Serving as an operations manager with Amgen, Christopher “Chris” Throgmorton is responsible for the oversight of external vendor relations within the scope of global regulatory operations. Mission focused, Christopher Throgmorton has a strong interest in best practices when it comes to team dynamics that enable objectives to be met.
A recent Harvard Business Review blog article drew attention to the importance of developing critical thinking skills among team members. Unfortunately, such skills are a challenge to define and evaluate, with most managers simply settling for a “sink-or-swim” approach, creating work-arounds for those who can't consistently make sound decisions.
One logical way of instilling critical thinking, which encompasses problem-solving, verbal reasoning, and decision-making, is to begin with an “execute” stage. This tests the abilities of team members to convert instructions into actions that are on time, fully completed, and at an acceptable standard of quality.
Once these fundamentals are in place, the next stage is synthesis, which involves the ability to sift through an array of information and identify what is important. When team members can, without preparation, provide succinct summaries of critical insights from a report or meeting, leaving out unimportant information, they are well on the way to developing critical thinking skills.
The ultimate aim of critical thinking is for employees to be able to make actionable recommendations and generate original ideas that surpass the current status quo.
A recent Harvard Business Review blog article drew attention to the importance of developing critical thinking skills among team members. Unfortunately, such skills are a challenge to define and evaluate, with most managers simply settling for a “sink-or-swim” approach, creating work-arounds for those who can't consistently make sound decisions.
One logical way of instilling critical thinking, which encompasses problem-solving, verbal reasoning, and decision-making, is to begin with an “execute” stage. This tests the abilities of team members to convert instructions into actions that are on time, fully completed, and at an acceptable standard of quality.
Once these fundamentals are in place, the next stage is synthesis, which involves the ability to sift through an array of information and identify what is important. When team members can, without preparation, provide succinct summaries of critical insights from a report or meeting, leaving out unimportant information, they are well on the way to developing critical thinking skills.
The ultimate aim of critical thinking is for employees to be able to make actionable recommendations and generate original ideas that surpass the current status quo.
