Organizations—including yours—require a pool of talent who possess an array of core skills to operate day to day, drive financial results, and ultimately keep their doors open in a highly competitive marketplace. 

Two soft skills in particular can be a game-changer when it comes to your people making a meaningful impact and yielding desired outcomes: critical thinking and problem-solving, which are tightly interwoven. 

But finding people who possess these skills is no easy feat. In fact, according to a 2019 study by the Society for Human Resource Management, the number one missing skill among job applicants is “problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, and creativity (37 percent).” 

These skills are more important than ever to cultivate among employees, especially among managers. In this article, we’ll explore what critical thinking and problem-solving look like in the workplace, why they’re particularly important now, and how you can help your employees build these critical skills.

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Defined

You probably have a good idea of what critical thinking and problem-solving are in theory. Critical thinking is commonly defined as a process of “actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” Problem-solving is—you guessed it!—determining a solution to a complicated or difficult problem.

What’s the difference? Critical thinking is an intentional and reflective method of looking at issues or circumstances, and problem-solving focuses on specific situations. At your organization, you’d typically use critical thinking as a general tool in your toolbox throughout the course of the day, and you’d use problem-solving to hone in on specific issues as they arise. 

Why They’re Needed Now More Than Ever

Together, critical thinking and problem-solving skills embolden your people to make strategic decisions, generate sustainable solutions, evaluate risks and increase innovation—all of which are needed in the midst of today’s unprecedented disorder and volatile market. 

Skill-building on critical thinking and problem-solving is an evergreen concern for organizations, and rightly so. They’re important skills across contexts and circumstances. However, 2020 represents a new frontier for many of us—demonstrating the importance of employees who are willing and able to go “off-script” to think critically and solve a range of particularly challenging problems that include:

1.COVID-19:   The biggest challenge to our society, and workplaces, in 2020 is undoubtedly COVID-19. Employees who are adept at critical thinking and problem-solving have likely thrived during this time compared to those who are not. They’re also better equipped to deal with the myriad of decisions, issues, and potential opportunities still ahead. For example, those employees who were able to quickly adjust to working from home, while dealing with childcare gaps and illness-related concerns—making needed decisions without constantly turning to their managers for support—probably have stronger critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Employees who lack these skills, by contrast, may often feel stuck these days. 

If your business is sales-driven, your salespeople who are better equipped to think critically and solve problems have come up with creative ways to stay connected with customers and drive new business in the midst of budget cuts. They are also the ones who will be innovative and generate solutions for customers in the months to come as they deal with the aftermath of the pandemic.

Additionally, there is a good chance that your managers and leaders who exhibit these two crucial skills are outperforming others in terms of achieving established goals, maintaining productivity, and engaging teams virtually to ensure continuity and minimize negative impacts to the bottom line (or better yet—are exceeding expectations in the wake of crisis and change). They are also poised to be more innovative and think strategically to make better decisions on the vision and future of the business. 

2.Economic Forecast: Abrupt shutdowns and the associated uncertainty have triggered a recession, with the S&P 500 falling 12.5 percent in March, the 19th worse in history. Some businesses are thriving in spite of the pandemic, but many others have been adversely impacted. This represents a key problem that requires creative problem-solving and critical thinking: How do you thrive (or even just survive) in a weak economy? If business has slowed, managers have had to make decisions on where to invest resources, whether to lay off employees or cut their pay, and how to implement any needed changes—all while maintaining employee morale as much as possible. 

3.Election Year: Political factors can have a significant effect on your organization and its operating environment, and as you know, there are distinct differences in Democratic and Republican policies. The outcome of November’s presidential election likely has major implications for your organization—particularly with a leadership change if a Democratic president is elected—in terms of regulations, policies, taxation, and interest rates. This could present new issues or opportunities for your business, and managers must be able to monitor, think critically about, and solve problems related to politics’ impact on your organization. 

4.Racial Unrest: Recent calls for fair treatment and justice for African Americans by groups like Black Lives Matter have caused organizations to rethink workplace race inequality, diversity and inclusion, and organizations’ social responsibility. Managers and leaders who are able to think critically can come up with creative ideas to address racial issues and support African American employees. They are also able to put on their problem-solving hats and for example identify challenges with recruiting and hiring policies; determine how to invest to build stronger diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and analyze promotions rates to determine their fairness. 

All four of these areas represent new or particularly salient challenges that would be difficult on their own, much less all at the same time. Managers and leaders need to have well-honed critical thinking skills to solve problems for which there is no real “guidebook”—how do you handle a pandemic?—and address changes that are often rapid and unexpected. Other employees in the organization also benefit from these skills in making strategic decisions within their scope of work (how to effectively connect with prospective clients in an economic downturn when in-person meetings aren’t possible, for example). 

As an organization, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills is vital. But that often leads to a key question: 

Can Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Be Learned?

Let’s face it: Some people are born with better critical thinking and problem-solving skills than others. And some leaders and employees have undergone “trials by fire” before in terms of issues like recessions and racial inequity in the workplace.  

But what about those employees who struggle to think outside of the box or handle new challenges? Can their critical thinking and problem-solving skills be built? Can employees who have demonstrated those skills get better, or do you “max out” at a certain point?

Just like with any other soft skills, the good news is that critical thinking and problem-solving can be learned and honed. However, they can be more challenging to develop than some other skills since many people are programmed to make snap decisions and to think about and respond to problems as they have in the past (or based on readily available information)—as opposed to relying on a methodical “process,” per se, to gather, weigh and analyze facts and information on complex issues like COVID-19. 

Critical thinking and problem-solving are rooted in process. This means employees must exercise a greater degree of discipline, intentionality, and deliberation. It can be learned—but it’s not easy.

How to Build These Skills

Unsurprisingly, critical thinkers and problem-solvers are often your top performers. It only makes sense then to proactively help your people develop these skills and institute a culture of critical thinking and problem-solving across your organization.

Training is a key mechanism for building these skills. Your organization may be inclined to focus less on employee training and professional development right now, but this may hurt more than help—especially for the managers and leaders you rely on to move your organization through challenging times and thrive on the other side of today’s volatile marketplace.

Although training and professional development look a little different these days, they can still work. Currently, webinars are the go-to solution for employee training and development and we at ShowUp! have successfully pivoted into this space to continue delivering value to our customers. 

For example, our CEO Mindset: Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving training course is both timely and relevant. This course not only equips employees to be more strategic like a “CEO,” but it also walks participants through a defined process to think critically and also a process to solve problems.

For more information on our CEO Mindset: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving webinar contact us today.

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About ShowUp! The company – aptly named “ShowUp!” – takes a results-oriented approach to advance our mission. Launched in 2007, we are based in the Washington DC area and have fast become a go-to resource for female and male leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, politicians, and organizations who are committed to raising the bar and ‘showing up’ for the successes they deserve. Through targeted corporate training facilitation from entry-level through executive, group keynotes and workshops, and individualized one-on-one coaching, we make an impact through leadership development, personal brand coaching, executive presence, and perception management, individualized personal style consulting, and business etiquette. www.showupllc.com