Critical thinking training: 5 key lessons for employees
From honing the art of perception to checking cognitive biases, here are a few techniques employees can learn in critical thinking training.
Critical thinking is a highly sought-after skill in the workplace. It is seen as necessary by 60% of employers, according to a 2020 survey by the AAC&U. Despite this, only 39% believe recent graduates have been adequately prepared for critical thinking in the workplace. Essential Thinking Training is growing in demand to help employees develop this valuable skill set.
Critical thinking involves analyzing evidence, arguments, and observations to form a judgment and can affect synthesizing information. Common skills covered in essential thinking training include problem identification, data gathering, pattern recognition, self-reflection, and decision-making based on data.
Liv Boeree
Liv Boeree, an international poker champion, highlights several cognitive biases that can lead to faulty decision-making in critical thinking training. Confirmation bias involves overvaluing evidence that supports existing beliefs, while status quo bias is a preference for previous methods, regardless of their effectiveness. The sunk cost fallacy is making decisions based on previously invested resources instead of desired future outcomes.
In his book “Open to Think,” author and professor Dan Pontefract explain the cycle of “open thinking” as a way to improve outcomes through creative, critical, and applied thinking. The model allows failure to be seen as a learning experience and encourages repeating the cycle to improve.
Andrew McAfee
Andrew McAfee, MIT scientist and author of “Machine, Platform, Crowd,” believes that for critical thinking to thrive, information must flow freely throughout the organization, and employees must have support from their superiors. Team leaders can learn critical strategies in essential thinking training to provide specific suggestions for best-utilizing information. Art historian and attorney Amy Herman also offer a model for critical thinking through observations, known as the “Four As of Visual Intelligence,” which involve assessing, analyzing, articulating, and adapting to visual information in one’s environment.
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