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Thinking for

Managers:

A Manifesto

by Crystal King

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Critical

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Learning without thinking is labor lost;

thinking without learning is dangerous.

— Chinese Proverb

IntroductIon

Smart companies around the globe are dependent upon active critical thinkers in order to

develop, produce and disseminate their goods and services. Managers in a position of creat-

ing change within their organizations need to learn, exhibit and teach critical thinking skills

to their colleagues and employees. Why? Because making decisions in today’s world—a world

of increasing pressure, uncertainty, conlicting ideas and opinions create challenges that

managers need to adeptly navigate. Understanding key methods of critical thinking helps

managers learn to address the right problems, identify risks and make better decisions.

the ManIfesto

For managers, the development of positive thinking dispositions a is key.

What are thinking dispositions? They are the tendencies that a person has toward thinking

and the way in which they behave as a result of that thinking. Being an efective manager

means being a good thinker. But what exactly does that entail? According to Shari Tishman,

one of the investigators at the educational research think tank at Harvard’s Project Zero,

good thinking is a combination of both critical and creative thinking skills, values, habits and

motivations, all of which help to determine whether or not good thinking skills are employed

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when they are really needed. The important thing is that thinking dispositions can be taught

and learned. There are several key thinking dispositions that are important for good thinkers.

Managers should take note and determine ways to best use them to their advantage in critical

situations.

a. Be curIous and questIonIng.

Learn to look beyond the surface. When someone hands you a report do you take it at face

value or do you ask for clariication or additional information? Thoughtfully question your

own judgements and the judgements of the people that work for you. Do you have all the

information you need to form a strong decision?

Listen to the ideas your employees and colleagues have and ask questions to determine how

they can help to further the company, your work and the work of your team.

Take interest! Pay attention to news of your company’s products and direction, even if they

don’t necessarily apply to your immediate job. Be aware of industry news and happenings.

Ask questions about how to apply this knowledge to the work at hand.

B. thInk Broadly and adventurously.

This goes hand-in-hand with being curious and questioning. Your curiosity and thirst for

knowledge should give you the ability to see the bigger picture. When you are aware of the

world outside your immediate scope of work, you automatically broaden your ideas about the

work at hand. Step outside your comfort zone and be open to people and situations that you

may have brushed aside in the past. Don’t be afraid to take mental risks—propose new ideas,

embark upon possibilities. The idea of dreaming big applies here.

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c. reason clearly and carefully.

Asking questions helps to give you enough information to make rational decisions. Learn how

to weigh your options. Take time to think through various scenarios before you make deci-

sions that could be crucial. What is the worst that could happen? What is the best that can

happen? Who will be afected? Why would you want to move forward on each of the various

paths that are presented to you? What are the beneits? What are the detriments? Take ad-

vantage of simple tools such as a pro and con list. Take a big piece of paper, split it down the

middle with a line and write on each side the pros and cons of your actions—it will help you

see the big picture. Analyze your list carefully. If there are ive pros and two cons, are they

equal in weight? Are those two cons signiicant enough to outweigh the ive pros? Sometimes

this can be the case—again, ask questions to understand all your options.

d. organIze one’s own thInkIng.

Too many managers blunder through their jobs, their lives and their interactions with col-

leagues and employees without any rhyme or reason. Taking time to organize your thinking

will go a long way toward helping you be more productive and eicient while at the same

time, improving your overall relationships with the people with whom you are in daily con-

tact. This can take diferent forms for diferent people. For some, journaling one’s thoughts,

actions, hopes and dreams can be beneicial. Notetaking, to-do lists, personal digital as-

sistants (PDA) and specialized desktop software can all be mechanisms for organizing think-

ing. David Allen’s wildly popular book

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Getting Things Done describes a detailed method of

organizing one’s work—which works in tandem with organizing thought. Regardless of what

method you choose, ind a way to organize your thought processes and you will ind yourself

one step closer to better organization in your life and in turn, peace of mind.

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e. gIve tIMe to thInkIng.

Indulge yourself in activities that require the use of your brainpower. Your brain is a muscle

and exercising it is key to self-growth, continuing health and well-being. Look for and cre-

ate time for activities that will help you learn and move further toward success. For example:

Don’t have time to read all those magazines that pile up on your desk? At the beginning of

the week, pick two that have particular relevance, scan the table of contents and choose two

to three articles that you can peruse over lunch, on the subway or at any other time of your

choosing. Toss the rest. You’ll ind this to be more eicient; plus, you’ll eliminate the guilt

of not having time for weekly reading and you’ll be more in the loop than had you piled the

magazines up and then tossed them at the end of the month in a it of overwhelm. By doing

this, you have actively chosen and given time to thinking.

This also applies to inding time to enable yourself to apply some of the previously outlined

thinking dispositions. Instead of making a quick decision, take time to ask questions and

look at the big picture so that you can make a clear and reasoned decision. Determine the

urgency and if you can, take a day and think about the possible outcomes before giving your

response. Sometimes a day might not be feasible—it could be an hour. What else can you do

to give yourself the time to think rationally? Take a walk. It could be just up and down the

backstairs in your building or around the perimeter of the parking lot. Pull yourself out of the

situation and permit yourself time to think. Many of the greatest thinkers of our time were

fond of walking—precisely because of the power of thought that can arise when taking time

to physically move and interact with the environment.

It also doesn’t hurt to exercise your brain more directly, with brain-teasers, logic games and

word exercises. Just like all muscles, if you don’t use it, you will lose it! Take a few minutes

each day or week to challenge yourself with a crossword puzzle, Sudoko game or other

brain-teaser (you can ind a bunch at http://www.braingle.com/ ). Br ain-teasers help you ex-

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