Your team is facing a complex problem. How can you develop their critical thinking skills to solve it?

1 Identify the problem

The first step in developing critical thinking skills is to identify the problem that your team is facing. This may seem obvious, but often problems are poorly defined or misunderstood, leading to confusion and wasted time. To identify the problem, you need to ask questions such as: What is the goal or desired outcome? What are the constraints or limitations? What are the assumptions or biases? What are the facts or evidence? What are the stakeholders or perspectives involved? By asking these questions, you can clarify the problem and its scope, and avoid jumping to conclusions or solutions prematurely.

2 Explore the options

The next step in developing critical thinking skills is to explore the options that your team has to solve the problem. This involves generating and evaluating possible solutions, using logic, creativity, and evidence. To explore the options, you need to ask questions such as: What are the criteria or standards for a good solution? What are the pros and cons of each option? What are the risks or uncertainties involved? What are the trade-offs or compromises required? How do the options align with the goal and the constraints? By asking these questions, you can compare and contrast the options and their implications, and avoid relying on intuition or preferences alone.

3 Decide on a solution

The third step in developing critical thinking skills is to decide on a solution that your team will implement to solve the problem. This involves choosing the best option based on the analysis and evaluation done in the previous step, using rationality, consensus, and commitment. To decide on a solution, you need to ask questions such as: How confident are we in our choice? How do we justify our decision? How do we communicate our decision to others? How do we monitor and measure the results? How do we handle feedback or criticism? By asking these questions, you can justify and defend your decision and its rationale, and avoid being influenced by emotions or pressure.

4 Implement the solution

The final step in developing critical thinking skills is to implement the solution that your team has decided on to solve the problem. This involves executing the plan and taking action, using skills, resources, and collaboration. To implement the solution, you need to ask questions such as: What are the tasks or steps involved? Who is responsible for each task or step? What are the deadlines or milestones? What are the challenges or obstacles? How do we overcome them? How do we coordinate and cooperate with others? By asking these questions, you can organize and manage the implementation process and its challenges, and avoid procrastination or confusion.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?