Critical Thinking

by Seth Sinclair

Critical thinking is the ability to conduct disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.  In today’s environment, where leaders are confronted with rapid change, evolving technologies, information overload, political uncertainty, financial risk, and many other challenges, critical thinking is an essential skill.  Fortunately, the ability to think critically as well as strategically (see my previous post on strategic thinking), can be practiced and mastered.   Some techniques to improve critical thinking include:

Reframe problems to get to the bottom of things.  Every situation can be looked at from different angles. By shifting frames of reference, and by looking at situations from different points of view, leaders get new, and different, kinds of insights that enable them to find the true causes of issues and ultimately result in better decisions.

Challenge current beliefs and mindsets, including your own.   John F. Kennedy once said, “Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”  Critical thinking requires a willingness to revisit our opinions, to assess how they were formed, and to look for prejudices and biases.  Having an open or “growth” mindset will allow you to consider new perspectives and theories, including those that may challenge your current position. 

In her book “Mindset, the new psychology of success,” psychologist Carol Dweck writes “the passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”

Explore analogies and metaphors.  Metaphors and analogies help us make sense of the world in which we live.  Analogies are comparisons between two different things in order to highlight some point of similarity. Metaphors are words or phrases for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to suggest that they are similar.

Using analogies and metaphors allows us to tap into our knowledge and understanding of something familiar to explore or express an unfamiliar concept.  When faced with a need to understand and make decisions about an ambiguous problem, a powerful technique is to explore parallels with some other experience.  If the purpose of critical thinking is to decide what to believe or do, an important approach is to use another circumstance to structure thinking about the problem. This facilitates analytical thinking, and supports both reflection and communication.

Ask powerful questions. In a previous post, we wrote about the importance of powerful questions in coaching.  Used at the right point in a coaching conversation, such questions have the power to reveal new perspectives and to find new ways to move forward and take action. 

Leaders find value in powerful questions as well.  A leader might ask herself or himself the following questions:

·      What might be possible?

·      What would I do with a blank slate if there were no limitations?

·      Who else has faced these challenges and what can I learn from those experiences?

·      What have we not yet explored?

·      What is holding us back?

By asking powerful questions, leaders can change their understanding about the way things are, look at things in a new light, and find different ways to solve both personal and professional problems.

Be prepared to practice.  Building the discipline needed to think critically takes commitment and hard work.  As with any skill, you will need to practice, first by becoming more conscious of your current thinking processes and then by identifying and exploring opportunities to instill structured checkpoints in your approach.  As you become more proficient, you will expand your capacity and increase the overall quality and effectiveness of your thinking.    

Ultimately, a good critical thinker not only questions everything, but also analyzes everything, and places everything in context. Critical thinkers are aware of their assumptions and prejudices, and understand how they affect their thought processes.  They look past the surface of things to get the whole picture.  And they come up with effective solutions, because they are able to address the real issues involved.  

Strategic Thinking

by Seth Sinclair

When people hear the terms “strategy,” or “strategic thinking,” they often think of visionary leaders such as Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, or Warren Buffett.  As a result, they have the mistaken belief that thinking strategically is something that’s beyond their capabilities, or above their level of responsibility.

Strategic thinking, however, can be as simple as becoming more in tune with how your decisions, and your actions, impact on your organization, and how those decisions and actions help your organization to reach its goals.  Everyone is capable of this kind of thinking.  Perhaps more importantly, taking a few simple steps can improve everyone’s abilities to think strategically.

Recently, I gave a talk at a strategic retreat hosted by one of SAG’s clients. Part of my talk covered issues related to strategic thinking: what it is, how it can be fostered, and what the barriers to thinking in this way may be. 

Essentially, strategic thinking is a broad, long-range approach to problem solving and decision-making.  Characteristics of strategic thinking include objective analysis, thinking ahead, and sound planning.

Almost to a person, great leaders are strategic thinkers.  They use their skills in this area every single day. These leaders have the ability to look at decisions before they are made and discern their impact on their organizations on every part of their organization, and on their customers and the public at large. 

Leaders with sound strategic thinking skills are also able to evaluate the impact of their decisions over time: not only what will happen immediately, but also what the effect of those decisions will be six months, a year, even three to five years from now.

How do they do this?  Strategic thinkers set aside time for planning sessions, both by themselves and with groups.  They seek out every opportunity to learn more about the industry they are in; the market for their products; their customers’ likes and dislikes; and new technologies that may change their organizations’ future.  They constantly share information with others, both within their company and with others in their profession.

Most of the best strategic thinkers have, or have had, had mentors and coaches to help them clarify their vision, evaluate their priorities and values, and hold themselves accountable to their goals. They are open to learning new things, and to the suggestions and best thoughts of others.

Obstacles that can get in the way of sound strategic thinking include the problem that tactical responses to immediate demands are often rewarded over long-term vision and planning.  Some leaders are not able to prioritize, and cannot accept that some projects they or others believe are important must be left behind to focus on others.

Some organizations focus too much on productivity, and too little on vision.  As the management consultant and writer Peter Drucker once wrote, “there is nothing quite so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” 

And some leaders are simply unable to make decisions.  In the words of the nineteenth-century French emperor Napoleon, “nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.”

Being a good strategic thinker will help you, and the organization for which you work, to accomplish goals more quickly.  Organizations that encourage sound strategic thinking are proactive, not reactive.  They are able to make the best uses of their resources, quickly take advantage of opportunities that present themselves, and solve problems instead of letting them fester and grow.  In short, organizations that encourage strategic thinking have a better chance of being successful.

To summarize, improve your strategic thinking skills by building in time to plan, alone and with others; stay on top of developments in your organization and your field of business; keep in touch with your customers: share your information with others; keep on learning; and get a coach or a mentor to help you in your efforts.  The time and effort you put in will be well worth it.