Critical thinking is a crucial skill for achieving success in both life and the workplace.

The University of Louisville in Kentucky published an article titled “What is Critical Thinking?” In the article, I found a helpful definition written by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul. They define critical thinking as,

“the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”¹

Developing critical thinking skills is essential and the following four steps will help you on that journey.

1. Rethinking Your Assumptions: 

You need to challenge your assumptions. During the process of developing your short or long term personal or organizational goals, taking a moment to question your assumptions can provide invaluable insights. Asking questions such as, “How do we know?” And “What if”, can help you see where the blind spots are and open the doors to other options and perspectives.

2. Engage in Logical Reasoning:

You can strengthen your conclusions by examining your arguments and logical flow to avoid traps that can affect your decision making process. The clothing industry is an excellent example of this. Management and marketing teams realized and accepted that diversification was necessary. By expanding their target audience to include people of all ages, sizes, and ethnicities, they managed to tailor their offerings and bolster profitability.

3. Promote Diverse Thinking and Collaboration:

Diverse perspectives stimulate innovation. It is important for organizations to cultivate diversity among their people in order to improve group thinking and develop innovative solutions. This is also true for our own individual thinking. Individuals must be open to diversity of opinions after all we are part of a global community.

It is important to move outside your comfort zones, seek out different points of views, and stay tune as our way of thinking expands and evolves.

For example, In group or team settings, cultivate an environment that encourages independent thought. Before a group discussion, solicit individual opinions to prevent the gravitational pull of group thinking.

Embracing diversify is key to the development of teams, resulting on a much rewarding collective experience and setting the course to more innovation and success.

4. Solicit Feedback and Constrictive Criticism:

One of the most important step in critical thinking is to ask for constructive feedback, whether from your boss, peer, mentors, team members, or friends. By inviting different perspectives and insights, you can gain valuable feedback that challenges your assumptions, enhances logical reasoning, and fosters diversity of thought.

I want to emphasize that improving your critical thinking skills is not just an option; it is imperative if you want to lead effectively or live the life you’ve always wanted.

By following the above four steps, you can unlock your full analytical potential and improve your problem solving and decision making abilities.

---

1. https://louisville.edu/ideastoaction/about/criticalthinking/what#:~:text=Critical%20thinking%20is%20the%20intellectually,guide%20to%20belief%20and%20action. ↩︎

• Leadership