As humans, we think. It’s one of the defining traits of our species. Often, we even think about thinking. What happens when you try not to think? Or someone tells you to ‘clear your mind’?
Thinking is the mental process through which we form ideas, make sense of information, solve problems, and generate new concepts. It is the foundation of human progress. Yet in the workplace, where outcomes are paramount, thinking is often undervalued – because it is so often invisible.
Or is it?
A recent conversation with a client CEO brought this into focus. Before Christmas, they expressed concern that their teams weren’t “working hard enough”. So we unpicked this. Ask yourself – what does it look like to ‘work hard’ versus ‘not work hard’? This client, who supports this post but wants to remain anonymous, said ‘well, they just don’t seem to be doing anything’. ‘Like I saw them all come back from coffee (a team) but they hadn’t actually done anything. Plus some people now work from home more so how so I know they are really working hard?’
So, have a think. What does working hard truly mean? In our service led economy, if productivity relies heavily on how we think, then as leaders, how do we manage and measure thinking, and it’s value? And how do we harness thinking to set the tone for a more productive and purposeful new year?
Psychologists, and ICF-accredited Executive Coaches, study different types of thinking because it is critical to understanding and supporting organisations, teams and individuals on their journeys. In the workplace, the dilemma is it is often important to ‘look like’ you are doing something and being productive, when in reality thinking is not something we can always see. Unless of course you are hooked up to an MRI whilst you are at work which is unlikely to improve productivity due to the complexity this entails!
Instead, let’s explore three key steps leaders can take to understand better and elevate thinking in their organisations.
Step 1: Spend Time Thinking About Thinking
Take a moment to reflect on your own thinking process.
- How do you reason through challenges?
- What tools or strategies help you think more effectively?
- Think of a time when you struggled to remember something—how did you overcome it?
Thinking isn’t just something we do unconsciously; although the majority of our thoughts will never reach consciousness. It can be an active process that shapes how we interpret experiences, make decisions, and engage with the world. For leaders, understanding different types of thinking can be fundamental in unlocking the drive for productivity in the workplace.
Here are three examples of how different ways of thinking can add value to organisations:
- Critical Thinking: the cognitive process of analysing and evaluating information to make logical, reasoned judgements. This thinking process, or style, is essential for making well-informed decisions and delivering solutions.
- Creative Thinking: the process of generating original ideas or innovative or new solutions. This thinking style, if often at the start of the innovation process and is also called divergent thinking. In reality, divergent thinking is one element of creative thinking. Creative thinking often thrives in environments that encourage curiosity and experimentation, and where psychological safety is high.
- Reflective Thinking: this style if often one of the most challenging as it involves reviewing and contemplating past experiences or actions to extract learnings and insights. Understanding others’ feedback, and seeing things from different perspectives means reflective thinking is a powerful tool for personal and organisational growth.
While these three types are well-known, Psychologists think there could be multiple types of thinking with many agreeing on 7-9 different thinking styles as a minimum. Each style of thinking plays a role in how individuals and teams navigate challenges and opportunities, especially when there is conflict between the styles.
Back to our client. One example they gave us was when someone had come up with a long list of new ideas and suggestions, and that had infuriated them. However, this came down to the leader’s expectation setting as what they actually needed to solve this problem was to make a decision. Ensuring an understanding of the problem you are trying to solve, and where you are in that process is fundamental to effective and productive thinking.
As we move into a new year, forward-thinking leaders often focus on organisational productivity. Instead of equating visible busyness with effectiveness, there is an opportunity to foster a culture that values thinking too. So what is the second step?
Step 2: Understand the Effort Behind Thinking
Thinking is not effortless. It’s shaped by emotions, behaviours, physiological & psychological states, and the situation at hand. Moreover, individuals often have preferred thinking styles, which can be measured through psychometric tools such as those endorsed by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
But why should leaders care about how their teams think?
Many negative stories occur because of how teams think. Group-think is a common issue for leaders, with social interactions and hierarchies leading to a lack of challenge, innovation and productive thinking. How often have you thought ‘I could have told them that would happen?’ but you didn’t feel safe to share your concerns earlier in the process?
In practice, humans use multiple types of thinking in tandem to solve problems. This interplay drives innovation and productivity. Measuring and understanding how teams and organisations think is growing since the spotlight has turned to collective thinking. That is, how teams collaborate to generate ideas and make decisions. The infamous Post Office Horizon scandal is a cautionary tale of how flawed collective thinking can lead to devastating consequences. History is littered with organisations dying because their thinking was unproductive, lacked innovation and did not successfully solve the problems they faced.
Step 3: Think About The Plan
A plan gives you purpose and direction. This time of year is a great time to reflect on thinking practices which have led to where you, your team and your organisation are. Where were you last year? Where do you want to be next year?
We encourage all leaders to consider making the commitment to embrace thinking as a critical component of leadership and team performance.
To do this, Think Organisation encourages you to:
- Focus on Reflection
Build time into team meetings or workflows for reflective thinking. Use the insights to improve processes and strategies. - Foster Creativity
Create environments where team members feel safe to experiment and share ideas without fear of judgement or failure. - Invest in Development
Provide training or resources to help individuals develop their critical and creative thinking skills. - Recognise the Invisible
Celebrate the tangible outputs of work and also the thinking that leads to them.
By prioritising thinking, leaders can unlock greater innovation, engagement, and success in 2025. After all, the future belongs to those who not only do but also take the time to think about how they do it.
Finally, we worked with our client to understand what ‘working hard’ looks like compared to ‘not working hard’. The results are shown below and now formed part of their behavioural frameworks and selection processes going forward.
