or podcast you enjoy listening to?

Can you tell me about a challenging project where you needed to acquire new knowledge or skills? How did you go about this?

Answers to these questions can show that candidates actively participate in continuous learning while also demonstrating evidence of critical thinking. 

Here are some pitfalls to avoid when measuring candidates’ critical thinking skills. 

Relying on resumes

Candidates can lie on their resumes about their critical thinking abilities. Relying on resumes might lead you to hire someone who lacks the problem-solving abilities the role requires. 

Assuming technical skills equal critical thinking

Just because someone is good at their job doesn’t mean they’re a well-rounded critical thinker. For example, a skilled data scientist might be skilled at analyzing complex datasets, but they may be unable to see how this data fits into the bigger picture. Similarly, a great project manager might excel at hitting deadlines and managing budgets, but they may struggle with open-mindedness. 

Assuming someone’s technical abilities speak to their critical thinking abilities can lead you to hire someone lacking the critical thinking your company needs. 

Critical thinking involves a unique set of soft skills. These enable employees to gain a deeper understanding of workplace situations and challenges to make well-reasoned and logical decisions. 

Critical thinking skills are some of the most sought-after skills in modern businesses. However, finding candidates who genuinely possess these skills can be tricky. 

Using a combination of TestGorilla’s skills tests and behavioral interview questions, you can assess candidates’ critical thinking skills effectively and accurately. 

Want to learn more? Watch a live demo . Or, sign up for a free TestGorilla account today and gain access to our extensive test library . 

Related posts

7 key reasoning skills (and how to assess them)

An agile workforce: Why you need it and how to build one

How to hire a campaign manager

Hire the best candidates with TestGorilla

Create pre-employment assessments in minutes to screen candidates, save time, and hire the best talent.

Latest posts

The best advice in pre-employment testing, in your inbox.

No spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

Hire the best. No bias. No stress.

Our screening tests identify the best candidates and make your hiring decisions faster, easier, and bias-free.

Free resources

This checklist covers key features you should look for when choosing a skills testing platform

This resource will help you develop an onboarding checklist for new hires.

How to assess your candidates' attention to detail.

Learn how to get human resources certified through HRCI or SHRM.

Learn how you can improve the level of talent at your company.

Learn how CapitalT reduced hiring bias with online skills assessments.

Learn how to make the resume process more efficient and more effective.

Improve your hiring strategy with these 7 critical recruitment metrics.

Learn how Sukhi decreased time spent reviewing resumes by 83%!

Hire more efficiently with these hacks that 99% of recruiters aren't using.

Make a business case for diversity and inclusion initiatives with this data.

• Our solution
• Request a demo
• L&D strategy
• Empowering growth
• Measuring impact
• Trends and insights
• Our Solution

Critical thinking training: 5 key lessons for employees

Employers participating in the AAC&U’s periodic surveys consistently rank critical thinking as one of the most vital skills for success in the workplace. The 2020 survey ranked it second in importance only to the ability to work effectively in teams. 

The survey also found that while 60% of employers rated critical thinking skills as very important, only 39% agreed that recent college graduates have been well prepared by the training on critical thinking they received in school. 

This is one of the main reasons critical thinking training is growing in demand among organizations across sectors. Learning and development leaders are tasking their teams with determining what it would take to develop critical thinking skills in the workplace, at scale.  

Critical thinking training in the workplace

Critical thinking refers to the act of analyzing evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgment. It often requires the conceptualizing and synthesizing of information. Specific skills that are commonly addressed in critical thinking training include:

• Identifying a problem or question
• Using more than one strategy to approach a problem
• Gathering relevant data, opinions, and observations
• Analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating data
• Understanding patterns and connecting ideas
• Making inferences from data
• Thinking creatively
• Practicing self-reflection, self-regulation, and open-mindedness
• Identifying assumptions and biases
• Identifying and evaluating alternative courses of action
• Anticipating the possible outcomes of different actions
• Testing hypotheses
• Making data-based decisions

While some personality traits are particularly conducive to critical thinking, such as curiosity and creativity, employees without these traits can benefit greatly from critical thinking training. The five lessons below are an excellent starting point for organizations looking to develop this skillset in their workforce. 

Common Cognitive Pitfalls in Decision-Making | Liv Boeree

Guarding against the possibility of biases influencing one’s decisions is a key principle that is often discussed in critical thinking training. In her Big Think+ class, Liv Boeree — international poker champion — addresses several cognitive pitfalls that can result in faulty decisions. Watch the clip below to learn more. 

As Boeree described, confirmation bias is the tendency to overvalue evidence that confirms one’s existing beliefs, and undervalue evidence that contradicts them. She later goes on to explain status quo bias, which reflects the natural human aversion to change and is defined as a preference for how things have been done previously. 

There is also the sunk cost fallacy, which refers to the act of making decisions based on previously invested resources rather than desired outcomes for the future. For example, some organizations cling to legacy systems, creating a nightmarish patchwork of fixes before eventually reaching the conclusion that it’s time to scrap the old and embrace the new. 

Open to Think | Dan Pontefract

In his book, Open to Think , award-winning author and professor Dan Pontefract describes “open thinking” as a cyclical process which involves creative thinking (dreaming), critical thinking (deciding), and applied thinking (doing). 

The first stage in the process involves generating new ideas unrestricted by constraints. Then in the critical thinking stage, one evaluates and makes data-driven, fact-based decisions about the ideas generated through creative thinking. Finally, applied thinking operationalizes the decisions resulting from critical thinking. 

Our thinking is only as good as our ability to continually challenge and question. Dan Pontefract

This dream-decide-do cycle can be repeated as many times as needed to improve outcomes. The true power of the model lies in its iterative nature because it allows for the possibility of failure, treating it as a learning experience and opportunity for improvement. 

Let Information Permeate Your Organization | Andrew McAfee

Effective critical thinking doesn’t just rely on the individual thinker. In order for the skill to thrive among individuals, information must flow freely throughout the organization. And employees must have the support of their supervisors in using that information.  

Andrew McAfee, MIT scientist and author of Machine, Platform, Crowd , says that in the Information Era, managers should no longer act as gatekeepers of information. Today’s technology makes it easy to distribute data throughout all levels of an organization. Watch the clip below to learn more. 

If the marketing team has information that would be useful to the sales or product teams, that information should be easily accessible by all. And as McAfee suggests, team leaders can provide specific suggestions for how to best make use of the information. These are key strategies that leaders can learn in critical thinking training. 

The Art of Perception | Amy Herman

Amy Herman — art historian, attorney, and author of The Art of Perception — offers a unique model for thinking critically about observations that she refers to as the “Four As of Visual Intelligence.” Herman defines visual intelligence as the ability to assess, analyze, articulate, and adapt to visual information in one’s environment.

• Assessing your situation involves consciously making observations and determining what information can be extracted from them. Herman suggests asking others to share their observations, as no two people interpret things the same way.
• To analyze the information is to examine it closely and decide what is important and necessary. 
• To articulate one’s observations is to describe in words the important observations and the information they provide. 
• Finally, adapt to the situation by making a purposeful decision based on the information from the previous steps, and act on that decision.

In her Big Think+ class, Herman suggests consciously practicing the Four As until they become automatic. This develops a mindset of applying critical thinking skills to make sense of information in the world around us. 

Making Complex Decisions | Lawrence Summers

Decision-making can be challenging, especially for employees who are new to roles that require planning and strategizing. For this reason, it’s wise to include instruction on decision-making in critical thinking training. 

In his Big Think+ class, economist and former director of the U.S. National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers, addresses a key aspect of critical thinking — the ability to be analytical in choosing among different courses of action. 

Summers applies a scientific method to making complex decisions that’s grounded in thinking in terms of alternatives. It begins with identifying alternatives to a proposed solution without making any assumptions initially as to which is best. Each alternative is then analyzed from the standpoint of feasibility and the likely consequences of implementation. Then, a judgment is made as to which of the feasible alternatives will produce the most desirable outcomes. 

The core challenge, as Summers sees it, is to separate what one would like to be true from what, in fact, is true. Only by understanding what is true is it possible to accurately evaluate the consequences of alternative courses of action. 

The benefits of critical thinking training

In today’s business environment where rapid technological innovation is fueling an abundance of information, success depends on strong critical thinking skills. Critical thinking training can improve a person’s ability to come up with innovative solutions and build onto ideas expressed by others. It enhances the creative and collaborative processes that teams work through on a daily basis. 

Meetings become more productive when there is greater clarity and depth of thought, and management is more effective when leaders are able to distinguish between emotion and logic. Organization-wide, critical thinking leads to fewer errors in judgment and better overall decision-making. These are just a few of the ways that both individuals and organizations can benefit from critical thinking training. 

Sign up to receive new research and insights every other Tuesday. 

• Course Catalog
• Open Registration
• Certificates of Excellence
• Trainer’s Network
• Organization Development
• Meet the Team

The Importance of Critical Thinking

What is critical thinking.

Critical thinking is the rational, skeptical, unbiased analysis, or evaluation of factual evidence. The U.S. Department of Labor has identified critical thinking as the raw material of a number of key workplace skills, such as problem solving, decision making, organizational planning and risk management.

Why is it important?

Critical thinking is consistently rated by employers as being a skill of increasing importance, and yet a recent study showed 49% of employers rate their employees’ critical thinking skills as only average or below average.

Critical thinking, perhaps more than any other business skill set, can make the difference between success and failure. Fortunately, critical thinking is neither an innate gift that can’t be developed nor a skill learned only through experience. These skills are not out of reach – they are readily available to employees at all levels. Once gained, critical thinking skills last a lifetime, and become a powerful asset for those seeking a competitive edge.

Amidst a sea of options, the RED Model is one proven way to view and apply critical thinking principles when faced with a decision.

R ecognize Assumptions – Separate fact from fiction.

E valuate Arguments – Analyze information objectively and accurately, question the quality of supporting evidence, and understand how emotion influences the situation.

D raw Conclusions – Bring diverse information together to arrive at conclusions that logically follow from the available evidence.

Want to increase your skills?

For real life tips and techniques to strengthen your skills, consider taking our  ‘Critical Thinking Skills’ course. Click here to register for an upcoming offering.

Reference : Pearson (2015, September 9) B. Harris: The Status of Critical Thinking in the Workplace

Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Subscribe to our Blog!

Week at a glance, recent posts at-a-glance.

• Srini’s Tech Tip: Excel Sequence Function – Excel 365 and 2021 June 13, 2024
• Overcoming the Lingering Challenges of Hybrid Work June 13, 2024
• Transform Your Organization’s Culture with These Bold Moves June 13, 2024
• Get to the Bottom of Your Burnout June 13, 2024
• The Importance of Building a Thriving Workforce June 13, 2024

Month at Glance (Click to Register)

© 2024 Duke Learning and Organization Development

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

The Link between Critical Thinking and Organizational Performance

The Ultimate Guide to Soft Skills for Managers wouldn’t be complete without a look at the links between critical thinking and organizational performance. Like most soft skills, critical thinking is difficult to quantify and define. But you admire it when you see it, and you recognize the gap when it’s missing. Because it’s often easier to spot the gap, consider these indicators that you might need to brush up your critical thinking skills: 

The Indicators You Might Need to Brush Up On Your Critical Thinking Skills

• Forming opinions and taking positions based on feelings vs. facts
• Justifying decisions with a single anecdote vs. a body of evidence
• Relying on ideology vs. individual thought and your own independent views
• Rejecting input due to a closed mind vs. soliciting input with an open mind
• Reciting the indoctrinated “party line” vs. pursuing new options inquisitively
• Proceeding aimlessly or with uncertainty vs. striving for clarity and knowing the purpose
• Making unilateral decisions vs. collaborating to include everyone impacted by decisions
• Protecting the status quo with rigidity vs. adapting to changes with agility
• Responding defensively when challenged vs. receiving critique graciously
• Having a narrow and short-term perspective vs. looking broadly, big picture, and long-term

 Here’s how it works. Let’s say you’re an HR executive who has seen the same situation over and over again throughout your career. You have a mental playbook for how to respond. You’re conditioned to do things a certain way. So, when yet another manager approaches you with a similar situation, you reflexively respond. You have your answers prepared before you hear the full situation. You give the playbook solution and expediently handle the matter.

 This happens to the best of us. We leapfrog over important details that are not immediately apparent. We’re blinded to them by our assumptions and lazy thinking. It happens even more when we are also swayed by our emotions and unconscious biases (we all have ‘em!). Critical thinking requires time, effort and discomfort. Lazy thinking, by contrast, is very tempting.  

Critical Thinking: What Is It Anyway?

  Critical thinking is generally defined as skillful analysis, assessment, evaluation and synthesizing of information. It requires objectivity, logic, openness, and a willingness to challenge your own and others’ biases, beliefs, and conclusions.

 Critical thinking goes beyond learning and remembering information . It’s about how you process and use the information you’ve been exposed to. Rather than automatically accepting what’s familiar and comfortable or rejecting what doesn’t fit your preconceived ideas, critical thinking kicks in when you ask questions before reaching a conclusion. That includes asking yourself introspective questions.

Critical thinking also goes beyond thinking. Routine thinking involves awareness, recollection, idea-generation, and reflection. When thinking critically, you’re also accessing objective judgment and analyzing your thoughts . This requires self-discipline and rationally considering more than what’s easy, familiar, comfortable, readily available, or emotionally gratifying.

Strong critical thinkers look for evidence to back information before they accept it. They appraise the quality of the evidence and seek diverse points of view to make sure they aren’t missing anything. They consider emotions but balance them with rational evaluation. They don’t favor a single source but consult multiple sources that provide opposing views.

 They know that confirmation bias – selecting sources and information that support your own views -- is the enemy of critical thinking. They remain vigilant to avoid lazy thinking that makes them less effective in their problem solving, decision making, and leadership. 

 There are three qualities that are essential for building critical thinking skills. They are: 

  Skepticism

 When you don’t accept things at face value, you probe by asking questions. You remain doubtful until you get enough information to confidently accept the information offered. Skepticism is a positive quality, so long as it doesn’t become cynicism. Healthy skepticism leads to new ideas, better understanding, and dialogue. Questions open the conversation when someone is skeptical and not overly eager to agree and move on. Cynicism shuts others down because, unlike skepticism, it comes with contempt, distrust, and disparagement. Cynics don’t ask questions, they pronounce judgments. 

 Skepticism is what enables you to recognize that there might be alternate ways (even better ways!) of solving a problem. It’s what launches critical thinking.     

  Curiosity

When you have a genuine desire to learn and know more, you’ll ask more questions and listen more carefully to the answers. You’ll explore possibilities you haven’t considered before. You’ll investigate options without dismissing them prematurely. 

 Curiosity is what enables you to take in more and different kinds of information for critical evaluation. 

  Humility

When you maintain a modest estimation of your own opinion, it’s easier to accept others’ input and ideas. This openness is a prerequisite for critical thinking. Without it, you’re inherently limited to what you already know. No matter how smart or experienced you are, you’re just one person. There’s a lot more out there that you don’t know! 

 Humility is what enables you to objectively weigh information and options without arrogantly favoring your own ideas and opinions. 

With an appropriate mix of skepticism, curiosity and humility, you will naturally want to know more. You’ll be asking questions like these and objectively evaluating the answers.

• What is the evidence to back your claim ? What is the source of that evidence?
• How do you know this is true?
• What role are feelings playing in this conclusion?
• What are the alternatives? How do others view this situation ?
• What are we missing? Who else could we consult for an entirely different perspective?
• What are the pros and cons for each option?
• Who is affected and how ? Who benefits? Are they presenting objective information?
• What has been done before and how is that relevant to this situation?
• What is the real, underlying problem that we’re trying to resolve?
• What are the ideal outcomes? How many of those ideals will this response provide?

  The purpose of critical thinking is to draw sound conclusions , make quality decisions, and solve problems effectively. It can also help you feel more confident about the choices you make while also building credibility as others become more confident in you, too. There’s also a myriad of benefits for an organization when managers and team members are strong critical thinkers. 

Critical Thinking and Organizational Performance – Links and Benefits

  Group think and unproductive conflict are equally damaging to a team and organization. Critical thinking helps managers avoid both. 

Group think is a trap that teams fall into when everyone wants to preserve harmony or avoid the conflict that comes from offering opposing views. When there is a dominant figure in the group, other voices may be suppressed as people withhold input because they believe it won’t be valued. Group think discourages idea generation and innovation. 

 Unproductive conflict is a trap, too, that teams succumb to when there are competing interests (or the perception of them). Infighting, undermining, sabotaging, personalizing, and refusing to collaborate all stem from issues that could be addressed with a rational approach. Unproductive conflict saps morale and impairs overall effectiveness .

 Healthy conflict is another matter. When team members respectfully engage in open discussion and two-way dialogue, they feel more committed to the eventual outcomes. They feel dignified because their opinions were heard and valued. They are more willing to offer ideas and challenge existing processes with an toward incremental improvement.

 A manger’s critical thinking unleashes a team’s unrestrained contributions.

 Critical thinking generates new ideas and explores them when they’re offered. Critical thinkers don’t reflexively or defensively respond with conversation-enders like “we always do it this way” or “we’ve never done it that way.”  When more new ideas bubble up, innovation naturally occurs. In an era of disruption and rapid change, long-term organizational performance depends on innovation.

 Critical thinking fosters teamwork, too, and strengthens inclusion. Employee engagement increases when people feel a sense of belonging and emotional commitment. By bringing in all voices and remaining open to truly consider others’ input, managers create cultures where everyone listens more, respects others more, asks more questions, and understands others’ needs better. The research that demonstrates how engagement affects every aspect of organizational performance is compelling.

 When a manager exhibits good critical thinking, it also sets a standard for others. Employees who see quality decision making and effective problem solving are more likely, themselves, to develop and use these skills. That means you’ll be able to trust others with decision authority. It means team members will solve their own problems instead of bringing them to you. No more need for managers to constantly “put out fires.”

 The obvious benefits of improved decision making and problem solving also boost organizational performance . No more endless meetings to admire the problem but never solve it. No more backtracking on decisions once unintended consequences emerge or because team members revolt. No more clash over how conclusions were reached. No more people feeling disenfranchised by decisions that affect them but they had no part in making.

 Obviously, bad decisions negatively impact business results. That’s why one AMA/CMCS study found that critical thinking was the single most important skills of senior leaders . The same study also found that most executives believe there will be even more need for critical thinking skills in the workplace in the future.

  Numerous studies validate that organizations with strong critical thinkers outperform those with a deficit in these skills. Unfortunately, the same research shows that there are critical gaps in critical thinking abilities in the leadership ranks and in mid-management (the future senior leaders).

The good news is that critical thinking skills can be learned, practiced and mastered.

How You Can Build Your Mental Might and Eradicate Lazy Thinking Habits

If you’d like to set yourself apart from others who lack critical thinking skills, there are three things you can do .

 First, you can measure your critical thinking skills. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is an excellent assessment that measures your ability to recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments, draw conclusions, and view a situation critically, objectively, and logically.  It’s available through organizations. For a free test you can access individually, check out this one that assesses you abilities in argumentation, interpretation, and drawing conclusions.

 Second, you can take a course that will help you identify your gaps in critical thinking and work on those. The No More Lazy Thinking course from PFPS focuses on helping managers build their mental might . Organizations interested in learning more about this 2-day workshop can contact PFPS directly .

 Finally, for an introduction to the skills you can build and the mindsets you may need to address, subscribe to the PFPS YouTube Channel and view the 40-part video series in this playlist . This is a free, low-risk way to begin thinking differently and to build your mental might.

In addition to any of the learning strategies you choose, remember that critical thinking is a choice and a discipline. You’ll have to step outside your comfort zone and challenge your own assumptions, biases and perceptions. Doing this alone will make you a stronger critical thinker .

Related posts

Everyone sells, if you don't believe you don't receive, how to develop critical thinking skills you can use for big decisions.

Translate this page from English...

*Machine translated pages not guaranteed for accuracy. Click Here for our professional translations.

Our Concept and Definition of Critical Thinking

How to Promote Critical Thinking in the Workplace

What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is a process of objective evaluation of facts and the consideration of possible solutions to problems. According to the  Foundation for Critical Thinking , the concept dates back to early methods of questioning to achieve knowledge practiced by the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. Today, organizations value critical thinking as a means to greater innovation and improved problem-solving. In fact, the skill is deemed so important that a  survey  of leading chief human resource officers conducted by the World Economic Forum found that critical thinking will be the second most important skill in the workplace by 2020, second only to complex problem-solving skills.

Critical thinking is important because it helps individuals and teams more effectively diagnose problems and identify possible solutions that aren’t entirely obvious at first. In addition, critical thinking can help resolve conflicts in the workplace. When individuals consider a range of possible approaches to solving a problem rather than relying on bias or snap judgments, they are more likely to arrive at a better solution.

Ways to Promote Critical Thinking in the Workplace

Some ways you can promote critical thinking in the workplace involve making changes in your workplace culture; others involve training. Here are five ways to encourage critical thinking in your organization.

1. Hire and Promote Critical Thinkers

An important first step to building organizational strength in critical thinking is to hire individuals who are already strong in that area. Behavioral interviewing is an effective way to gauge a candidate’s strengths in critical evaluation and analysis. In addition, when you make critical thinking a desired competency for leadership and promotion, you begin to build a pipeline of talented critical thinkers.

2. Build a Culture of Learning

It’s critical to create an environment where the behaviors related to critical thinking are a natural part of your company culture. Some of the ways you can build and support  a culture that stimulates critical, objective analysis include:

• Incorporating “lessons learned” discussions after the conclusion of important projects, during which employees have the opportunity to look back on areas where more critical thinking might have been helpful in improving a project’s outcome
• Creating an environment where tough questions are welcomed and employees are encouraged to talk through alternatives openly
• Developing a routine or protocol for decision-making that encourages critical-thinking behaviors such as exploring possible solutions to a problem, exploring bias, and considering the consequences of different proposed solutions

3. Avoid Jumping to Conclusions

Another way to promote critical thinking in the workplace is to avoid jumping to conclusions. Instead, approach a problem by first developing a common understanding of the challenges it presents. According to a recent  helpful article , these are a few ways to accomplish this:

• Ask questions about the origin of a problem and how it evolved
• Define the desired outcome before settling on a solution to the problem
• Avoid overthinking possible solutions, which can slow down the problem-solving process and undermine disciplined thinking

4. Create Internal Forums

Sometimes the simple act of talking things out can help to spur the critical, objective analysis of problems. When individuals have a forum for addressing and discussing one big problem or a series of related problems, they generate new ideas, share pros and cons of certain solutions, and take advantage of opportunities to collaborate with coworkers on creative solutions to workplace problems.

5. Teach and Train

Leadership development  and teamwork-skills training can help build employees’ critical thinking strengths by encouraging a mind-set and skill-set change. As individuals learn new behaviors, they begin to see broader problems and solutions that exist beyond their individual roles and consider the larger picture when looking at a problem.

Experiential learning   works particularly well in promoting critical thinking because learning by doing encourages a critical skill set. The immersive nature of an experiential approach keeps employees fully engaged so that they continually use their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

Build Critical Thinking in the Whole Organization

Critical thinking is more than a desirable soft skill; it’s a valuable competency that is the basis for innovation and problem-solving. When properly cultivated in the workplace, critical thinking can help individuals and teams overcome challenges and meet business goals. Although there’s no magic bullet that will increase critical thinking in the workplace, a variety of activities in combination can effectively promote it. When you build a culture that promotes and values critical thinking, your organization as a whole will see greater results and outcomes.

Wondering what a partnership with the Eagle's Flight team could mean for your training and development goals?

© 2024 Eagle’s Flight | Website Developed by GrayCyan.com

Get A Quote Now

We're committed to your privacy. Eagle’s Flight uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy.

Talk To An Expert

Book a consultation, contact us now.

How Critical Thinking Drives Quality Outputs in Organizations

• Organization Development Critical thinking provides a structure to issue resolution that improves the use data, knowledge and expertise. Learn more

Thinking is the hardest work there is which is probably the reason so few engage in it

—Henry Ford

When business people working in several large organizations were asked if people frequently used a specific, systematic, thinking process to address complex issues in their organizations, the answer was a resounding no. Why? Most speculated that it would take too much time and effort, and that speed is rewarded. They agreed that executives like to trust their gut and are praised for being decisive.

But too often Henry Ford is right.

Question: A bat and ball cost $1.10. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball, how much does the ball cost?

Answer: Most people say ten cents. But the correct answer is that the ball costs $.05 and the bat costs $1.05. How did you answer? Normally, most of us go to a quick response and once we latch onto it, we hang on.

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, in his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow , describes this rapid thinking approach as System 1 thinking. This is the fast, automatic, effortless thinking based on knowledge, instincts and innate preferences. It actually works well, despite the hidden complexity of the baseball example, for situations we have seen before and we know we can resolve successfully. When the answer is simple and obvious, it’s efficient and gets you there quickly. But sometimes, as in the baseball example, the right answer may require a different approach for most people.

More challenging and effortful is what Kahneman calls, System 2 thinking. This is the hard work that Henry Ford is talking about when he disparaged how few of us engage in thinking. Most of us need System 2 thinking to answer, what is 18 x 42? And System 1 to answer, what is 2 + 2? We need System 2 thinking when faced with an unfamiliar challenge, when an issue is complicated and when there are too many options and too many ways to think of it. We also rely on System 2 when the cost of being wrong is high and the consequences unacceptable.

Sometimes, to speed up you need to slow down

In a recent business poll, the majority of the people polled, over 60%, agreed that when their organizations were faced with complex issues or something never seen before, a team gets together to hammer it out. With a team in place, conflicting ideas and the need to gather the information to resolve the issue, renders System 1 thinking inadequate. Is there a process to get the most from the brainpower in the room? If not, System 2’s reputation for slowness is well-earned.

We all have our own point of view, but how do we collectively move forward to resolve issues? People who use Kepner-Tregoe systematic processes for problem solving, decision making, and analyzing risk have a way forward that takes full advantage of System 2 thinking. But when working in a team, with KT or any issue resolution approach, it also helps to have a positive mindset. We all like to push our own point of view but we need to have a place for others’ perspectives.

This requires balancing the push of my perspective: characterized by statements like I want, I think, I have an idea; with a pull agenda that uses logic and proposals to convince, open questions, and opportunities to draw out other people’s perspectives.

You don’t want to sound like a therapist by the couch, but authentic listening encourages thinking and sharing information by using statements and questions like: tell me more, in what way, what’s that like, compared to what, and the all important what else?

Moving beyond System 1 and working with others requires more pull , with the intention of exploring and understanding what is going on, what happened, and why. When teams include diverse perspectives, ask open-ended questions and tap into curious inquiry instead of quickly drawing conclusions, they lose nothing, maintain objectivity and reduce the incidence of conflict and disagreement. When the issue is complex, critical or unique, it pays to slow down and use rational thought to arrive at the right answer.

We are experts in:

For inquiries, details, or a proposal!

Subscribe to the KT Newsletter

• Request new password
• Create a new account

Organizational Behvior: A Critical-Thinking Approach

Student resources.

Welcome to the community site for Organizational Behavior, A Critical Thinking Approach

Organizational Behavior: A Critical Thinking Perspective provides insight into OB concepts and processes through a first-of-its kind active learning experience, focusing on critical thinking with a case narrative approach. Engaging case narratives that span several chapters, experiential exercises, self-assessments, and interviews with seasoned business professionals foster students’ abilities to think critically and creatively, highlight real-world applications, and bring OB concepts to life. The authors provide a model that illustrates how individual processes, team process, influence processes, and organizational processes impact important organization outcomes such as job satisfaction, individual performance, team performance, and organizational performance.

Key Features:

• Critical thinking approach designed to equip students with the mindset and skills to thrive in today’s organizations 
• Rich, extended case study narratives inspired by real people and real events integrated throughout each chapter illustrate OB concepts and critical thinking in action, showing students why OB matters and how OB topics fit together   
• A chapter on creativity and innovation explores how managers can use creativity to solve problems, motivate employees, and inspire teams
• A robust chapter on leadership examines classic leadership and timely theories such as followers-centered leadership, values-based leadership, and cross-cultural leadership.  
• Critical thinking challenges, experiential exercises, self-assessments, and real-world case studies allow students to engage with the content and understand how OB affects their lives

For instructors

Access resources that are only available to Faculty and Administrative Staff.

Want to explore the book further?

Order Review Copy

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, critical thinking in organizations.

Team Performance Management

ISSN : 1352-7592

Article publication date: 1 October 2006

This paper aims to review the history of critical thinking as a seminal and foundational skill for small groups. The paper shows that much of the team research focuses on the elementary functions of decision‐making processes, task fulfilment, and project management. Virtual teaming research adds some of the complexities introduced by working in and between cultures, across time zones and related difficulties in coordination and meaning‐making activities for the virtual team.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper seeks to review the definitions of critical thinking, and review the literature relative to small group activities and the impacts and requirements of critical thinking for effective team functioning. The notion of reflective journaling is introduced as a way in which to introduce improved critical thinking into the organization at the level of the individual for performance organizational performance.

The paper finds that critical thinking within teams will improve organizational performance. It will also enhance any training and development initiatives. The topic is introduced as an information analysis of the field of critical thinking, and its impact on individuals working in teams. Authorial content is presented which can become the elements of a critical thinking checklist for team practitioners in the organization to enhance critical thinking at the individual, organization and societal levels.

Originality/value

In this paper useful ideas for established or “to be established” teams and improving performance are shown.

• Critical thinking
• Team working
• United States of America

Natale, S. and Ricci, F. (2006), "Critical thinking in organizations", Team Performance Management , Vol. 12 No. 7/8, pp. 272-277. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527590610711822

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles

All feedback is valuable.

Please share your general feedback

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

Contact Customer Support

• Thinking Tips
• About Us
• Think Smarter
• Contact US

9 steps to create a critical thinking organization

1. define the purpose and goals for critical thinking.,   why do employees need to think differently, be more thoughtful, make fewer errors, and think beyond the status quo   perhaps it’s to grow at a faster rate, or become more profitable.  perhaps it’s to address a changing customer base and to avoid becoming obsolete, or to improve market share, or increase customer satisfaction, or quality, or innovation.  these seem like obvious goals, but nevertheless need to be stated as a clear objective in implementing critical thinking and a new way to approach problem solving and decision making., 2. leadership support, – the leadership needs to embrace the process and the concepts and encourage critical thinking.   you can’t expect employees to ask “why” if you don’t make it safe and encourage and expect them to ask “why”   most companies have “corporate values, or vision, or missions”.  make critical thinking one of these, i.e. “we strive to use critical thinking in our work”.   leadership support is necessary for sustainability of the implementation of critical thinking.  without it, people can learn the tools and how to implement critical thinking, but it won’t get into the fabric of an organization., 3. humility, – we all have something to learn.  even the most accomplished individuals and leaders could use a few new tools in their toolbox.  these folks need to seek out improvement in their own work.  critical thinking isn’t just for everyone else, but includes them.    this goes hand in hand with #2 above.   also, critical thinking doesn’t guarantee a mistake is never made.  accept those errors, understand why they happened and learn from them., – critical thinking is a learned skill.  educate individuals, managers and leaders, with what critical thinking is and how to implement it., 5. build “favorite questions” into everyone’s vocabulary and tool kit, .  here is a sample list;, are we clear on what the objective, problem, goal, end-state, and situation is, use the inspection tool, what do all the words in the problem statement actually mean,   for example, say a  goal is to “improve      productivity”.    does everyone have the same definition of “productivity”.   does “improve” mean  5%, 10%, 50%, or 200%  how would you measure this,   why solve this, why is this task being asked, why did this occur, etc., ask so what,    what’s the impact  what are the consequences  what if we don’t do it, or delay a week  how does this affect our customers, our employees, etc  what’s the value, what assumptions are we making and why are we making those assumptions,   what information are those assumptions based on, how do you know the information you are using to support and/or validate your course of action is accurate, 6. make critical thinking necessary to use, .  hold each other accountable to use critical thinking.   even after we learn how to use critical thinking, we’ll forget to use it.  remind each other, insist on using the tools.  even if it’s asking just one question.   build the use of critical thinking into the performance evaluation of everyone; such as; “where have you used critical thinking and what impact has it had”     if you use it, the people who you supervise must use it.   same with senior leadership.  they can make it necessary by asking critical thinking questions.  build critical thinking into processes.  if you have to follow the process, then you’ll have to use critical thinking., 7. recognize that you can’t, and don’t need to, use it all the time.,    don’t over use critical thinking.  just like any toolset and skill, you don’t need to use it all the time.   we make thousands of decisions a day, from what pair of shoes to wear, and what to eat for breakfast, to hiring a new employee, and making an important customer affecting decisions.  be pragmatic and use it for initiates that make a difference and when the outcome may be really important.   , 8. make it visible, .  hold brown bag lunches that discuss one aspect of critical thinking.  put up some posters, create presentation templates that have some critical thinking components (assumptions being made and why, etc).   use the term; thinking, critical thinking, etc. in correspondence.   make critical thinking successes visible in lessons learned.  , 9. critical thinking is a foundation tool, not just a process of its own, .   there are hundreds of places within an organization where critical thinking can be used.   identify how critical thinking can be used in every aspects of your company, from finance, to business development, operations, customer care, development, it, hr, marketing ... etc., in areas such as project management, soft skills implementation, leadership development, presentations, analysis, and other processes such as product development,  lean, six sigma, performance and goal setting, etc., the takeaway:, critical thinking is a skill.  it takes education, practice and support to use it.   not every step above is necessary to gain tremendous benefits from critical thinking.  however, the more it becomes part of the culture of an organization, the more value it will have for that organization., if you like this edition,, click here to get a free subscription to the headscratcher post.,   a monthly post with tips and techniques about problem solving, creativity, innovation and critical thinking..

Check out our Workshops

Visit us at www.headscratchers.com, if you're not already a subscriber to the headscratcher post, signup here previous versions of the headscratcher post, headscratchers, critical thinking techniques for problem solving, decision making, innovation and leadership. our mission;, to help people become better headscratchers we teach critical thinking techniques to managers, leaders and individuals resulting in the improved performance of an individual and organization..

Professors say they teach critical thinking. But is that what students are learning?

Suzanne Cooper. " Do we teach critical thinking? A mixed methods study of faculty and student perceptions of teaching and learning critical thinking at three professional schools . February 21, 2024

Faculty Authors

Suzanne Cooper

What’s the issue.

The ability to think critically is an essential skill for professionals, including doctors, government officials, and educators. But are instructors at professional schools teaching it, or do they just think they are? Approaches to teaching and assessing critical thinking skills vary substantially across academic disciplines and are not standardized. And little data exists on how much students are learning—or even whether they know their instructors are trying to teach them critical thinking. 

What does the research say? 

The researchers, including Suzanne Cooper, the Edith M. Stokey Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at HKS, compared instructors’ approaches to teaching critical thinking with students’ perceptions of what they were being taught. They surveyed instructors and conducted focus groups with students at three professional schools (Harvard Medical School, Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education). 

The researchers found that more than half (54%) of faculty surveyed said they explicitly taught critical thinking in their courses (27% said they did not and 19% were unsure). When the researchers talked to students, however, the consensus was that critical thinking was primarily being taught implicitly. One student said discussions, debates, and case study analyses were viewed as opportunities “for critical thinking to emerge” but that methods and techniques were not a specific focus. The students were also generally unable to recall or define key terms, such as “metacognition” (an understanding of one’s own thought process) and “cognitive biases” (systematic deviations from norms or rationality in which individuals create their own subjective reality). 

Based on their findings, the researchers recommend that faculty should be required to teach critical thinking explicitly and be given specific approaches and definitions that are appropriate to their academic discipline. They also recommend that professional schools consider teaching core critical thinking skills, as well as skills specific to their area of study.   

More from HKS

Developing a rehabilitation program that works for incarcerated people, the link between poor housing conditions and covid-19 infection, parents play a role in leading boys and girls down different paths of study.

Get smart & reliable public policy insights right in your inbox. 

More From Forbes

Leveraging ai for competitive advantages, part 1: increasing internal employee productivity.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Advait Ruia . Cofounder and CEO of SuperTokens, a modern user authentication provider.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept. Implementing AI correctly will likely be a differentiating factor—a new tool in a business's arsenal to ensure durable advantages over competitors. In this article, we'll cover some of the leading proponents of AI you can leverage to ensure you are not left behind.

In essence, I've found there are two primary business outcomes that AI can enable:

1. Increasing internal employee productivity, which I'll address in this post.

2. Integrating AI into your product for the direct benefit of the customer, which I'll address in a follow-up post.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Major Design Upgrade Coming, New Report Claims

Nyt ‘strands’ hints, spangram and answers for tuesday, july 9th, the best brewery in the u.s.—according to the u.s. open beer championship, increasing internal employee productivity.

Employees can use AI as part of their workflows. Use-case-specific tooling now exists for every department including marketing, sales, engineering and management teams. Given the rapid expansion of available tooling, it is important to prioritize key areas of opportunity. As a business leader looking to leverage this new technology, it is important to first understand where and how tooling can be adopted within your organization.

The first step is to prioritize key areas of opportunity. This is a balance between the highest ROI and the minimum effort required to implement new technologies. A critical workflow where output is irreversible or mistakes are costly, for example, may not be the right choice for an experimental implementation.

Second, identify specific workflows. You will likely find stakeholder buy-in and the largest improvement in output in replacing tasks that your employees dislike doing (people tend to underperform at tasks they dislike). Out of these tasks, identify convoluted or inefficient workflows. This will help narrow down the most relevant tooling in subsequent steps.

At my company, SuperTokens, we identified key organizational bottlenecks to growth and areas for increasing net margins. One major area we focused on was customer experience and support.

SuperTokens is a highly technical product, and customer support is integral to the product experience. Support is handled by core engineering team members, including CTOs, because training external staff is challenging and often ineffective. While this allocation is costly both in terms of money and time away from product development, we recognized that improving productivity here would yield a high return on investment. Many of the support questions were repetitive, making this a suitable area for AI integration.

After speaking with stakeholders, it became clear that while providing support was educational, it was not their favorite part of the job. As a result, we quickly gained buy-in and clarity regarding potential workflows. With this understanding, we reached out to vendors in this field and successfully identified and implemented the tools most relevant to our use case.

Below are a few other functional areas where I have personally implemented tooling or seen other leaders successfully implement tooling in their organizations.

I am a power user of Fathom AI, a tool to record and summarize meetings. Not only does Fathom do the basics but it can also use AI to automatically generate a list of action items and next steps. Depending on the type of meeting—whether a sales call with a customer or a hiring interview with a prospective candidate—Fathom will structure the meeting notes according to a template. In my experience, Fathom performs at the level of a human assistant or note-taker who would have otherwise attended the meeting with me.

Salesforce, Hubspot, Gong and several other tools have similarly integrated AI into products to improve outcomes for their customers.

Jasper, Hubspot, Copy.ai and other tools assist in writing blogs and content that can be used for a variety of purposes, most notably to increase search engine rankings. Good quality content is a painstaking process involving multiple individuals with multiple rounds of back and forth. The use of such tools can drastically help reduce the turnaround time for a given piece of content and integrates well into existing workflows.

Engineering

GitHub Copilot is one of the most known tools for enabling software engineers to increase their development velocity by suggesting helpful lines of code. Engineers can even prompt Copilot to write complete sections.

Software engineers are difficult to find and retain. For technology or technology-enabled companies, engineering often constitutes 25%-50% of the entire workforce and is a big determinant of your sellable product. Even a 10% increase in engineering productivity can directly impact your bottom-line profit margins through increased product output and reduced head count.

As you work through your organization's AI strategy, increasing internal employee productivity is a critical step toward thinking with a dual lens. I'll talk more about the second part of this equation—using AI to improve your customer product offering—in a follow-up post.

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions