• Critical thinking in the workplace ensures objective and efficient problem-solving; it’s essential for your business’s success. 
• When teams employ critical thinking, they gain enhanced analytical competency, communication, emotional intelligence and general problem-solving skills. 
• Patiently teach critical thinking in the workplace until it becomes a second-nature skill for employees across your organization. 
• This article is for small business owners and managers who want to Boost critical thinking in their companies to enhance problem-solving and reduce costly mistakes. 

Many professionals hope to pursue careers they’re passionate about so they can find joy and meaning in their work. Caring deeply about your work is vital for engagement and productivity, but balancing emotions with critical thinking is essential in the workplace. 

When employees engage in critical thinking, they use an independent, reflective thought process to evaluate issues and solve problems based on knowledge and objective evidence. 

Critical thinking skills can guide your organization toward success, but to truly maximize the problem-solving benefits of critical thinking, it’s crucial to teach this skill to your entire team. We’ll explore critical thinking skills and how to teach them in the workplace to help your business Boost its decision-making and problem-solving. 

What is critical thinking?

Jen Lawrence, co-author of Engage the Fox: A Business Fable About Thinking Critically and Motivating Your Team, defines critical thinking as “the ability to solve problems effectively by systematically gathering information about an issue, generating further ideas involving a variety of perspectives, evaluating the information using logic, and making sure everyone involved is on board.”

This is a complex definition for a challenging concept. Though critical thinking might seem as straightforward as stepping back and using a formal thinking process instead of reacting instinctively to conflicts or problems, it is actually a much more challenging task.

Critical thinking’s ultimate goal is ensuring you have the best answer to a problem with maximum buy-in from all parties involved – an outcome that will ultimately save your business time, money and stress.

Why is critical thinking essential in the workplace?

A World Economic Forum report revealed that critical thinking is one of the most in-demand career skills employers seek when trying to attract and retain the best employees – and employers believe critical thinking skills will become even more necessary in the coming years. 

Critical thinking in the workplace guarantees objective and efficient problem-solving, ultimately reducing costly errors and ensuring that your organization’s resources are used wisely. Team members employing critical thinking can connect ideas, spot errors and inconsistencies, and make the best decisions most often. 

Employees with critical thinking are also more likely to accomplish the following:

• Analyzing information
• Thinking outside the box
• Coming up with creative solutions to sudden problems
• Devising thought-through, systematic plans
• Requiring less supervision

Did you know?: Critical thinkers are sure about the reasoning behind their decisions, allowing them to communicate with employees clearly. This level of communication enhances employee engagement.

What are critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking is a soft skill that comprises multiple interpersonal and analytical abilities and attributes. Here are some essential critical thinking skills that can support workforce success.

• Observation: Employees with critical thinking can easily sense and identify an existing problem – and even predict potential issues – based on their experience and sharp perception. They’re willing to embrace multiple points of view and look at the big picture. 
• Analytical thinking: Analytical thinkers collect data from multiple sources, reject bias, and ask thoughtful questions. When approaching a problem, they gather and double-check facts, assess independent research, and sift through information to determine what’s accurate and what can help resolve the problem. 
• Open-mindedness: Employees who demonstrate critical thinking are open-minded – not afraid to consider opinions and information that differ from their beliefs and assumptions. They listen to colleagues; they can let go of personal biases and recognize that a problem’s solution can come from unexpected sources. 
• Problem-solving attitude: Critical thinkers possess a positive attitude toward problem-solving and look for optimal solutions to issues they’ve identified and analyzed. They are usually proactive and willing to offer suggestions based on all the information they receive. [Related article: How to Develop a Positive Attitude in the Workplace]
• Communication: When managers make a decision, they must share it with the rest of the team and other stakeholders. Critical thinkers demonstrate excellent communication skills and can provide supporting arguments and evidence that substantiate the decision to ensure the entire team is on the same page. 

What are the benefits of critical thinking in the workplace?

Many workplaces operate at a frantic tempo that reinforces hasty thinking and rushed business decisions, resulting in costly mistakes and blunders. When employees are trained in critical thinking, they learn to slow the pace and gather crucial information before making decisions. 

Along with reducing costly errors, critical thinking in the workplace brings the following benefits: 

• Critical thinking improves communication. When employees think more clearly and aren’t swayed by emotion, they communicate better. “If you can think more clearly and better articulate your positions, you can better engage in discussions and make a much more meaningful contribution in your job,” said David Welton, managing partner at Grove Critical Thinking.
• Critical thinking boosts emotional intelligence. It might seem counterintuitive to associate analytical rationality with emotional intelligence. However, team members who possess critical thinking skills are less prone to rash, emotion-driven decisions. Instead, they take time to analyze the situation and make the most informed decision while being mindful and respectful of the emotional and ethical implications. 
• Critical thinking encourages creativity. Critical thinkers are open to new ideas and perspectives and accumulate a significant amount of information when facing decisions. Because of this, they’re more likely to come up with creative solutions. They are also curious and don’t shy away from asking open-ended questions. 
• Critical thinking saves time and money. By encouraging critical thinking in the workplace, you minimize the need for supervision, catch potential problems early, promote independence and initiative, and free managers to focus on other duties. All this helps your company save valuable time and resources. 

Did you know?: Critical thinking skills are essential for dealing with difficult customers because they help your team make informed decisions while managing stressful situations.

How do you teach critical thinking in the workplace?

Experts agree that critical thinking is a teachable skill. Both Lawrence and Welton recommend exploring critical thinking training programs and methods to Boost your workplace’s critical thinking proficiency. Here’s a breakdown of how to teach critical thinking in the workplace: 

1. Identify problem areas. Executives and managers should assess workplace areas most lacking in critical thinking. If mistakes are consistently made, determine whether the issue is a lack of critical thinking or an inherent issue with a team or process. After identifying areas that lack critical thinking, research the type of training best suited to your organization. 
2. Start small. Employees newly embracing critical thinking might have trouble tackling large issues immediately. Instead, present them with smaller challenges. “Start practicing critical thinking as a skill with smaller problems as examples, and then work your way up to larger problems,” Lawrence said.
3. Act preemptively. Teaching and implementing critical thinking training and methodology takes time and patience. Lawrence emphasized that critical thinking skills are best acquired during a time of calm. It might feel urgent to seek critical thinking during a crisis, but critical thinking is a challenging skill to learn amid panic and stress. Critical thinking training is best done preemptively so that when a crisis hits, employees will be prepared and critical thinking will come naturally.
4. Allow sufficient time. From a managerial perspective, giving employees extra time on projects or problems might feel stressful in the middle of deadlines and executive pressures. But if you want those working for you to engage in critical thinking processes, it’s imperative to provide them ample time. Allowing employees sufficient time to work through their critical thinking process can save the company time and money in the long run.

How do you identify successful critical thinking?

Successful critical thinking happens during a crisis, not after.

Lawrence provided an example involving restaurants and waitstaff: If a customer has a bad experience at a restaurant, a server using critical thinking skills will be more likely to figure out a solution to save the interaction, such as offering a free appetizer or discount. “This can save the hard-earned customer relationship you spent a lot of marketing dollars to create,” Lawrence said. This concept is applicable across many business and organizational structures. 

You should also be aware of signs of a lack of critical thinking. Lawrence pointed out that companies that change strategy rapidly, moving from one thing to the next, are likely not engaging in critical thinking. This is also the case at companies that seem to have good ideas but have trouble executing them.

As with many issues in business, company leadership determines how the rest of the organization acts. If leaders have excellent ideas but don’t follow critical thinking processes, their team will not buy into those ideas, and the company will suffer. This is why critical thinking skills often accompany positive communication skills.

“Critical thinking doesn’t just help you arrive at the best answer, but at a solution most people embrace,” Lawrence said. Modeling critical thinking at the top will help the skill trickle down to the rest of the organization, no matter your company’s type or size.

Tip: To get your employees thinking critically, conduct employee surveys with well-designed questions to help them identify issues and solutions.

Critical thinking is the key to your business success

When critical thinking is actively implemented in an organization, mistakes are minimized, and operations run more seamlessly. 

With training, time and patience, critical thinking can become a second-nature skill for employees at all levels of experience and seniority. The money, time and conflict you’ll save in the long run are worth the extra effort of implementing critical thinking in your workplace.

Rebecka Green contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

DO YOU FIND yourself thinking in extremes or absolutes? For example, you view everyone you know as good or bad, and every decision you make as all or nothing, and there’s no in-between. If so, you might be in a

Also known as polarized thinking, all-or-nothing thinking, or dichotomous thinking, black-and-white thinking refers to a habit of thinking in polar opposites without accepting any possibility of a gray area, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).

“The way we think is so personal and shaped by our unique lived experiences,” explains Anisha Patel-Dunn, D.O., a psychiatrist and chief medical officer at LifeStance Health. “However, polarized thinking is often an unhealthy coping mechanism that can negatively impact our mental health.”

Black-and-white thinking is sometimes a symptom of a personality disorder, like narcissism or borderline personality disorder, as well as eating disorders, depression, or anxiety, according to APA.

Many people engage in black-and-white thinking even when they don’t have a mental health diagnosis. It can have a major impact on your relationships, your ability to succeed, and other aspects of your life, says Christopher Hansen, LPC, Ph.D., a licensed professional counselor and clinical supervisor at Thriveworks in San Antonio.

“Thinking that is so rigid and unrealistic can't help but impact overall life quality,” he says. “People with severe cognitive distortions have a very hard time communicating with society, and many go undiagnosed and treated, which is sad because the treatment is very effective.”

If you find yourself constantly thinking in absolutes, mental health experts explain how it might be affecting you and how you can change your thinking.

Black-and-white thinking refers to a rigid mindset, Hansen says. “It doesn’t allow the person the latitude to see nuances in situations or life in general.”

In other words, you don’t consider gray areas or middle ground.

Dichotomous, or black-and-white, thinking is a cognitive distortion. It prevents you from seeing things for how they usually are, which is nuanced, complex, and always changing, according to APA.

For example, Hansen says dichotomous thinkers might believe they’ll get a speeding ticket if they go one mile over the speed limit, while others realize other factors are at play or that there’s probably some leeway.

“The black-and-white thinker tends to follow rules to the letter,” he explains.

Signs of Black-and-White Thinking

You might be a black-and-white thinker if you catch yourself using these terms often:

• Always
• Never
• Perfect
• Terrible
• Good
• Bad

Everyone says these things sometimes, of course. But, when you notice that these absolute words come up frequently in your thoughts and conversations, you might be too rigid in your thinking.

Another sign is viewing people or situations in your life as perfect or flawed, saint or sinner, or good or bad, according to Psychology Today.

Who Black-and-White Thinking Affects

Black-and-white thinking is often a learned habit that’s influenced by a mental health condition, trauma, or other factors, Dr. Patel-Dunn says.

“Just as with any unhealthy coping technique, if it becomes a habit we repeatedly turn to in response to stress, we begin to develop a pattern,” she says. “Without awareness of these thought distortions or understanding the strategies we can use to change them, we may feel like we’re stuck in a loop of these automatic thoughts.”

Dichotomous thinking contributes to anxiety and depressive disorders. It’s also a characteristic of narcissistic or borderline personality disorder, research shows, and eating disorders, where someone might consider certain foods good or bad.

People aren’t always aware of their distorted thinking or that it’s affecting their lives, however, Hansen adds. “Through our upbringing, experiences, relationships, and life in general, the way we think becomes ingrained.”

How Black-and-White Thinking Affects Relationships

Communication is at the heart of relationships of all types. When someone is set in black-and-white thinking, there’s no happy medium when dealing with conflict or other situations, only right or wrong, Hansen says.

“So you can imagine that compromise is very difficult for someone with this type of thinking, and there is never any leeway in most things as it causes them anxiety, depression, anger, and overall angst,” he adds.

This way of thinking might also interfere with someone’s ability to see a situation objectively, so they might overreact or respond inappropriately to stressful or triggering events, Dr. Patel-Dunn says.

Someone might quit a job, end a relationship, or suddenly start viewing someone who was once a friend as a bad person, for instance.

Why It Interferes With Success

Dichotomous thinking is an unhealthy coping strategy, similar to substance abuse or overexercising, Dr. Patel-Dunn says. This can take a toll on your mental well-being.

“When we’re not mentally feeling our best, it can be incredibly challenging to live our lives to the fullest and enjoy the things we’re most passionate about,” she says.

When you have limiting or polarizing views about yourself, like that you’re good or bad at certain things or define your career too narrowly, it can inhibit your ability to accomplish your goals. Research also links black-and-white thinking to perfectionism, which is driven by a fear of failure and often causes emotional distress.

At work, dichotomous thinkers might view their jobs and abilities in a rigid way. This might cause issues with co-workers, who might view dichotomous thinkers as negative, not team players, or not forward-thinking, Hansen says.

How You Can Break Out of Black-and-White Thinking

It can be challenging to change distorted thinking on your own, since you might not even realize you’re doing it.

“One thing people can do on their own is practice catching themselves anytime they feel a mental or physical symptom and then see if they can identify the thought that is causing the anxiety,” Hansen says.

You might need to work with a mental health professional, especially if dichotomous thinking is interfering with your day-to-day functioning, Dr. Patel-Dunn says.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you learn to question automatic thoughts by recognizing that not all thoughts are true and understanding the root of certain thinking to work through thought distortions, she explains.

“It may feel challenging at first, but our brains can rewire through what's known as neuroplasticity,” Dr. Patel-Dunn says. “You can train your brain to think differently by practicing new habits repeatedly.”

Basically, you’ll learn to replace negative thoughts with more realistic and healthy ones, Hansen adds. After a couple of months, the new way of thinking becomes your norm.

“Help for cognitive distortions such as black-and-white thinking are very effective and generally available,” he says.

Erica Sweeney is a writer who mostly covers health, wellness and careers. She has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Parade, Money, Business Insider and many more.

Private foundations offer a robust philanthropic toolkit and are the gold standard for helping families build lasting legacies – but they can be tricky for donors to administer on their own without clear guidance. Join this session with Foundation Source’s Chief Legal Officer Jeffrey Haskell for important insights on the substantive rules that govern private foundations. Learn what activities are permissible, which require advance IRS approval and the most common trouble spots to help your clients steer clear of compliance issues and penalties.

Some of the courses covered will include: 

• Employing a family member
• Making scholarship and hardship or disaster relief grants
• Transactions between a foundation and its insiders
• Guidelines for avoiding jeopardizing investments

CFP, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, RMA®, and AEP® CE Credits have been applied for and are pending approval.

Sponsored by

Jeffrey D. Haskell, J.D., L.L.M.
Chief Legal Officer
Foundation Source

Susan Lipp - Moderator
Editor in Chief
Trusts & Estates

It's pretty easy to link humans' intelligence to our success as a species. Things like agriculture, building cities, and surviving in harsh environments require a large collection of mental skills, from good memory to the ability to communicate and work together. But it's often less clear what role intelligence plays in species with less obvious mental capabilities. In many cases, it's hard to even measure mental capacities; in other cases, it's hard to guess which capacities might Boost survival.

A new study looks at a bird species that doesn't have much of a reputation for braininess: the pheasant. But the researchers behind the study find that pheasants have substantial differences in spatial thinking, and some aspects of that spatial capacity make a difference when the birds are released into the wild. Those birds that do well with navigating a complex maze adopted a larger home territory and did better at avoiding being eaten. And, almost as an accident, the study finds that the birds tend to get eaten more often when they wander out of familiar territory.

Can’t outfox the foxes

Parrots and corvids have reputations as the brainiacs of the bird world. Pheasants, not so much. But they do have advantages for the study of mental abilities. They're easy to raise in captivity, where they can be given various tests, and will adjust easily if released into the wild. They're also big enough that it's easy to attach tracking devices to see what they're doing after they've been released.

For this study, the birds were subjected to three different tests of their mental abilities. One was simple, testing their ability to associate a specific color with a food reward. Another involved navigating a complex two-dimensional maze to get access to food, which engages both visual and memory systems. And finally, they were put in a chamber with four exits and a single piece of food in each exit. This taxed visual working memory for the birds to know which exits they've already retrieved food from.

Once the birds had been tested for these mental capabilities, they were fitted with trackers and released into the English countryside. Of the 126 pheasants released, 45 fell victim to attacks by predators within the four months of the experiment—the local fox population taking the blame in all cases.

Once the four months were up, the researchers analyzed the location data and checked for correlations with the mental capabilities the birds had shown earlier.

The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing the American Institute of CPAs and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (AICPA & CIMA) will be operating from new premises in Accra as of 1st February 2023.

The new office will be located on the 3rd Floor SSNIT Emporium, Airport City in Accra, with the digital address – GL-126-5328.

AICPA & CIMA, the world’s largest body of professional accountants, has been present in Ghana for about 2 decades.

Aligned with the organisation’s commitment to strategic growth on the African continent, the Ghanaian office relocation will allow AICPA & CIMA to offer better services to CIMA members and CGMA candidates, while continuing to support the development of the accounting and finance profession in Ghana.

Paul Aninakwah, ACMA, CGMA, Country Director for Ghana, Benin, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone, at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA, said, “We are extremely happy to relocate to our new office space at the Airport City.

This move represents our continued commitment to serving our members and candidates at the highest levels and reaffirms our commitment to growing the accounting and finance profession in Ghana. We look forward to welcoming everyone in our new space.”

The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants® (the Association), representing AICPA® & CIMA®, advances the global accounting and finance profession through its work on behalf of 689,000 AICPA and CIMA members, students and engaged professionals in 196 countries and territories.

Together, we are the worldwide leader on public and management accounting issues through advocacy, support for the CPA license, the CGMA designation and specialised credentials, professional development and thought leadership.

We build trust by empowering our members and engaged professionals with the knowledge and opportunities to be leaders in broadening prosperity for a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.

The American Institute of CPAs® (AICPA), the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, not-for-profit organisations, and federal, state and local governments.

It also develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination and builds the pipeline of future talent for the public accounting profession.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants® (CIMA) is the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants.

CIMA works closely with employers and sponsors leading-edge research, constantly updating its professional qualification and professional experience requirements to ensure it remains the employer’s choice when recruiting financially trained business leaders.

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

I am a heretic. At least, to certain traditionalist sectors of the culinary world. For you see, the secret to my lasagna, a secret which is about to be revealed to you, with neither expectation of thanks, nor remuneration, is … not to boil the pasta.

It’s true. I never boil the pasta before assembling the lasagna. It is so much easier. I literally frost the hard lasagna noodles right out of the box and lay them side by side in the pan.

I don’t do anything else differently, though. Nor am I claiming to be an epicureal innovator. I’m only a lasagna rogue when it comes to the noodle prep.

Really it’s just because I’m a little lazy that I figured it out. It just occurred to me that the moisture in the sauce would be sufficient to soften the noodles in the oven. The only times it hasn’t worked perfectly is if I don’t completely cover the noodles with sauce. Any exposed bit of noodle ruffle poking out might stay crunchy.

This simple step saves quite a bit of time really, and it’s faster as well because it’s so much easier to assemble them dry.

My husband knows this, but he still intends to boil the noodles whenever it’s his turn to make a lasagna. He is set in his ways. That’s part of why I wonder if boiling water is not more valuable as a part of the ritual of cooking than it is a necessary step of the cooking process. Rituals have value.

What will be most noticeable are those who have a strong reaction to this idea. Those who might even get angry or feel as though it’s their role to lash out at me online for my stupidity and disrespect for tradition.

Now, where have I heard that before?

But it’s really interesting to me that it’s not necessary to boil the noodles first. I’m sure there are others who have discovered this on their own as well, I’m certainly no Magellan of Mullers. But it perks my antenna that my lasagna turns out no differently from lasagna made with pre-boiled pasta. It makes me wonder …

Why have they been telling us to do this? Why is this a thing if it’s not necessary at all? Does that mean that the act of boiling has value, the ritual some purpose? Maybe. Jamie might say so. But that’s beside my point.

My point is in taking note of your reaction to the suggestion and how you respond to it when it comes to making your own lasagna. Will you try my method? Will you resist it? Will it nag at you? Or maybe you don’t cook so it doesn’t matter to you at all.

One of my favorite mentors once introduced me to the “work smarter, not harder” approach to tasks, projects, life, etc. It’s a brilliant aphorism because it completely explains itself in four, highly uncriptic words.

But like most bumper sticker wisdom, the simplicity of its description does not represent the difficulty of its application to our lives. It’s far easier said than done.

Making lasagna without boiling the noodles makes my life easier and has no negative impact on the food. In fact, it’s always nice and firm right from the oven. I definitely experiment with the various ingredients, though. It probably comes as no surprise to you that I like experimenting with the traditional model of things. In fact, I recently made a pesto chicken and goat cheese lasagna for a church spaghetti supper that was a big hit. Not a boiled noodle in the pan.

There’s more to ponder in this, of course. More to wonder where else in our lives we might find to experiment with tradition in ways that end up being just as good, maybe even a little bit better in some unexpected ways, while skipping some of the older parts of tradition which no longer serve us, or at least, deserve a reevaluation of their merit.

We are in a new time. And we are now freer to experiment with the model. We have inherited tradition and history from our forebears and they now belong to us. And while we must handle them with respect and responsibility, we should also ask of them to demonstrate their continuing value. What rituals are no longer necessary? Skip them. What of the old ways still holds up? That should be the majority of your lasagna.

Wil Darcangelo, M.Div, is a Unitarian Universalist minister at the First Parish of Fitchburg and the First Church of Lancaster. Email him at wildarcangelo@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @wildarcangelo. His blog, Hopeful Thinking, can be found at hopefulthinkingworld.blogspot.com.