Shortlist: 3 ways to hone your critical thinking

Critical thinking is a vital leadership skill that results in better decisions. The good news is that it’s a skill that can be developed over time.

Those in leadership roles need to make a multitude of important decisions quickly in order to drive business goals. As a leader, you might find yourself between a rock and a hard place. People want you to make the best decision – and to make it swiftly.

When we face stiff time and resource constraints, we might end up:

• making quick decisions to get the ball rolling because we're struggling to find the space to evaluate a decision from all angles.

• agreeing to the first solution or proposal that comes along because it sounds actionable

• taking the safe route because it's been done before.

However, by improving our critical thinking, we are more likely to make more effective, informed, objectively better decisions that will bring true benefit to the organisation.

Here are 3 golden tips:

1. Challenge your assumptions (and those of your team).

This critical thinking tip is particularly useful when you have a lot riding on a decision. You need context and it needs to be objectively accurate.

Question the assumptions that are so big it's easy to forget they're there. If a business goal is proposed, ask why it's a key business goal ­– does it have real benefit or is it simply addressing the superficial symptoms of another, deeper issue or goal? Is it still relevant or is it something that used to matter but no longer resonates?

Drill down into why the proposed solution is the best route to take. Ask what research there is to back up an opinion or proposal. Find out what is really known about the consumer habits of the target audience, and how it is known.

Challenging assumptions is a critical thinking technique that leads to more informed decisions. As a manager or leader, you can't be expected to know everything. But you can – and should – train yourself to start asking more questions – and allow people to answer honestly.

2. Ground your decisions in logic.

Problem solving and analytical thinking often go hand in hand. If we're presented with a problem to solve (such as like new hires leaving rather than staying in the company) then we should tackle the issue with logic.

Unpick the situation to make sure there's a real, rather than a perceived, correlation between cause and effect. Keep an open mind, remaining as objective as possible when examining facts, context and opinions or proposals from within the company.

3. Maintain a fresh perspective.

Keeping an open mind is easier said than done when we've got tight time frames for delivery and pressure to make decisions quickly. However, it can pay off.

When it comes to improving our critical thinking, some useful ways to ensure we have an open mind include:

• encouraging diversity of thought among team members and stakeholders.

• collaborating with people who have different skillsets and backgrounds on the task at hand.

• allowing information to soak in before agreeing or disagreeing too quickly.

Critical thinking demands us to gain more of an holistic overview, so that we're making informed decisions based on reason rather than assumptions.

We all have a tendence to silo ourselves, working and living in echo chambers and bubbles, only hearing what we want to hear. To improve our leadership and critical thinking skills, we will need to step outside of our routine thought patterns by talking and listening to other people. This way, we will gain new insights and perspectives.

These tips for critical thinking may sound obvious – and easy to undertake. But time constraints often get in the way.

Even when this is the case, we should try not to make big decisions alone. Involve others, ask pertinent questions and gain richer insight into a decision's context. Encourage discourse and open thinking in order to explore the most effective actions.

The bigger the decision, the more important it is to use our critical thinking skills. Even where time is an issue, make time to think critically. Any business will achieve more success through critical thinking than when making decisions on the fly.