Your team is struggling with critical thinking. What's the best way to help them improve?

When you propose a new idea, how often do you hear this? ? This is impossible. ? Will not work, we’ve tried it 10 years ago and it didn’t work. So it’ll never work. ? It is not worth trying it. If someone tells me “This is impossible to do", I get excited. Why? Because a lot of people might think the same way. Everyone might think that it is impossible to do. That is great! No competition if you get it done. A unique product per se. Patent? Check! Inventive step is easy to show when everyone says it is impossible. Our whole economy lives from differences. Only if you try, if you do something not everyone does, you can achieve something outstanding. Yes, you can burn your fingers, you may pay a high prize, but it is worth it!

To help your team improve critical thinking, Encourage active learning, Foster a supportive environment, Provide resources for skill development, Practice reflection, Promote diverse perspectives, Use case studies and problem-solving exercises, Foster a culture of questioning, and offer mentorship and guidance. By implementing these strategies, team can enhance their ability to analyze problems, make informed decisions, and generate innovative solutions.

Keep the flame of curiosity burning bright! Encourage team members to engage in knowledge-sharing sessions, where everyone can showcase interesting discoveries. Embrace a culture where curiosity isn't just welcomed but celebrated. Remember, the more we wonder, the more we learn!

Design thinking methodology can be a powerful way to promote critical thinking within a team. Design thinking emphasizes empathy, iterative problem-solving, and a deep understanding of user needs. By integrating design thinking into the team's processes, members are encouraged to think creatively, explore multiple solutions, and critically evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of their ideas. This approach allows team members to develop a habit of questioning assumptions, considering alternative perspectives, and continuously refining their approach based on feedback and insights.

The most important and sustainable foundation for critical thinking is figuring a way to focus on developing you. But did you know that people have a hard time seeing and thinking of themselves as a valuable brand? This is why I set a goal to inspire people to be curious about their unique potential and bring them back to themselves. Our secret superpower is always inside us and in plain sight but sometimes we look too far initially until we are redirected back to discovering what is already inside us, our inner greatness. The best contribution to your company, family and those in your sphere of influence is self development. Write this down somewhere and read it daily until you start your journey. Follow my journey for inspiration.

Equipping your team with critical thinking tools is akin to providing navigational instruments to sailors. Tools like SWOT analysis illuminate the landscape, identifying potential challenges and opportunities. SMART goals act as a compass, guiding actions with precision. The Five Whys technique delves deep, much like a submarine, to unearth underlying issues. Six Thinking Hats encourage a panoramic view, ensuring all perspectives are considered. Introducing these tools in workshops or team meetings can transform abstract concepts into practical, everyday strategies, enhancing your team's problem-solving capabilities. Pro Tip: I know the name is odd, but "War-gaming" is a nice tool to help develop critical thinking. I love it.

Giving people a methodology is an accelerator of their ability to leverage critical thinking Try some of those tools Decision Tree Changing Your Lens The 5 Ways 7 So-Whats

Encourage regular team meetings where everyone can share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Implement collaborative tools and platforms that facilitate easy sharing and collaboration on projects. Encourage team members to actively listen to one another and value different perspectives. Additionally, team-building activities and workshops can help strengthen relationships and improve collaboration.

One thing I found very useful in my critical thinking process is making note of points and mapping them or interlinking them. This establishes the direction of our analysis. Tools like Fishbone diagrams, SWOT analysis are really helpful.

For me, there is a self-directedness implicit in critical thinking, where each individual strives to improve the quality of their own reasoning in order to make a contribution to the team’s progress. Consider scheduling time each week, perhaps in a lunch-and-learn setting, to debate a business case study that each team member prepares separately. There are many readily available sources of cases to work from, including major business journals. Strive to leverage multiple approaches to reasoning including deductive, inductive, and abductive thinking to practice approaching the same problem from different perspectives and to appreciate how different reasoning processes are more appropriate at different phases of analysis.

Stimulating discussions within your team is like cultivating a vibrant ecosystem where diverse ideas can flourish. Encourage an environment where every voice is heard, and different viewpoints are not just tolerated but celebrated. Use structured debate formats or roundtable discussions to challenge conventional thinking and foster a culture of inquiry. Such interactions not only refine individual thought processes but also knit the team closer, building a collective intelligence greater than the sum of its parts. I also love to put each person into the shoes of others: Devil's Advocate. It doesn't sound right nowadays, but I saw people developing strong empathy skills with it. :)

There's a reason why we should not shoot down any proposed ideas — yes, even the bad ones. Not only scoffing at spoken ideas bad (like really bad, don't be a horrible person), it's also a good opportunity to deconstruct why certain ideas are plain awful. If an idea is so bad, then there are plenty of reasons why it is so. Teach by example and push back by firmly stating your reasons. If the idea cannot be pushed back, then is it really such a bad idea? Critical thinking is developed in similar instances and there's no shortcut. Nurture a workplace culture where things are fought for and not merely accepted as they are — after all, often than not, they simply aren't.

Focus on the opposing view. It's simple, but if you want someone to think critically - ask them for a point of view, and then ask them to argue in favor of the opposing view. I find this exercise can be a quick ask or lead to a great team debate. It helps look at problems from all sides.

I've found role playing to be effective in helping team members lean into their critical thinking skills. I ask them, "If you were the one making the decision, what would you need to know to decide?" I also learned the "so what" method from a former manager. If you still have to ask "so what" you haven't addressed the issue. This approach helped me think differently and deeper about things.

Communication is the key to growth. I always encouraged team members to attend seminars, factory visits of suppliers and particularly spend time in Labs. Besides, typically every morning, the day started with an hour of internal discussion on what was a new product, what new benchmarks, what was the new requirements from users which could reduce cost etc., and brainstorming ensued thereafter. Moreover, each week I would invite a HOD to come and give a short session on his functional expertise and the team members would interact with them. Such open communication and interaction fostered critical thinking.

Coaching is akin to the steady hand of a seasoned navigator, guiding the ship through fog and into clear waters. This journey of guidance, support, and empowerment helps the crew recognize the contours of their strengths and the shadows of their weaknesses. By setting specific and achievable goals, coaching charts a course towards improvement. Constructive feedback serves as the compass, pointing towards areas for growth, while resources and advice are the winds filling the sails, propelling the team forward. This process, rich in motivation and inspiration, ensures that the quest for knowledge and growth is not a solitary endeavor but a shared journey towards the horizon of continuous learning and development.

As a leader, one of your most important roles is to coach your people to do their best. By doing this, you'll help them make better decisions, solve problems that are holding them back, learn new skills, and otherwise progress their careers.

Most importantly teach them to embrace failure! Failure is a priceless teaching and learning exercise that strengthens one’s growth to their highest potential!!

The first and fatal mistake when you coach your team is when you start to tell them your opinions instead of empowering them to say theirs. Coaching is not a process of producing minions, it is a process of preparing your future peers.

Asking the right question and enabling them to think in the right direction, supporting them when their decision falters or encouraging them when the decision turns out to be correct. Sharing examples of past to give them guidance on the path to take or not to take. Playing the role of enabler rather than executor

What I have found with some teams is that involving a professional from a completely different industry can really get the creativity and critical thinking going. Sometimes this is exactly what is needed to get the tough conversations going!

An external support is always useful, and if it comes from another Industry is even better. When you look at the same matter from a different angle and with people that comes with fresh eyes, tough conversations can become constructive ways to analyze situations and identify creative solutions

Your employees are having difficulty with critical thinking. What do you do ? Easy, instruct them to stop intellectualizing themselves out of making money. Stop overthinking it. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Keep it simple. If you're making money. Don't fix it. Enjoy.

'critical thinking' is but one form of 'thinking' - and unfortunately it dominates most people's thoughts when 'thinking' is mentioned. This is a result of schooling and education systems. Many of them simply can't make the changes and iterations quickly enough to keep up with present-day realities. There are hundreds of other kinds of 'thinking' that can generate far better and longer-lasting results than 'critical thinking'. Time to open up far more dialogue to a much broader suite of 'thinking' tools.

??For clear effective collaboration between team members, colleagues, mentors are required to help your team improve their critical thinking.This will provide to feel safe to give and receive genuinely constructive feedback, be inspired by a common goal, and have the tools and opportunities to connect. ??Having a mentor can help you develop a variety of skills in addition to being able to collaborate on solutions and decisions. They can help you focus while using critical thinking techniques, or they may have suggested important resources to help you improve your team critical thinking skills.

Reward positive failure. Encourage teams to explore new ideas even if they don't work out as intended (as long as you learned something from the idea).

It begins with getting agreement there is a problem, defining and analysing the problem and then finding and implementing a solution together as a team. So it starts with putting the fish on the table. Let the team discuss, debate, argue about the lack of critical thinking and what they want to do about it.

Don’t spoon feed your team. When a problem arise, refrain from simply telling them what to do. Instead, ask: 1. How do you think should we resolve this problem? 2. What made you arrive at that solution? Or Why do you think that’s how we should resolve it? 3. What are its pros and cons? Are there critical risks we should be mindful of? 4. If this initial solution doesn’t work, are there any alternatives you can think of? By asking them these questions, you can help them process their thoughts better and empower them to think beyond the surface therefore improving their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Having a #Multiplier approach will be immensely helpful in driving critical thinking in team. #Encourage and #empower them to handle situations independently so that they equip and #upgrade themselves with #requisite knowledge and skills which will trigger critical thinking. Creating #awareness about better skills and knowledge can also be helpful. #CSLearnings

To enhance my team's critical thinking I have used these things: 1. Fostering a culture where asking questions is valued and promotes thoughtful discussions. 2. Exposing my team to different viewpoints and ideas to broaden their thinking. 3. Assigning real-world challenges, allowing them to apply critical thinking skills in practical scenarios. 4. Encouraging team members to reflect on their decisions, and identifying areas for improvement. 5. Providing resources or workshops focused on critical thinking skills to further develop their abilities. This multifaceted approach will nurture a culture of critical thinking within your team, resulting in improved decision-making and problem-solving.