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 starter list of a dozen indicators:
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Uses 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.
- Mitigates 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.
- Applies different thinking modes: Good thinking includes being ready to apply and combine more than one mode of thinking to a problem or situation in order to achieve a richer, more considered, imaginative or fitting response or decision. Examples of useful, contrasting types of thinking, for example, are analytical vs creative thinking and process vs relationship-centred thinking.
- Results in 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.
- 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.
- Followed-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.