Collaborative Aspects Of Critical Thinking

thinkers are seen as seekers of information instead of “know-it-alls”. Critical thinking is believed to be one of the keys to a high-performing team as it encourages collaborative thinking that considers issues from many different angles and provides new insight based on the diverse thought of the team, ultimately resulting in finding the best solutions (Masala, 2016).

Metacognition or “being aware of one’s own thinking” is a common characteristic of critical thinking (Walker Center for Teaching and Learning, 2012-2017). As such, critical thinkers are always reflecting, asking questions and analyzing to validate their thoughts. Critical thinkers make good managers of people because critical thinkers value and seek out different opinions and perspectives in order to get the best outcomes so

Caram and Davis conducted research and found that asking others effective questions increases their interest and motivation and results in more engagement and achievement (Caram & Davis, 2005). There is a saying, if you tell someone something, they listen, but if you ask someone something, they think. Critical thinkers would be more likely to ask their direct reports questions to get them to reflect and reflection is a uniquely successful way to develop their own metacognition. Reflecting allows one the time to grow and develop critical thinking by better understanding their motivations, thus creating a creative thinking culture. Since critical thinkers are always analyzing and evaluating and reasoning, they are much more likely to address problems instead of allowing problems to erode their teams. Critical thinking managers would look at all of the variables and determine opportunities for their direct reports. Critical thinkers would act as an example to their employees and help develop their critical thinking skills that, in the workplace, can bolster morale, improve performance and