According to research and studies, employers have been wanting to hire employees with advanced critical thinking skills for years; these types of employees have:
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- Good and above-average analytical and problem-solving skills, judgment and decision-making, and overall job performance
- The ability to evaluate the quality of information presented
- Creativity
- The potential to move up within an organization
But it seems that many employees in the modern-day workforce don’t have the necessary critical thinking skills that employers want or require.
If you’re interested in developing a workplace full of critical thinkers, here are four things you can do.
1. Offer Critical Thinking Skills Training
To get started with developing a workplace full of critical thinkers, host critical thinking seminars, or hire consultants who specialize in critical thinking skills training to help you develop these kinds of training programs. Having established and easy-to-access training programs focused on critical thinking skills can boost the number of critical thinkers across your workplace exponentially and quickly.
2. Use Simulated Experiences to Inspire Critical Thinking
Have employees participate in simulated learning experiences and scenario-based learning experiences that are highly interactive and that require them to think on their feet, solve problems, and make decisions in real time. When employees are prompted to participate in problem-solving scenarios in real time, their critical thinking skills will improve.
3. Encourage Discussion and Debate via Social Learning Platforms
To encourage more critical thinking across your organization, have learners and employees participate in discussions and debates via social learning avenues and platforms. Employees and learners can solicit feedback from one another, offer constructive criticisms about projects and ideas, and debate potential solutions to problems via social learning platforms while using and relying on relevant data and information.
4. Endorse Company Cultures Centered on Learning and Innovation
Workplaces full of critical thinkers rely on company cultures centered on learning and innovation. In workplaces with such cultures, employees are encouraged to seek out solutions to problems, be proactive, ask questions, solicit and provide feedback, collaborate, and learn. Critical thinking isn’t possible without a willingness and eagerness to learn, as well as a drive for innovation and growth.
Be sure to follow the four tips above if you want a workplace full of critical thinkers.