How can you apply critical thinking to avoid common decision-making mistakes as a supervisor?

1 What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly, logically, and objectively about a situation or a problem. It involves asking questions, gathering and evaluating evidence, identifying assumptions and biases, and drawing conclusions based on sound reasoning. Critical thinking helps you avoid errors, fallacies, and distortions that can affect your judgment and decision-making.

2 Why is critical thinking important for supervisors?

Critical thinking is essential for supervisors since it assists in improving the quality and effectiveness of decisions. By utilizing critical thinking, you can clarify your goals and expectations, identify and resolve problems in a creative way, avoid forming conclusions or relying on intuition, contemplate multiple perspectives and alternatives, communicate and justify your decisions with assurance, and gain insight from feedback and experience.

3 How to use critical thinking in four steps

You can use critical thinking in four steps to make better decisions as a supervisor: define, analyze, evaluate, and act.

4 # Define

The first step in problem-solving is to define the problem or decision at hand. This can be done by asking open-ended questions to gain a better understanding of the context, defining the scope and criteria of the problem or decision, stating the purpose and objectives, and recognizing the stakeholders and their interests and expectations.

5 # Analyze

The second step in problem-solving or decision-making is to analyze the issue by gathering and organizing relevant information. This can be done by searching for reliable and credible sources of data, comparing different types of information, recognizing patterns, trends, and relationships among data, and identifying gaps, inconsistencies, and contradictions in the material.

6 # Evaluate

The third step is to evaluate the problem or decision by assessing and weighing the evidence and arguments. This can be done by applying logic and reasoning to draw conclusions, testing assumptions and biases, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different options, and considering the risks, benefits, and consequences of each option. Challenging your beliefs is also important in this process.

7 # Act

The fourth step is to act on the problem or the decision by choosing and implementing the best option or solution. To do this, it's important to communicate your decision clearly and persuasively to your team and other stakeholders, delegate tasks and responsibilities, provide guidance and support, monitor and review the outcomes and impacts of your decision, as well as reflect and learn from the results.

8 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?