2/05/2019

In this culture of “just get it done”, have you ever thought if there was a better way? Have you heard others in the workplace say these things or thought them yourself?

“There is so much work to get done. If I spend time worrying about how to do things differently, I will be here all day!”

“I hear that I need to stop and think about what went wrong, but as long as it doesn’t happen again, no one will care.”

“Who has time to question if it is the best way? This is the way we have always done it, and it works to get the job done.”

“What is the point of thinking too much about it? My job is to get the work done.”

“Just tell me the right answer.”

So, what is the answer? Critical thinking skills DO matter. According to surveys of business and non-profit leaders, 91 percent of employers agree that career success involves “a candidate’s demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than his or her undergraduate major.” Critical thinking is in demand in the workplace, but what does critical thinking really mean?

Critical thinking means:

Having a certain level of creativity. Even if it seems your job is not creative, there may be a different way of coming up with a solution or figuring out what went wrong that is still creative thinking. Even better, creative thinking can mean predicting an outcome.
Being able to closely look at something, such as a problem or a set of data, and understand what is going on. This can involve asking the right questions and recognizing when there are similarities and differences.
Effective communication and collaboration with others to work out solutions. Working well with others to express opinions and share ideas can help with solving problems, which can include daily communication, team meetings, or communication with external groups such as clients.
Being open minded. Setting aside assumptions allows for an objective analysis. Being objective is critical for getting to the root cause.
Attention to detail supports problem solving. This step in critical thinking involves analysis of the problem, developing a solution, and assessing the outcome.

How do you figure out these essential critical thinking skills? Even if we may have a shortage of employees who have these skills, the great news is that we all can improve ourselves with a little help.

Coming soon, DIGR-ACT® is a solution for those looking to improve their critical thinking skills in relation to clinical trials. It’s developed by industry experts and is a new and an exciting composite of well-tested approaches from other industries synthesized specifically for the Clinical Trial Professional in eLearning format.

View the demo and sign up to receive more information here, or by emailing info@digract.com.

- The Clinical Pathways Team

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