Critical Thinking Is Still Critical

While AI can provide valuable insights, it will not replace our capacity to analyze, evaluate, and make the informed decisions the BV profession requires. Critical thinkers not only accumulate information well, they also know how to use the information to deduce facts and determine outcomes.

Critical thinking skills are important to productive and profitable BV practices. Research shows that employees with good critical thinking skills are more creative, work more efficiently and effectively with co-workers and clients and are more effective leaders.  Critical thinking helps your employees connect ideas, spot errors and inconsistencies, and build strategies to make the best decisions most often.

How can you measure critical thinking skills in your candidates?  Have them describe a problem they faced in a previous job and how they handled it to demonstrate their ability to solve problems. Here are some examples:

1. Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with incomplete information.

How does he make decisions when he doesn’t have all the answers?

2. Describe a time when you had to convince your manager (or colleague) to try a different approach to solve a problem.

How well does she influence others and encourage better solutions?

3. Tell me how you prioritize tasks when you faced multiple urgent deadlines.

Listen for time management and decision-making skills.

4. Tell me about a time you were working on a project, and you struggled to come to an agreement with your team about the next steps.

Look for her collaborative problem-solving skills.

5. Tell me about a time when you had to decide the best strategy was raising fees to achieve higher revenues or lowering them to improve client satisfaction?

What is his ability to think critically about business strategies?

6. Give me an example of a time when you had to think on your feet during a crisis?

How well does she think critically under pressure?

Not only will AI not replace it, critical thinking will become increasingly important in today’s fast-paced, competitive job market.  When you look for and cultivate critical thinking skills in your team, you position them to make the more informed and strategic decisions that drive the success of your firm.

Do you need help designing an efficient and effective strategy to assess critical thinking in an interview?  Ellen Warden works with BV/LS practices around the country to help them align their HR solutions with long-term objectives. You can reach Ellen at WorkPlace Synergy.