Of course, everyone thinks. But thinking effectively is a rare skill. Sadly most people are taught – or led – what to think, but not how to think.
So, what’s involved in thinking well? Here’s a list of a dozen, strong indicators:
1).Purpose-driven: Good thinking is always directed at serving a particular goal or need (for example, understanding, solving, deciding or creating), plus really narrowing down and carefully defining up-front the issue or problem involved. Achieving real clarity up-front will always enable more focussed and productive thinking to follow.
2) Disciplined and focused: Good thinking should be carried out carefully and diligently, consciously, and undistracted. This includes making use of any helpful, suitable analytical, cognitive or decision-making tools,
3) Grounded in data, facts and accuracy: Good thinking rests on seeking and relying on what is true and accurate, not what is assumed or considered comfortable or preferable. Clarity, precision and relevance are also important. Soft data like opinions or experience can often be valuable but ‘hard’ factual data should normally be prioritised, if possible.
4) Looking fully and critically at what is: Good thinking means looking at the issue or situation in question roundly, deeply and holistically to ensure a thorough, overall understanding of ‘what is’. This includes looking for patterns and trends and at the ‘edges’ of the situation to identify how it connects with the wider context. At the same time there should be an effort to verify and ensure that what is seen is really true and not distorted or unfairly presented – which means, for example, surfacing and challenging any unreasonable assumptions or beliefs, false claims or exaggerations.
5).Considering what could or might be: Good thinking involves pausing to consider beyond ‘what is’ now to think of how things might evolve going forward. Not least, this should include considering what risks or uncertainties apply around the current situation. Additionally, thinking about the future could include using imagination to think of more creative, radical or different versions of how the situation today might be changed.
6) Considering other people’s viewpoints: Good thinking means avoiding being ego-centric or arrogant and being ready to consider information, perceptions, beliefs or arguments from other people about the situation or issue at hand. This helps to ensure a richer and likely more complete understanding and ‘reading’ of the situation.
7) Using reason, logic and balanced judgment to draw conclusions: Good thinking means ensuring that all claims, conclusions or arguments developed from considering the situation are based on a fair and objective weighing-up and evaluation of key issues (including risks, for example), are logically coherent, and use clear/objective reasoning. It is particularly important to avoid ‘motivated reasoning’ – arguing using points that favour one’s own personal interests or position, rather than being fully objective.
8) Mitigating for emotion, biases and other distortions: Good thinking involves recognising the risk of likely or possible distortions in one’s thinking and taking reasonable steps to try and limit their effect. Personal feelings and emotions can be one type of distortion. Personal cognitive biases or blind-spots (e.g. confirmation bias) are a significant other type. So can particular norms or culture in an organisational setting, group or wider/social setting.
9).Applying different thinking modes: Good thinking includes being ready to apply, flexibly, different modes of thinking to a problem or situation, if useful to achieve a more fitting response or decision. Examples of different thinking modes are analytical thinking, holistic thinking, process thinking, and creative/strategic thinking: everybody tends to have a preferred mode or one which they are more skilled at using. Good thinking, though, means being ready to switch across modes, or to use one or two together, to help improve quality of thinking.
10) Ensuring a definite output or result: Good thinking leads to something, rather than just being an intellectual exercise for its own sake. Common types of result include, for example, a decision, an action, a solution, an idea, or a new or changed perspective or opinion.
11) Acting ethically: Good thinking always includes considering what is ethical before reaching a final conclusion or decision. Choosing ethically means valuing what is generally regarded as fair, honest, legal, decent and morally acceptable by society.
12) Following-up with review and learning: Good thinking includes the additional step some time after going with the result/decision/solution reached, of reflecting back over the thinking carried out and judging how well the result actually turned out. Such a step not only allows for any appropriate adjustment to be made to action previously taken, but provides also an opportunity to review how suitable and effective the thinking process was and what learning may be taken from the exercise to possibly improve or benefit future thinking or decision-making.
Some key human traits which support sound thinking:
An open, curious and growth mindset: This means always being alert and interested in what’s happening around you, being keen to experience or learn new things and hear and consider different points of view. It includes the belief that ongoing learning and self-development are key drivers of being able to achieve more or better things in life.
Intellectual humility: This means avoiding the assumption that one’s own beliefs, attitudes, knowledge or experiences are inherently superior or preferable to those of other people. Instead, you let yourself be ready to change or adapt your views or attitudes if they seem inferior.
Good self-awareness: Being self-aware means consciously noting and considering how aspects of your general personality/character and your moment-to-moment ‘inner-self’ thoughts, feelings and emotions may have an influence when you are engaged in thinking. For example, if you’re a generally positive, ‘go-lucky’ person or if you happen to be in a negative, distrustful mood in a given moment, these traits could possibly influence or even distort how you approach a thinking situation.
Good self-management: This follows on from being self-aware and refers to the ability to consciously and proactively take control of one’s attention/focus, mood, feelings, thoughts, emotions and behaviours in response to a given situation, rather than act just instinctively or reflexively. In so doing, a person will typically be better placed to handle the situation with more care and objectivity.
Comfortable with uncertainty and risk: The ability to accept and be at ease in situations where there might be uncertainty, vagueness or risk are very helpful qualities when seeking to think effectively.
Positive outlook: Effective thinking is best done with an attitude that is optimistic, positive and confident about the future. This naturally complements and supports an open mindset and fosters, in particular, fuller and more original thinking. Such an outlook is also infectious and will tend to motivate and inspire other people and foster better thinking in a group.
And a few other particular traits that help with sound thinking:
Good level of general education and general knowledge – this makes it easier to basically understand more things in life, make connections between things, evaluate things, and come up with questions or points of view about a situation or topic.
Good level of language and literacy skills– good language skills help to improve thought-formation, internal reasoning and formation of judgments and conclusions, whilst good literacy skills (written and oral) obviously boost the ability to express one’s thoughts to others and engage in discussion or argument with others.
Good listening and relationship skills – similarly, good listening and other inter-personal skills (e.g. ability to appear likeable/approachable to others, engage others in conversation, and show empathy) help strongly with discovering and learning different opinions/facts/experiences learning held by others.
Patient, calm and composed – these traits obviously help a person to be disciplined, unrushed and careful in their thinking, thus improving the quality and effectiveness of viewpoints or judgments reached.
Self-confident / self-motivated / self-assured – such traits help to drive and maintain a person’s thinking, rather than give-up or abandon in the face of challenge from others, difficulty (e.g. the problem turns out to be more complex than expected) or other pressures.
Ambitious / persistent / courageous – these traits similarly help to drive and encourage a person to carry on thinking, rather than giving up.
Varied interests and lifestyle – alongside a good level of general education and good awareness of current affairs, other key ways to help broaden the mind and stay alert and open to new learning and ideas include: having a range of different interests/hobbies; travelling widely; reading widely; having an active social life that involves meeting people from different backgrounds; and generally valuing and seeking out novel or different experiences in life.
Good level of health and fitness – maintaining good, personal health and fitness is important to supporting a good brain and sound thinking. Key aspects of maintaining good health obviously include adequate food intake, a balanced/nutritious diet, bodily exercise, rest, sleep, getting outside often, having regular contact with other people, and, of course, regular mental exercise (using one’s brain regularly to tackle different types of (light) challenges or tasks.