It’s often So. Much. Easier. just to do things yourself or to tell others what they need to do — but that is a short-term solution. To truly build capacity in others you need to strengthen their critical thinking abilities and help them learn how to analyze, decipher, and decide on their own.
I liken critical thinking to a muscle — that you can only build through repetition and use. As a supervisor, you can help your staff members build that muscle by crafting ways to give them reps. Examples of this include:
- Instead of instantly jumping in to answer a question, ask the person what they would do.
- Ask for an option or two instead of going with the first alternative that is presented.
- Incorporate questions in various settings — during meetings, in 1:1s, while on-site.
- Cultivate ways for staff to provide an analysis of a scenario — either in real-time or a post-event debriefing.
- Frame your questions to require more than one answer: “What was the best part of the project and what would you change?
- Require reflection often — not just at performance evaluation time. Ask people to share what they learned after a conference or webinar as well as how they might adapt it to your situation.
- Develop your coaching skills by using one of Michael Bungay Stanier’s 7 Essential Questions when working with your staff.
As a supervisor, you can develop your critical thinking muscle as you ascertain learning styles and determine who needs extra confidence in this area. For example, beginners may need advance notice that their thinking skills will be in play, others do best when allowed to write out their thoughts instead of speaking them, and some may need to be explicitly called on if you want them to share.
It may be easier at the moment to give an answer or to attend to that detail, but investing the time to build capacity is a critical skill for the long-term success of both you and your staff. Take your mental workouts as seriously as your physical ones.
