employers consider critical thinking an undesirable skill

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employers consider critical thinking an undesirable skill

The Road to Success Is Paved With Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is one of the most in-demand skills in the workplace, yet, nearly half of employers rate their employees’ critical thinking skills as average or worse. This is due, in part, to the fact that there is little agreement around what critical thinking is exactly. Simply put, critical thinking is the process of analyzing information to get the best answer to a question or problem.

In reality, many employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and countless managers don’t know how to provide specific instruction to team members in need of becoming better thinkers. Instead, managers often employ a sink-or-swim approach, ultimately creating work-arounds to keep those who can’t figure out how to “swim” from making important decisions.

What if we told you  there is a better way? The professionals at Zarvana have developed the  Critical Thinking Roadmap , a framework that breaks critical thinking down into four measurable phases: the ability to execute, synthesize, recommend, and generate. Within this detailed framework managers will learn:

  • How to assess the critical thinking skills of each of your team members
  • How to help those who are struggling
  • How to recognize when a team member has mastered one phase and is ready for the next

Phase 1: EXECUTE

In this phase, team members simply do what they are asked to do. They complete all parts of their assignments on time and the quality of work is at or close to your professional standard. If a team member is struggling with this phase, make sure they understand your instructions by asking them to rearticulate each assignment before they begin. Provide clarity, if necessary, and consider breaking the assignment down into more manageable chunks. Once team members are making suggestions for how to improve their work, you know they’re ready for the next phase.

Phase 2: SYNTHESIZE

In this phase, team members learn to sort through a range of information and figure out what is important (such as summarizing the key takeaways after an important meeting). They should be able to identify and communicate all the important insights clearly and succinctly, while excluding all unimportant insights. Further, they should be able to accurately assess the relative importance of the important insights. You know team members are ready for Phase 3 when they can provide a summary of the important insights and implications for future work on the spot without preparation.

Phase 3: RECOMMEND

In this phase, team members move from identifying what is important to determining what should be done. When asking questions, they should be able to:

  • Provide a recommendation backed by strong reasoning
  • Demonstrate appreciation for the potential downsides of their recommendation
  • Consider alternatives before reaching a final decision

Team members are ready to move to Phase 4 when they make reasonable recommendations that reflect sound business judgment on work that is not their own.

Phase 4: GENERATE

In this phase, team members become adept at translating the vision in others’ heads (and their own) into projects that can be executed. Many people don’t make it this far because they don’t give themselves permission to do the kind of open-ended thinking required. To help your team members move into this phase, ask them to keep a list of their ideas for improving a project, department, or organization and invite them to share those ideas with you regularly.

It’s time to reject the notion that critical thinking is either an innate gift that can’t be developed or a skill learned only through experience. Begin using this systematic approach to lead team members through the four phases of critical thinking. By doing so, you can help your team members develop one of today’s most in-demand skills.

Learning & Organization Development is offering the next Critical Thinking class on August 10th. You can register HERE .

References: Harvard Business Review (2019, October 11) Matt Plummer: A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills MasterClass (2021, May 25) MasterClass staff: Guide to Critical Thinking: Learn to Use Critical Thinking Skills Indeed (2021, June 9) Indeed Editorial Team: 6 Ways to Improve Critical Thinking at Work

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To Improve Your Employees’ Critical Thinking, Help Them Practice

One important aspect of critical thinking is the ability to compare ideas clearly and succinctly. It’s a skill that, like any other, grows with practice. To help your employees get better at sorting through a range of information, give them informal opportunities to try. For example, after a client call, you could ask someone to […]

One important aspect of critical thinking is the ability to compare ideas clearly and succinctly. It’s a skill that, like any other, grows with practice. To help your employees get better at sorting through a range of information, give them informal opportunities to try. For example, after a client call, you could ask someone to tell you, in a few short sentences, what the takeaways were. Or, after a strategic planning meeting, you could ask someone for the pros and cons of the initiatives that were discussed. If the employee struggles to identify what’s important, try using a resource-constrained thought experiment: “If you could share only one insight with the CEO, what would it be?” or “If we had only $1,000 for this project, how should we allocate it?” You’ll know the person has mastered this skill when they can, on the spot, summarize a project’s key points and their implications for future work.

Source: This tip is adapted from “A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills,” by Matt Plummer

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How to Make Hiring Critical Thinkers Easier

Critical-thinking microcredentials can help businesses find the right job candidates and keep valued employees around longer.

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An office worker sits at his desk in front of his computer and appears to be thinking.

A bad hire can be a costly mistake. I’ve seen it time and again in my 30 years as a founder and CEO of tech companies. Even the most highly qualified, technically skilled, reliable workers can fall short as employees. You’ve probably experienced it, too: the good-on-paper candidate who can’t translate their knowledge into sound decisions. The co-worker who shows up to meetings unprepared, waiting for their teammates to present solutions. The recent grad who’s overwhelmed by the day-to-day realities of a workplace.

What’s missing? Often, it’s those vital “durable skills” — like critical thinking, creativity, collaboration — that make all the difference. Some may consider these to be personality traits. But one thing you discover when you run an edtech company is that it’s possible to teach people these kinds of really complex concepts. And, maybe even more important, it’s possible to quantify and measure how well they’ve mastered them. This is great news for hiring managers and HR teams — and for employees who want to expand their career opportunities.

The lightning-fast acceleration of mainstream AI adoption has really helped me to clarify why these durable skills — and critical thinking in particular — are more important than ever. For the record, I’m a big fan of AI. The AI-based coaching built into the SkillBuild by Muzzy Lane microcredentialing platform is one of the things that make it a powerful teaching tool. (I am the founder and CEO of Muzzy Lane.) For repetitive or data-driven tasks, AI is definitely useful, but the unique power of the human brain to think critically — to dissect and filter information, weigh sources and draw conclusions — still outsmarts any AI.

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Testing users’ knowledge through role-playing

So how can people learn (and showcase) the uniquely human reasoning skills that employers value and that workers can immediately put into practice on the job? Most online or game-based learning platforms simply test a user’s basic knowledge, say, in a multiple-choice quiz. Simulations go a step further and put learners into real-world situations that require them to apply key lessons. One example that many of our critical thinking badge-earners consistently highlight is an assessment simulation that asks them to role-play how they would make recommendations to their boss about running a particular in-store promotion.

When the parameters shift halfway through, users are forced to prioritize their information-gathering and analysis tasks in real time so they can meet the new deadline. It’s tense and it’s frustrating — just like a stressful workday can be — but learners say that practicing these skills in a safe sandbox significantly boosts their decision-making confidence.

To validate these skills, the tech industry has long embraced microcredentials — Microsoft , IBM and Google all offer solid pathways for upskilling — because they’re a great way for us to assess how committed job candidates are to keeping their technical skills current in a sector that’s built on fast-paced change. But the kind of highly transferable workplace durable skills that are in universal high demand are often the hardest to measure.

According to the Global Talent Trends report by LinkedIn , more than 90% of employers say that durable skills are just as important as hard skills, but 89% say that it's hard to find candidates who have them, and 57% say it’s almost impossible to accurately evaluate them, even in an extended interview process. A microcredential makes it easier for hiring managers to differentiate a purely proficient worker from one who truly has a three-dimensional skill base. Employers can trust that a candidate who has earned a vetted critical-thinking microcredential hasn’t been exposed to theory — they’ve mastered complex reasoning and decision-making.

Consider implementing your own upskilling program

If your hiring process doesn’t automatically identify microcredential holders (résumé-scanning bots still can’t really recognize digital badges, unfortunately), then implementing your own upskilling program can help you build a great team — and keep them. A microcredential platform that offers measurable, actionable training can fill the durable skills gap for your new hires and also give existing employees the opportunity to level up. Almost two-thirds of workers consider employer-sponsored upskilling a sought-after employee benefit, according to the American Upskilling Study by Gallup . And a Deloitte survey found that 29% of younger workers consider learning and development opportunities to be one of the top reasons they chose to work for their current organizations.

When you're evaluating upskilling microcredentialing options, I would rank mastery at the top — are your employees simply learning about the skill, or are they actually practicing it? Here are a few additional criteria to include in your rubric:

  • Scalability: Can we start small and then expand? Can we easily roll this out company-wide?
  • Customization: Can I build my own badges?
  • Timing: Can we break the courses into even smaller, bite-sized chunks?
  • Accessibility: Can everyone use the platform without any additional modifications?

This is where you’ll need to call on your own critical-thinking skills. And if you find you need to sharpen your information-gathering and analysis, there’s a microcredential for that.

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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA .

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David McCool is President and CEO of Muzzy Lane , which recently introduced SkillBuild and was awarded 1EdTech™'s Gold Learning Impact Award. Since founding the company, Dave’s goal has been to build technology that empowers authors to create compelling online experiences and helps students practice skills with guidance and feedback.

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employers consider critical thinking an undesirable skill

The importance of critical thinking in the workplace

employers consider critical thinking an undesirable skill

Critical thinking is one of the most sought-after skill sets in modern businesses. Actively encouraging critical thinking fosters a culture of adaptability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement that makes your business a great place to work while improving your bottom line.

But, anyone can list critical thinking skills on their resumes. So how do you find candidates who truly possess these abilities? 

We can help. Below, we teach you everything you need to know about critical thinking skills, ways to assess critical thinking in the workplace, and common pitfalls to avoid when attempting to hire critical thinkers. 

Table of contents

What are critical thinking skills, what you need to know about critical thinking in the workplace , when to hire critical thinkers, why it’s important to foster critical thinking practices in the workplace , how to find the best candidates with critical thinking skills, common mistakes when assessing critical thinking skills, find your next critical thinker with testgorilla.

Critical thinking skills are soft skills that enable employees to analyze, evaluate, and solve problems, and make decisions. These soft skills include:

Logical reasoning

Open-mindedness

Strategizing

Critical thinking isn’t about being critical for the sake of it. It’s about separating fact from fiction, identifying biases, and discovering connections between ideas.

For example, say you're in a team meeting discussing a new project proposal. A colleague presents an idea that seems groundbreaking at first glance. They say it will significantly cut costs, improve efficiency, and revolutionize your approach. 

Rather than immediately jumping on the bandwagon, the critical thinkers in the room would take a step back, asking questions like:

Has this been done before? If so, what happened?

What are the drawbacks to this approach?

Will this approach cost anything to implement?

What impact will this have on the overall project cost?

Asking these questions ensures that the chosen path is logical, effective, and well-thought-out.

Here are the top three things you should know about critical thinking in the workplace.

1. It’s one of the most sought-after workplace skills

72% of managers believe critical thinking is key to an organization’s success – but only half believe their employees actually show this skill. This highlights the importance of fostering a workplace culture that actively encourages and nurtures critical thinking skills. 

2. Critical thinkers make great managers

Many critical thinking skills – like problem-solving and communication – are textbook signs of a great manager. These skills enable managers to solve challenging problems, think outside the box, and confidently help their teams succeed in uncertain environments. 

3. Critical thinking keeps employees on their toes

Critical thinking fosters flexibility and adaptability in a changing business market. This enables workers to navigate uncertainties and evolving situations with agility. They can think on their feet, make decisions on the fly, and ultimately keep your business moving through uncertainty.

Critical thinking skills are universally valuable, making almost any time the right time to hire critical thinkers – regardless of the role or industry.  

To determine the best times to hire critical thinkers, consider doing the following: 

Regularly evaluate your strategic goals and challenges. Times of change, growth, or adaptation are typically when you need critical thinking the most. For example, during market expansion, product launches, or complex challenges, critical thinkers can provide invaluable insights and innovative solutions.

Read our guide on measuring critical thinking in the workplace . By measuring your current team’s critical thinking skills, you can determine if any important skills are missing from your company. Say your measurements reveal there’s a lack of creative decision-makers on your team. In that case, it might be a good time to look for candidates who demonstrate strong creativity and decision-making skills.

Critical thinking supports overall business success. Here’s why:

1. Encourages continuous learning 

Critical thinking encourages employees to actively challenge information, question their colleagues, and seek a deeper understanding of business activities. This encourages a culture of continuous learning. 

This culture fosters a dynamic and engaging workplace where intellectual curiosity thrives and your team actively seeks new ways of working. This leads to innovation, adaptability, and sustained success for your organization. In fact, Deloitte’s Leading in Learning report found that businesses that encourage continuous learning have 37% higher productivity and are 92% more likely to innovate than those that don’t. 

2. Encourages creative problem-solving

Critical thinking skills encourage employees to look at information in different ways and not accept data at face value. This automatically shifts their perspectives, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving. 

Businesses that value creative problem-solving can streamline business operations and reduce costs easily. 

For example, a creative problem solver at a retail business might implement a novel inventory management system using AI, significantly reducing waste and lowering storage costs. This forward-thinking approach not only optimizes resource use but also enhances the company's ability to respond rapidly to demand fluctuations.

3. Improves conflict resolution

Critical thinking encourages employees to respectfully challenge ideas – and it transforms every conflict into an opportunity for team growth and innovation. It can empower your team to address and resolve conflicts using strong reasoning, consideration of diverse perspectives, and collaboration.

For instance, when a team faces a disagreement on project direction, critical thinking enables them to evaluate all options objectively, leading to a consensus that aligns with the team's overall goals and values.

4. Supports ethical decision-making

Encouraging critical thinking forces decision-makers to defend their ideas, consider alternative perspectives, and address their biases. Inviting other colleagues to critique their ideas will highlight any moral gray areas and identify potential biases that may influence one's judgment. This encourages self-awareness and ensures decisions are objective and ethical.

For example, in a team meeting where a new marketing strategy is proposed, inviting critiques and alternative viewpoints can reveal overlooked ethical considerations or unconscious biases, leading to a more ethical final decision.

You can’t find candidates with critical thinking skills by scanning resumes. Instead, use these methods.

1. Use skills testing

Skills assessments are the best way to find candidates with demonstrable critical thinking skills. These tools reduce time-to-hire, remove bias from your recruitment process, and ensure that you're building a team with the proven ability to think critically in real-world scenarios.

For example, TestGorilla’s Critical Thinking skills test measures deductive reasoning, cause-and-effect thinking, and the ability to interpret sequences. 

2. Ask behavioral interview questions

After finding critically thinking candidates using skills assessments, you can use behavioral interview questions to validate candidates’ results and gain a broader understanding of their abilities.

Behavioral interview questions focus on uncovering a candidate's abilities, attitudes, and reactions in past scenarios. Ask a candidate to recall a time they exhibited a certain behavior or provide an example of a time they applied critical thinking skills in a challenging situation. 

Critical thinking interview questions might include:

Give me an example of a time you received unclear data as part of a project. What steps did you take to overcome this?

Describe a situation where you had to analyze complex information to develop a solution. How did you approach the problem, and what steps did you take to ensure your solution was effective?

Describe a situation where you had to adapt to an unexpected challenge. What was the challenge, and how did you adapt?

These require candidates to draw on their past experiences and provide concrete examples. They’re an effective way to understand how a candidate has used critical thinking.

3. Ask for evidence of continuous learning

Since critical thinkers actively pursue new understandings, they tend to be lifelong learners. So asking for evidence of continuous learning is a good way to spot critical thinkers. 

Try asking questions like:

I can see from your resume that you recently attended a course on managing conflict in the workplace. What did you learn in that course that you didn’t know before?

How do you keep updated with the latest developments in this industry? For example, is there a book or podcast you enjoy listening to?

Can you tell me about a challenging project where you needed to acquire new knowledge or skills? How did you go about this?

Answers to these questions can show that candidates actively participate in continuous learning while also demonstrating evidence of critical thinking. 

Here are some pitfalls to avoid when measuring candidates’ critical thinking skills. 

Relying on resumes

Candidates can lie on their resumes about their critical thinking abilities. Relying on resumes might lead you to hire someone who lacks the problem-solving abilities the role requires. 

Assuming technical skills equal critical thinking

Just because someone is good at their job doesn’t mean they’re a well-rounded critical thinker. For example, a skilled data scientist might be skilled at analyzing complex datasets, but they may be unable to see how this data fits into the bigger picture. Similarly, a great project manager might excel at hitting deadlines and managing budgets, but they may struggle with open-mindedness. 

Assuming someone’s technical abilities speak to their critical thinking abilities can lead you to hire someone lacking the critical thinking your company needs. 

Critical thinking involves a unique set of soft skills. These enable employees to gain a deeper understanding of workplace situations and challenges to make well-reasoned and logical decisions. 

Critical thinking skills are some of the most sought-after skills in modern businesses. However, finding candidates who genuinely possess these skills can be tricky. 

Using a combination of TestGorilla’s skills tests and behavioral interview questions, you can assess candidates’ critical thinking skills effectively and accurately. 

Want to learn more? Watch a live demo . Or, sign up for a free TestGorilla account today and gain access to our extensive test library . 

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IMAGES

  1. Critical Thinking Definition, Skills, and Examples

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  2. 6 Main Types of Critical Thinking Skills (With Examples)

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  3. 9+ Critical Thinking Skills & Examples for the Workplace

    employers consider critical thinking an undesirable skill

  4. How You Can Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

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  5. Critical Thinking Skills Chart

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  6. How to be a critical thinker

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COMMENTS

  1. 60% Of Employers Prize Candidates With This In-Demand Skill In ...

    According to NACE's "Job Outlook 2023 Report," more than 60 percent of employers seek evidence of problem-solving skills when evaluating candidates. Another study indicated that a further 69.6 ...

  2. Employers Worried About Critical-Thinking Skills

    According to The Wall Street Journal, employers have wildly different methods of evaluating their employees for critical-thinking skills. Goldman Sachs, for example, asks job candidates to "assess company valuations and stock pitches and then to explain how they arrived at their conclusions.". But that's a numbers-intensive exercise for a ...

  3. Critical Thinking: Useful Skill Employers are Seeking

    Critical thinking skills are essential for effective communication and collaboration within the workplace. Critical thinkers can clearly articulate their thoughts and ideas and engage in constructive discussions with colleagues. They can listen to others' viewpoints, ask relevant questions, and provide thoughtful feedback.

  4. Employers Want "Critical Thinkers," But Do They Know What It Means?

    They Read Between The Lines. Thinking critically involves "the ability to cross-examine evidence and logical argument. To sift through all the noise," says Richard Arum, New York University ...

  5. How To Prevent AI From Eroding Employees' Critical Thinking Skills

    Skills that were once essential are no longer necessary. With AI, we have to be careful we don't delegate away our critical thinking skills and muscle memory. HR leaders should be on the lookout ...

  6. The Road to Success Is Paved With Critical Thinking

    This is due, in part, to the fact that there is little agreement around what critical thinking is exactly. Simply put, critical thinking is the process of analyzing information to get the best answer to a question or problem. In reality, many employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and countless managers ...

  7. A Short Guide to Building Your Team's Critical Thinking Skills

    Summary. Most employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and most managers don't know how to provide specific instruction to team members in need of becoming ...

  8. The Critical Thinking Skills Employers Think They Want…And the Ones

    The trouble is that most companies don't know what to look for when they select project teams and make hires, and also don't know how to nurture critical thinking skills. An upcoming study is looking at critical thinking as a function of six general skills, which fits many common conceptions of the construct:

  9. Employers Seek Problem-Solving Skills In 2021

    The top-five skills for 2021. Critical thinking - critical thinking and problem-solving are quantifiable skills that can be measured by tests and assessments. Cognitive flexibility - from ...

  10. To Improve Your Employees' Critical Thinking, Help Them Practice

    November 05, 2019. One important aspect of critical thinking is the ability to compare ideas clearly and succinctly. It's a skill that, like any other, grows with practice. To help your ...

  11. The critically thinking employee: employers' point of view

    employers were looking for refer to: interpersonal skills, communication (both oral and written), critical thinking, motivation and personal attitudes, ability to w ork with data and information ...

  12. How to Make Hiring Critical Thinkers Easier

    According to the Global Talent Trends report by LinkedIn, more than 90% of employers say that durable skills are just as important as hard skills, but 89% say that it's hard to find candidates who ...

  13. Critical Thinking Skills: What They Are and Why Employers ...

    Critical thinking is a process of analyzing, evaluating, and using reason to create solutions to problems. It is a fundamental skill that employees need to be able to think critically in order to identify and solve problems. Critical thinkers are able to analyze information and come up with alternatives, which can lead to improved decision ...

  14. Key Critical Thinking Skills and Examples

    Consider these basic critical thinking skills to develop to help you become an accomplished critical thinker: Observation: Fundamental to critical thinking, observant people are vigilant and alert to their surroundings and often begin to identify a problem before it fully develops. Reflection: Use curiosity to drive you to ask questions about ...

  15. What Employers Want: Critical Thinking Skills

    What Employers Want: Critical Thinking Skills. By sjoynes February 1, 2021 November 2, 2023 Career Readiness, ... The Critical Thinking competency is defined as being able to identify and respond to the needs based on an understanding of the situational context and logical analysis of ... but consider how you approached the problem through ...

  16. Critical Thinking in the Workplace: Why You Need It

    Critical thinking skills are soft skills that enable employees to analyze, evaluate, and solve problems, and make decisions. These soft skills include: Creativity. Logical reasoning. Open-mindedness. Evaluation. Strategizing. Reflection. Critical thinking isn't about being critical for the sake of it.

  17. Employability skills #4: critical thinking and decision making

    Published 15 March 2023. Critical Thinking and Decision Making are skills that are in high demand from employers around the world, and employees with these skills are seen as immensely valuable. Companies need their employees to have strong analytical and evaluative skills, and to exercise careful judgement and decision making in the workplace.

  18. Higher-order thinking skills

    Higher-order thinking (also referred to as critical thinking, problem solving, or decision making) is consistently ranked as one of the most in-demand workforce readiness competencies by employers across industries. According to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), nearly all employers consider critical ...

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