Critical Thinking Training

Successful organisations rely on critical thinkers and creative thought leaders who can generate inventive solutions to everyday problems. In this Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving training course, you gain the knowledge and skills needed to leverage left- and right-brain thinking, analyse problems, spur creativity, and implement innovative ideas in a practical way for your workplace.

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving Training Delivery Methods

• After-course instructor coaching benefit
• Learning Tree end-of-course exam included

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving Training Course Benefits

• Make better decisions through critical thinking and creative problem solving
• Develop your personal creativity
• Select the best decision given the specific situation
• Apply processes to assess work issues and problems
• Transform your creativity into practical business solutions

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Course Outline

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving Essentials

• Recognising business reasons for creative problem solving in the workplace
• Defining creativity vs. innovation
• Exploring the thinking process
• Pinpointing problems and their outcomes
• Applying outcome-based thinking

Leveraging Personal Thinking Styles

Analysing personal preferences

• Dominance drives behaviour
• Identifying your own natural brain dominance
• Triune Brain Theory

Assessing your preferred approach to thinking

• Enhancing whole-brain thinking
• Leveraging left- and right-brain dominance
• Recognising strengths and opportunities

Identifying thinking preferences

• Recognising others' preferred thinking styles
• Adapting to others' thinking styles
• Flexing to opposing styles

Unleashing Your Creativity

The creative environment

• Exploring your own creativity
• Utilising tools and techniques to become more creative
• Identifying elements that stimulate creativity
• Eliminating barriers to innovation

Group creative thinking

• Brainstorming options
• Challenging assumptions
• Five Monkeys Syndrome
• Avoiding groupthink

The iterative mind

• Unscrambling the iterative mind
• Moving between the left and right brain
• Valuing non-dominant preferences
• Stretching outside your personal style
• Deploying divergent and convergent thinking

Solving Problems Using Analysis and Prioritisation Tools

Applying analysis models

• Dissecting the situation
• Decision analysis
• Setting priorities for taking action
• Evaluating problems (people, process and technology)

Systematic approaches to problem solving

• Methods of analysis
• Collecting data and information
• Defining boundaries and constraints
• Deconstructing problems using stair-step techniques

Decision analysis

• Choosing amongst alternatives
• Establishing objectives
• Assigning weight to objectives in order to make the best decision
• Creating a satisfaction scale to choose between alternatives

Translating Creativity and Analysis into Practical Application

Identifying problems

• Determining the deviation and gap
• Testing probable causes

Avoiding analysis paralysis

• Overcoming the "It won't work here" mentality
• Analysing for outcomes, not solutions

Deploying your decision

• Clearly expressing analysis results
• Ensuring organisational benefit
• Guaranteeing maximum buy-in

Putting It All Together

Integrating your solution into the business

• Constructing a blueprint for your action plan
• Reinforcing your newly developed creative thinking skills

Your personal development toolkit

• Educating others with creative tools
• Practising creative and critical thinking skills continuously

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Course Outline

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving Essentials

• Recognising business reasons for creative problem solving in the workplace
• Defining creativity vs. innovation
• Exploring the thinking process
• Pinpointing problems and their outcomes
• Applying outcome-based thinking

Leveraging Personal Thinking Styles

Analysing personal preferences

• Dominance drives behaviour
• Identifying your own natural brain dominance
• Triune Brain Theory

Assessing your preferred approach to thinking

• Enhancing whole-brain thinking
• Leveraging left- and right-brain dominance
• Recognising strengths and opportunities

Identifying thinking preferences

• Recognising others' preferred thinking styles
• Adapting to others' thinking styles
• Flexing to opposing styles

Unleashing Your Creativity

The creative environment

• Exploring your own creativity
• Utilising tools and techniques to become more creative
• Identifying elements that stimulate creativity
• Eliminating barriers to innovation

Group creative thinking

• Brainstorming options
• Challenging assumptions
• Five Monkeys Syndrome
• Avoiding groupthink

The iterative mind

• Unscrambling the iterative mind
• Moving between the left and right brain
• Valuing non-dominant preferences
• Stretching outside your personal style
• Deploying divergent and convergent thinking

Solving Problems Using Analysis and Prioritisation Tools

Applying analysis models

• Dissecting the situation
• Decision analysis
• Setting priorities for taking action
• Evaluating problems (people, process and technology)

Systematic approaches to problem solving

• Methods of analysis
• Collecting data and information
• Defining boundaries and constraints
• Deconstructing problems using stair-step techniques

Decision analysis

• Choosing amongst alternatives
• Establishing objectives
• Assigning weight to objectives in order to make the best decision
• Creating a satisfaction scale to choose between alternatives

Translating Creativity and Analysis into Practical Application

Identifying problems

• Determining the deviation and gap
• Testing probable causes

Avoiding analysis paralysis

• Overcoming the "It won't work here" mentality
• Analysing for outcomes, not solutions

Deploying your decision

• Clearly expressing analysis results
• Ensuring organisational benefit
• Guaranteeing maximum buy-in

Putting It All Together

Integrating your solution into the business

• Constructing a blueprint for your action plan
• Reinforcing your newly developed creative thinking skills

Your personal development toolkit

• Educating others with creative tools
• Practising creative and critical thinking skills continuously