Critical Thinking

Our ability to think can be stimulated by rhetoric. One of the earliest practitioners was Corax of Syracuse, who taught us how to use words to stimulate the minds. Socrates encouraged us to think about many things through questioning.  He once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” in other words gain understanding through questions and research. What is more important than thinking? Think about it, what do you rank before thinking?
Critical thinking could be executed at several levels for you to develop synergistic results. There are three levels of thinking before we become masterful at it (first level, second level and third level).
     What you will discover is most people are first level thinkers, meaning that they don’t take the time to examine their initial thoughts. They identify, draw some assumptions and identify the obvious. For example, when many of my students view the power point slide, they share their thoughts on what they see, which is normally described with nouns (Bus, car, plane, etc). If they see a bus, individuals will state that and don’t go further and explain how the bus contributes to the picture. This is indicative of how individuals have been taught to learn and think; there is minimal exercising of the mind. Critical thinking is an art not a science, so it requires practice just like anything else.
The description of the bus is reserved for what I consider the second level thinker, or the individual who has gained knowledge about the picture after more thought. Critical thinkers at this level examine the pictures for clarity, relevance, depth and accuracy. The second level thinker dedicates more time to examine the picture and describe more about the bus (It is a big bus, the color of the bus, etc). The individual is more comfortable and is prepared to be more descriptive with their observation. There is another level of thinking, which is the third level thinker.
A third level thinker is an individual who has dedicated more time synthesizing the information and gaining understanding. The third level thinker goes beyond description and provides the dynamic of the pictures. For example, the big yellow bus appears to have taken students on a field trip because the bus was parked in front of the zoo.  At this stage the individual can infer from the picture the potential possibilities. It is a combination of creativity and logical reasoning that cultivates an effective critical thinker. Individuals raise vital questions and problems to formulate a response, gather and assess information. They are able to resolve complex questions and resolve issues. Another important element that contributes to synergistic results is collaboration.
Collaboration
Synergistic leaders should understand that successful collaboration goes beyond the right group of people, but being in the right place at the right time. It is the skill and dedication of each individual to the whole team that empowers a group to create results that are consistent with the goal of leadership. Collaboration works best when the end results benefit all individuals and each person respects all group members. A synergistic leader should understand the components of successful collaboration. My experience in practice and my doctoral research provide me with the following conclusion about collaboration. A successful collaborative effort should have purpose, identify the primary audience and expected outcomes.
Collaboration throughout the Group
Open lines of communication will allow each to share information, offer their expertise, ideas and responsibility to solve problems effectively. The relationship between leadership must create an environment for their staffs to collaborate directly on issues where the support of others is crucial to their success.
The next article on synergistic leadership will focus on Transformation through understanding and action.