Here's how you can enhance your decision-making by developing critical thinking abilities as an executive.

Recognizing and understanding biases is crucial for effective decision-making. For example, in my previous role as a project manager, I noticed that I had a confirmation bias, where I tended to seek out information that confirmed my preconceived notions. To counteract this bias, I made a conscious effort to actively seek out opposing viewpoints and challenge my own assumptions during team meetings and discussions. By embracing this self-awareness and actively working to mitigate biases, I was able to make more well-rounded and objective decisions, ultimately leading to better project outcomes.

In a world awash with data, the true skill lies not just in gathering information, but in discerning its relevance and reliability. Leaders should cultivate a 'data skepticism' mindset, routinely challenging the status quo of data sources and analytics methods. This critical evaluation helps prevent data-driven missteps and guides the organization toward more reliable, evidence-based strategies. It's about becoming fluent in the language of data, turning information into a strategic asset rather than just operational input.

Leaders often focus on the immediate effects of their decisions, but the real challenge lies in considering their legacy. What long-term impacts will their choices have on culture, ethics, and brand reputation? By employing a 'futures thinking' approach, leaders can visualize potential futures and develop strategies that sustain not only economic but also social value. This broader perspective ensures that today’s decisions contribute positively to tomorrow's outcomes, securing a lasting legacy.

Complexity in business is not a hurdle to be overcome but a landscape to be navigated. Leaders should embrace 'complex adaptive systems' thinking to better understand and influence the intricate networks within their organizations. This approach views companies as living organisms that constantly adapt, where decisions have ripple effects across interconnected systems. Recognizing this dynamic can empower leaders to make more informed, adaptive decisions that harness the potential of organizational complexity.

Reflection should not be an afterthought but a strategic tool. By institutionalizing reflective practices such as guided debriefs or decision audits, leaders can turn reflection into a proactive mechanism for continuous improvement. This shift from sporadic to structured reflection allows organizations to not just react to past outcomes but to anticipate and shape future ones. Such practices enhance decision-making agility and deepen organizational learning.

In critical thinking, examine the outliers, those things that are well above or well below the average. They lie outside the usual range for something. For example, in a team look at the consistent top and bottom contributors, and learn from them behaviour works or doesn’t work. Similarly, in strategy look at what is working extremely well and what is barely working, and try to explain the large gap. In trying to work through the impact of new ‘outlier’ technology like AI, look at what has happened previously when other new technologies were introduced, an example is the introduction of refrigeration or electricity. How did those things change the world and what insights do they provide for current changes.