The impact of critical thinking to the critical decisions at workplace

Critical thinking is a process where multiple angles of a situation are considered while responding to a problem. It consists of a careful analysis, application and evaluation of information before taking action.

A work environment should consider a number of factors that require a careful audit on how to make things better, recognize the reasons for error and take immediate corrective actions. Below are some of the work situations that require critical thinking:

1)  Time Keeping: In today’s hectic work environment, one easily misses out on accessing important information and making critical decisions to success. Important information that requires our notice gets piled up in the inbox and meeting after meeting demands our precious time. People often mistake activity for real progress. One should deeply understand the challenges that become a barrier to efficient working and decision making. Below mentioned are some ways that provide  proven strategies to problem solving:

a) Doing homework and sharing it: Citing the reasons to addressing some tasks on priority and addressing the consequences of delaying them will form the basis for making a strong case. This will clearly explain the pro’s and con’s of the decision at hand.

b) Using data to drive decisions: A decision should always be supported with adequate facts and data instead of estimation or guesswork. Lead time can be added to decision cycles to accommodate data capture and trending. We can challenge decisions that materialize without supporting data.

2)  Compliance: A service or product quality is gauged by its quality standards. The service information is analysed for validity and relevance and confirm that it is in compliance with the set standards.  The information at hand will not entertain or rely on assumptions.

3)  Conflict Resolution: Critical thinking looks at a conflict from different viewpoints to get into the root cause. It also considers empathy and self-reflection to analyse the behaviour that has resulted in conflict. Resolving a conflict at workplace requires a critical thinking to find a solution that respects each colleague’s position to arrive at a fair decision.

The knowledge of critical analysis and decision making skills will make a stronger employee and a smarter decision-maker.