Can Critical Thinking Improve Business Performance?
Exploring how this vital workplace skill can impact business performance.
By definition, we all possess some level of critical thinking. We take in information, identify patterns and can make conclusions objectively.
Naturally, there are those within businesses that exhibit more of a natural ability to think critically and reason than others. Critical thinking however, is a skill that can be developed throughout a career.
A person's ability to demonstrate individual aspects of what makes up critical thinking will naturally vary, too. Specifically, there are individual critical thinking skills most businesses require from their talent to perform to expected levels within an individuals’ role. Let's explore some of the skills.
Critical Thinking Skills
Analysis - The ability to Objectively Collect and Process Data: Data analysis from a critical thinking perspective must be objective to ensure reasoning provides clarity. Otherwise, the data is skewed from the get-go. An example would be looking for information on the benefits of a product without objectively looking at the negatives. The thinking behind this becomes biased and effective critical thinking is not taking place.
Interpretation - Interpreting Information Without Assumption: A critical thinker will naturally understand the true meaning of the information without subjective opinion. Whilst critical thinking comes from experience, learning (and a degree of nuance), an interpretation of information will use these experiences objectively when processing information.
Evaluating - Objectivity When Making Decisions: A true critical thinker in this instance will be able to conclude objectively on the information collected.
Effective Communication - Clear Reasoning: Here a critical thinker possesses the skill of effectively communicating their conclusions and reasoning clearly and succinctly without suggesting an unconscious bias.
Liberation - Freedom of Thought, Not Restricted or Bias: Here, the skill of the thinker is the ability to consider others' opinions and perspectives and challenge, enhance or reconsider the evaluation of exisiting beliefs or habits.
Problem-Solving: A Creative Way to Identify and Solve a Problem
A key aspect for many businesses is to acquire talent that can solve problems. This is almost a prerequisite for any business to have on a job description before posting an interview.
Here, the thinker must be able to objectively tackle unexpected problems that arise during the process of information collection and analysis.
Combined, these thinking skills improve an individual’s ability to think critically and so focusing on improving these individual facets are central to personal development programmes within organisations across the globe.
Biases that Hinder Critical Thinking
For businesses, critical thinking is essential in a world that is busy, disruptive and riddled with misinformation. This, for business leaders within industries that require advanced problem solving skills, emphasises a need for critical thinking training and testing.
Often, there are cognitive biases that hinder an individual’s ability to apply some form of critique to thinking or information provided. Specifically, the types of biases individuals come up against are:
The Unconscious Bias: Unconscious bias assumes that we are always right. Therefore, an individual who has reached conclusion from some information will tend to assume they are right. When challenged, the talent will naturally defend the unconscious bias and their findings, thus clouding their ability to think critically.
The Action Bias: As we move from unconscious bias through to action bias, we assume we are right and begin to act on our conclusion perhaps too swiftly. For businesses, this is where problems larger than what the original information collection identified can occur. At this stage, the need for businesses to ensure critical thinking avoids an action bias is imperative otherwise this is likely to lead to the business making a decision that is perhaps following the wrong path.
The Association Bias: “2020 was the worst year on record because we experienced a pandemic.” This is an association bias – assuming that our belief is correct because of the association between developments we have consciously made. Bias by association is the result of learning by association – which is something we learned growing up.
Businesses are Turning to Training and Testing Critical Thinking
As a result, businesses are turning to abstract reasoning and critical thinking training and testing to ensure their teams have a contextually diverse group of talented critical thinkers.
To do this, there are multiple tests for abstract reasoning or critical thinking. In particular, many businesses, especially within the legal sector, use the Watson Glaser critical thinking test to measure these skills within their organisation and during the recruitment process.
In short, the Watson Glaser measures the following:
- Recognise assumptions
- Evaluate arguments
- Draw conclusions
By measuring this, businesses can identify a candidate's strengths and weaknesses on the core facets of what it takes to think critically and reason verbally.
But there are barriers to critical thinking, too. We know disinformation is a blocker to the effectiveness of our ability to think critically. However, simple mistakes such as misunderstanding can also create issues. These barriers can be challenged – reducing cognitive biases and developing critical thinking training within your organisation are key tools needed to be used.
There are plenty of ways to develop critical thinking skills within your workplace, too. It’s not simply down to training, but the ability to listen to debates objectively. Reading material on critical thinking is also a way to improve knowledge in this area. In short, practising these skills first-hand once the knowledge and skill has been acquired and trained will define the effectiveness of abstract reasoning within your organisation.
Measure & Improve Critical Thinking with Pearson Talentlens
Please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal page to learn more about how you could benefit by testing your team or candidate critical thinking skills.