How can you promote critical thinking in a technology development organization?

In my humble opinion promoting critical thinking empowers teams to excel in the ever-evolving tech landscape. ?? For me the basic step involved: 1. Ensure everyone understands the organization's objectives and recognize the teams stages & bussines 2. At the same time create spaces that encourage continuous learning and growth. Embrace diversity of thought and experience. 3. Promote spaces where questioning is encouraged and provide a broader perspective on technology's impact. 4. Take Data-Driven Decisions and finally 5. Embrace failures as opportunities for growth adding value to human factor. Tech organizations are made for human from humans, no matter how tech the environment become. We need to solve people & comunities problems.

WENNOVATE instead of INNOVATE The main reason why innovation projects get stopped is according to a linkedin poll: ‘LACK OF MANAGEMENT BUY-IN. That’s why in my experience as facilitator of 100+ projects you should better WENNOVATE instead of INNOVATE. Let me explain… Innovation is a long journey with high uncertainty. That’s why you should get all your internal - and external partners and the decision makers aligned as from the start, agreeing all on both your assignment and process. When you WENNOVATE in the way your project will be based on: - commitment, - trust, and - openness. Check out the FORTH innovation methodology, which combines design thinking with business thinking, which is based on this WENNOVATE principle.

How do we ignite that spark of critical thinking in our teams? For me, it starts with igniting curiosity. Regularly, we gather to tackle a 'What if?' or 'Why not?' pertaining to our projects. No titles, no hierarchy, just pure collaborative inquiry. These sessions are not about immediate solutions, but about stretching our mental muscles and exploring the realm of possibilities.

Some strategists to boost critical thinking can be: 1- reformulating question 2- gather all information(your perspective and others) 3- applying and implying the information 4- explore more perspective Moreover some well known strategists can be used; eg brainstorming.

Creating an atmosphere of critical thinking in a tech team means giving everyone the space to question, suggest, and learn. It's about open discussions and sharing knowledge. Encouraging curiosity and different perspectives helps us adapt, create, and excel in the ever-changing tech world.

Fostering critical thinking in your tech team involves encouraging curiosity and questioning. Team members should ask meaningful questions, challenge assumptions, and seek diverse perspectives. Promote a culture of inquiry and feedback to stimulate exploration of new ideas and avoid hasty conclusions. Additionally, provide frameworks like SWOT analysis and tools such as mind maps to structure thinking processes. This systematic approach enhances problem-solving and understanding, fostering a culture of critical thinking and creativity.

Frameworks guide systematic evaluation, while tools like mind maps foster creative thinking. These resources have been instrumental in transforming complex concepts into clear, actionable strategies.

Setting goals and metrics for each individual or at least teams works best. The increase in complexity is vastly compensated with people generating ideas and their own backlog to solve issues. Measuring and constantly trying to hit targets helps to get in the rhythm of critical thinking

Lite frameworks are needed as guide rails to achieve the objectives and goals. Stakeholder assessments are needed to understand political threats and gain alignment with those who can assist, which is critical to success. Open and transparent collaboration to ensure all aspects are considered is needed to document the solution/process.

Frameworks are proven ways to help teams on answer questions and discover more about what is to be "solved". At the same time, there's no "right answer", once the problems varies from case to case, so having "some" tool is usually enough to start a discovery, instead of spending too much time on finding the perfect framework. I use to say that some movement is better than none, so I rather start with "any" tool, and learn something - to later on iterate better, potentially with a better fit framework - than fall under the syndrome of infinite planning.

Fostering collaboration and diversity within your technology development team can significantly enhance critical thinking. Collaboration encourages knowledge sharing and learning from peers, while diversity promotes the appreciation of different viewpoints, cultures, and backgrounds. These elements create an inclusive and supportive environment where team members can engage in constructive challenges, debate various ideas and solutions, and leverage their combined strengths and insights to achieve superior results.

In addition to fostering collaboration and diversity within your technology development team, I have found that there are some tactical approach many leaders overlook. Two examples; - Role Diversity in Project Teams: Creating project teams that include members from different departments such as dev, marketing, UX, product, and customer support can lead to more comprehensive problem-solving as different viewpoints will naturally question the status quo. - Diversity in Learning Opportunities: Training and development that cover a range of thinking methodologies and problem-solving techniques (e.g., systems thinking, design thinking, and computational thinking) can enrich the cognitive tools available to the team.

Diversity and Inclusion are core to make great products. This diversity may come from different angles and might be encouraged, because, beyond the fact that by itself it's a good thing for society, it's also great to the innovation. In my experience of working with different cuts of people (gender, ethnicity, country, etc), mixing those things can be more productive than having a "dream team of talents" that comes from the same place / backgrounds / etc. A friend of mine used to say that "a team of white engineers will only create products for white engineers." =)

Rewarding can be tricky, depending on how you approach. I like and always encourage people to behave and challenge our "beliefs" , but rewarding the team as a whole, instead of individuals only. There are books like "team topologies" argues that we should look for the "team first", placing the team needs (which in my perspective includes the reward) before the individual needs. So... team first!

To help team members move into this phase, you will often have to model this thinking for them. Invite them to observe and participate in your own generative process. Many people don’t make it to this phase because they don’t give themselves permission to do the kind of open-ended thinking required. By inviting them to attend your brainstorming session, you show them it is not only okay to spend time thinking, but it is required. You can also ask them to keep a list of their ideas for improving the project, department, or organization. Invite them to share those ideas with you regularly. Then, seriously vet the ideas with them to show them the exercise was more than a practice activity.

Recognising and appreciating team members who exhibit critical thinking skills, such as asking insightful questions, offering constructive feedback, and proposing innovative solutions, is a valuable way to reward and encourage critical thinking in your technology development organisation. Additionally, providing opportunities for training, coaching, mentoring, and career advancement can serve as incentives for team members to further develop and enhance their critical thinking capabilities. By rewarding critical thinking, you can inspire your team members to continue utilising this skill and recognise its importance in their work.

Promoting critical thinking in a technology development organization involves creating an environment that values and rewards this skill. Encourage open dialogue and brainstorming sessions where diverse perspectives are welcomed. Implement a recognition program where employees are acknowledged for innovative solutions and critical analysis. This can be done through awards, public commendations, or tangible incentives like bonuses. Foster a culture of continuous learning by providing access to resources and training that sharpen critical thinking skills. Encourage risk-taking and learning from failures, emphasizing that critical thinking often involves exploring uncharted territories and learning from the outcomes.

Modeling critical thinking is vital for fostering this skill within your tech development organisation. Your actions set the cultural tone, showcasing how critical thinking benefits the team. Demonstrate your commitment through problem-solving, information evaluation, solution generation, and learning from mistakes. Supporting critical thinking in others via active listening, constructive responses, effective collaboration, and appropriate recognition helps establish a culture that values and encourages this essential skill. Your example sets the standard for your team.

To help team members move into this phase, you will often have to model this thinking for them. Invite them to observe and participate in your own generative process. Many people don’t make it to this phase because they don’t give themselves permission to do the kind of open-ended thinking required. By inviting them to attend your brainstorming session, you show them it is not only okay to spend time thinking, but it is required. You can also ask them to keep a list of their ideas for improving the project, department, or organization. Invite them to share those ideas with you regularly. Then, seriously vet the ideas with them to show them the exercise was more than a practice activity.

In my experience, you need to provide the technology innovation team with the time and energy to read and learn. The individual team members will need to experiment with various optional technologies, and get a sense of features and functions (or designs/architectures) that will work for the organization given skillset and other constraints.

in which I approach every topic with an open mind for all contributions. If I exclude some suggestions from the outset and do not give reasonable reasons, then I will receive less and less input