Critical thinking skills allow you to understand and address situations based on all available facts and information. Typically, using critical thinking at work involves processing and organizing facts, data and other information to define a problem and develop effective solutions.
It’s a good idea to reflect on the critical thinking skills you already possess and what you may need to develop. You should include your strongest critical thinking skills on your resume and discuss them during interviews. In addition, you might consider setting goals and adopting practices to help you build the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in your job.
In this article, we explain what critical thinking is, why it’s important and how you can improve your skills in this area.
What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is the act of analyzing facts to understand a problem or topic thoroughly. The critical thinking process typically includes steps like collecting information and data, asking thoughtful questions and analyzing possible solutions. Here are additional courses of action you might take when using critical thinking for problem solving at work:
- Identify a problem or issue.
- Create inferences on why the problem exists and how it can be solved.
- Collect information or data on the issue through research.
- Organize and sort data and findings.
- Develop and execute solutions.
- Analyze what solutions worked or didn’t work.
- Identify ways to improve the solution.
Being objective is a fundamental part of critical thinking. That means analyzing the problem without allowing personal bias, emotions or assumptions to influence how you think about it. Instead, a strong critical thinker will only analyze the problem based on the context and facts collected after conducting thorough and impartial research.
Critical thinking skills are essential in every industry at every career level, from entry-level associates to top executives. Good critical thinkers will work well independently and with others to solve problems.
How to improve critical thinking
Here are several ways to improve critical thinking skills in the workplace to become a stronger employee:
- Become more self-aware.
- Understand your mental process.
- Develop foresight.
- Practice active listening.
- Ask questions.
- Evaluate existing evidence.
1. Become more self-aware
Becoming more self-aware means considering your thought process, values, morals, ethics and other beliefs. What do you believe in? How do your thoughts reflect these values? Think objectively about your likes and dislikes. Knowing what your personal preferences, strengths/weaknesses and biases are can help you better understand why you approach specific situations from a certain perspective.
2. Understand your mental process
Identify and evaluate how you receive and process information. Understanding how you listen, then interpret, and finally react to information is vital to becoming more mentally efficient in the workplace.
Being a critical thinker means you recognize your own prejudices and how they influence solutions and decisions. Taking time to analyze your mental process before making a work decision can help you act more objectively.
3. Develop foresight
Consider how others might feel about a situation or decision you make. Determine the possible outcomes of a situation and what might change, both positively and negatively. Having the foresight to predict how your actions at work will produce reactions will help you make the right choice.
Related: Analytical Skills: Definition and Examples
4. Practice active listening
Active listening is a foundational element of effective critical thinking. Listen carefully and attentively while coworkers and supervisors are talking. Practice empathy and focus on understanding their perspective(s). Gaining a full understanding of what they want, need or expect can help you react positively and have a subsequent productive conversation.
Read more: Active Listening Skills: Definition and Examples
5. Ask questions
When you’re not sure, always ask questions. Start with what you already know and confirm you have all of the details correct. Ask to have points repeated or consider rephrasing in your own words to determine whether you’ve accurately understood. Consider asking follow-up questions to get details that may have been left out or misheard. Follow up by asking yourself if something is a fact, an opinion or an idea. This step can help you assign purpose and value to a piece of information.
6. Evaluate existing evidence
Use previous experience and facts to help you make your current decision through critical thinking. Have you encountered a similar project or challenge before? What did you learn from that experience? By conducting research, sorting facts and using previous experience as existing evidence you can arrive at a more applicable and effective solution to work with in your present.
Related: 5 Examples of Critical Thinking Skills
Tips for improving critical thinking skills
There are many ways to improve your critical thinking skills during your career development, including:
Meeting with a mentor
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 resources to help you improve your critical thinking skills.
Participating in team-building exercises
Many team-building exercises aim to improve critical thinking skills, both for groups and individuals. If your organization employs these exercises, be sure to participate. If your organization does not, consider introducing your team to examples during a meeting to gain similar benefits.
Related: 6 Ideas for Team Building Activities
Asking for leadership opportunities
As a leader, you may be required to manage conflict resolution and make important decisions. These responsibilities are real-world experiences that require keen critical thinking skills. Consider asking to lead a new project or assist a team member in training to refine these skills.