Critical thinking is all over the place.

Already in 2020, critical thinking was ranked as the 2nd top skill (following complex problem solving) by the World Economic Forum.

Critical thinking resonates with me as another buzzword.

But I decided to dig a little bit and fell in another rabbit hole.

English is not my native language. I needed to do a bit of translation to make sure that I was not missing out on any subtleties of the meaning of critical thinking. I found a few definitions and one reference to Plato who documented Socrates teachings.

In my native language, the literal English translation of critical thinking would be “critical mind”. Similar, but not identical.

The definitions of critical thinking used in the contemporary business literature vary from a “reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do” to “the ability to analyse facts objectively and form a judgement”.

Critical thinking is also a transferable skill. Far from being a simple and monolithic concept, critical thinking is the combination of different skills, which makes it slightly complex to grasp – at least to me.

• Metacognition refers to the ability to think about the way we think as well as the ability to identify our own biases – which can derail critical thinking.

• Inference refers to the ability to draw conclusions based on information available.

• Research refers to the ability to find facts. Researching skills are necessary to dig into situation and gather information needed to think critically.

• Identification refers as the ability to analyze a situation at the right moment – not too early, not too late.

• Curiosity refers to the ability to keep a beginner’s mindset and an open mind.

• Judging relevance refers to the ability to focus on the relevant information and to not get stuck in the weeds.

As I reflected on those different sides of critical thinking, I realized that I indeed must have used this skill at least once in my (work) life. Or maybe two – being ironic.

Am I good at it? Have I developed it well enough so I can use it efficiently and impactfully?

I studied philosophy two years at the end of high school. Philosophy, through the study of famous authors and thinkers, was an invitation to learn to think independently and build argumentation. I did not have much affinity for this discipline, mostly because my – not so critical – mind saw philosophy as a very complex, heavy, and slow process.

More than twenty-five years later, reading about critical thinking everywhere, it seems my lack of interest for philosophy was not a smart move.

In the business- or work-related context, critical thinking is described as a process. The different steps of the process stroke me as being very similar to another process I have used many times in my quality management career. The DMAIC process – or tool, the experts are invited to correct me. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control.

In the table below, the critical thinking steps and the DMAIC steps are put side by side.

Critical thinking and DMAIC are not identical, but they share strong similarities which helped me understand what critical thinking is about. And that way, I also realised that I certainly used and developed this skill in a way or another – I am not a complete lost case.  

But all DMAIC enthusiasts will confirm that running a DMAIC project requires time – and resources.

So as critical thinking?

As I understand it, critical thinking does not necessarily require stopping everything and starting a long and thorough process, such as the DMAIC. It is contextual.

Critical thinking seems to be essential in case important decisions must be made. In that case, it would be logical that some time and resources are spent to gather data, information, or facts to consider different scenarios and their consequences. That would be the case for strategy work for instance.

But critical thinking can also be used on the go. If you are a leader from the middle, you probably must make tens of decisions every day – this is what makes leading from the middle so interesting. Some of those decisions are easy, but some are probably more complex or with important consequences. And you cannot stop everything each time a decision must be made. This is where critical thinking, when mastered, is valuable.

As all transferable skills, it is not only about your own skillset, but it is about the skillset of your organisation. As a leader from the middle, you have an interest to invest time in developing critical thinking skills among your team members.

• Your organization will become better at problem solving and decision making.

• It will support strategic planning and innovation by scanning emerging risks and opportunities for which you will continuously develop and adapt your strategies and initiatives.

• Leading from the middle, communication and collaboration are essential to articulate ideas clearly at all levels of the organization. Critical thinking is about listening actively and engaging in a constructive dialogue.

• Critical thinking is a precious skill when it comes to navigate organizational changes and technology evolutions. It enables assessing the impact of changes, anticipate potential challenges and develop strategies to mitigate resistance and foster adoption. It will contribute to the continuity of operations and employees’ morale.  

• We have seen that critical thinking shared similarities with the DMAIC process. Critical thinking will enable the identification of areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. It is all about analyzing data, identifying trends, and diagnosing root causes of performance issues.

Linking back to quality management, the Ishikawa or fishbone diagram is used to teach critical thinking. This quality management tool was popularized by Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s at the Kawasaki Shipyards. Ishikawa used this tool to prevent his engineers to come to too rapid conclusions on issues met at the shipyards, and rather to prompt them to consider diverse and underlying root causes, enabling the identification of impactful corrective actions. Similarly, by making and filling in the diagram, the students are invited to identify important ideas and connect them to their central proposition.

Another fascinating aspect of critical thinking is that it is intimately interlinked with diversity. Critical thinking and diversity are mutually reinforcing concepts. Critical thinking calls for diversity of perspectives to ensure robust argumentation and decision. Symmetrically, diversity will enable creative problem-solving, inclusive decision-making, and reduce group thinking.

Do I have time to think critically? As a leader from the middle, it seems obvious now that I must make time for it.

I reflected on how I could help my team, department, organization to grow their critical thinking skills?

• First, we should talk about it and promote it as one important element of being a high performing team. Problem solving, decision making, and analysis are simpler concept to grasp and are all contributing to it.

• Assuming critical thinking is already part of your skillset, role model it. Share relevant examples when you have use it, share your own reflections, and open the discussion with your team.

• Generally, curiosity and inquiry should be encouraged. It is on you to create an atmosphere where your team members are empowered to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and explore alternative perspectives.

• Ask thought-provoking and open-ended questions that stimulate critical thinking and reflection. In our busy world, it is not always easy as we are pressed by time. This is why you hold the key by stopping to run and encouraging analysing situations in different angles and perspectives, as well as consider implications of different courses of actions.

• Provide opportunities for problem solving. As you organize the work for your organization, assign challenging tasks and projects to apply critical thinking, where problems need to be identified, root causes analysed, and innovation solutions developed.

• Offer constructive feedback and reflect on critical thinking. Encourage reflection on problem solving processes and the ability to consider different approaches. Foster learning from successes and setbacks.

• The “easy” way to send your team members to trainings. The market is flooded with workshops and trainings focusing on logical reasoning, analytical thinking, creative problem solving and decision-making techniques. Following the 70/20/10 learning principle, that might help building some knowledge foundations, but it is more important to practice.

• You should also promote collaboration and knowledge sharing. This relates to the intersection with diversity. By encouraging cross functional teamwork, colleagues from different background and with different perspectives can enrich critical thing discussions.

• Finally, critical thinking should be rewarded, whether it is to recognize contribution to problem solving, innovation or decision making.

I am glad that my curiosity was picked up by something I viewed as a buzzword.

Critical thinking is a multi-faceted skill that will help you and your organization to become more efficient, resilient, and inclusive.

How is your critical thinking muscle? How have you developed that skill and in which circumstances do you use it?

Get in touch!

As always, I will be happy to get your comments and feedback.