What is critical thinking and why is critical thinking important?

Before we get to why critical thinking is important, let’s spend some time defining critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze what you are thinking. Rather than just accepting that your personal reasoning is enough proof, you are able to support your ideas with evidence. By having the ability to question your own thinking you are able to show that you are open to new ideas and are willing to learn from the point of view of others.

Another way of describing critical thinking is self-corrective thinking, where you are able to think about what you believe and how you communicate your ideas. With critical thinking, you are able to display a mindful command of your thoughts and the way you communicate. This means that you are able to use your words and ideas to persuade others or take on their point of view to get a better understanding of a situation.

So, why is critical thinking important? Critical thinking is important as it can help boost creativity, increases rationality, improves decision making and can save a company’s time and money.

Critical thinkers are often open to new ideas and like to think about other people’s perspectives. When tackling a project, critical thinkers will find as much information on the subject before deciding what is relevant to the project. This example of critical thinking is why people with this skill are so valuable to business teams. With the wide variety of knowledge and willingness to ask questions makes critical thinkers very creative which is a helpful trait to have while at work.

Critical thinkers are able to set their emotions aside while working making them very rational. They are able to think about different perspectives and are less likely to let their emotions get in the way of a good decision. Even if having to do something makes them upset, critical thinkers will see the rational side of the decision, meaning that work can be done efficiently. Having someone who can think through things rationally on your team is incredibly helpful as it means that you will likely come up with the correct solution. This is why critical thinking is important in business.

Another example of critical thinking is being able to sift through a lot of information and come up with a good decision. Someone who is a critical thinker can use their communication skills to get teams to understand what the desired outcome of the project is and then help the team come up with a decision about how to accomplish the project. Both their information gathering skills and their communication skills help them when working as part of a team and are why critical thinking is important in the workplace.

Related: How to Create Effective Communication at the Workplace

The biggest example of critical thinking being important is its ability to save you money and time. Critical thinkers have all the attributes of a worker who is able to get things done efficiently, meaning they can save you time and money. Their ability to make decisions, think creatively and be rational means that they will not be wasting time when working on a project or trying to solve a problem. The entire team will benefit from their different skills which mean managers can focus on their own jobs.  

These examples of critical thinking are important to keep in mind when deciding on what type of skills you want your employees to have. To further understand how you can tell if an employee or possible future employee, has the skills of a critical thinker, we should take a closer look at what makes someone a critical thinker.

Related: 10 Recruiting Strategies for Hiring Great Employees

Examples of critical thinking skills

Whether you are looking for new employees or trying to evaluate your current ones, it is important to figure out the types of skills that go into critical thinking. Some of the skills that go into critical thinking are:

Observation: People who are critical thinkers have the ability to observe people and situations and predict possible issues. By taking the time to observe, critical thinkers are able to react appropriately to situations and possibly help others with their problems. This can be helpful when issues come up at work or within a project and this is why critical thinking is important. 

Analytical thinking: Employees who think analytically are able to sift through a range of information, check sources and make sure they have all the facts before acting. This ability is what makes them critical thinkers as they are not willing to just accept information as true.  

Open-mindedness: Being open to different ideas and opinions is why critical thinking is important for employees. Having an open mind means that you are willing to take on someone else’s perspective in order to understand their point of view. With an open mind, employees are able to work well in a collaborative environment and become great assets to teams. 

Problem-solving attitude: Critical thinkers love to solve problems and are able to take on the task easily. When presented an issue, a critical thinker will automatically start to think of different solutions or questions they might have that will help them solve the problem. Being open to problem-solving is why critical thinking is important in business as it is this type of attitude that can get things done.

Communication: Critical thinkers tend to have really strong communication skills, making it easy for them to work as part of a team. Being able to communicate well and explain their ideas can make tasks get finished quickly as there is less need to clarify what is needed. Being able to communicate well is why critical thinking is so important for team members in your company.  

By understanding the connection between critical thinking and the above skills, it is easier to identify who will be an asset to your team.

How to improve your critical thinking

If you are thinking you would like to increase your critical thinking skills, here are a few things you can do.

• Question basic assumptions. Next time you are presented with a problem, try not to make any assumptions about the people or situation. By doing this you are practicing being a critical thinker which will be helpful in your work.
• Examine alternative points of view. Try to figure out other people’s perspectives when in a disagreement. This might help you understand where the person is coming from and could learn from the experience.
• Be aware of your biases and mental process. Critical thinkers are aware of the way their mind’s work and what biases they might be holding. Try to see if you can understand why you think the way you do so that you can avoid acting due to a particular bias. This is not an easy thing to do, but with practice, you should be able to think more critically about your own thought process.
• Reverse your approach. If you are used to approaching a task or issue the same way each time, try to do the opposite of your usual. This will help you think about a different perspective which is part of being a critical thinker.
• Evaluate existing evidence. Before making a decision, make sure that the information you have is correct. Learn how to check if a source is credible so that you can make sure you are making decisions on the correct information. Doing this will make you a better critical thinker as you will be practicing questioning your assumptions.

By practicing these different examples of critical thinking, you can become a better team member and will help those around you to do the same. By using your critical thinking skills you will be adding value to the quality of your work which will benefit the entire company.