Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

You Will Learn How To

Make better decisions through critical thinking and creative problem solving
Adapt to different thinking styles in group and team environments
Recognise and remove barriers to individual and group creativity to foster an innovative work environment
Systematically analyse a target problem
Present your ideas clearly and concisely for maximum stakeholder buy-in
Transform your creativity into practical business solutions

Course Benefits

Successful organisations recognise that critical thinking and creative solutions to problems significantly enhance business potential. Today's decision makers must use a variety of thinking styles, methodologies and creative processes. In this course, you develop your skills as a critical thinker and problem solver. You learn to leverage your personal thinking preferences using tools and techniques based on cutting-edge technologies.

Who Should Attend

Individuals at any level of an organisation who want to apply creativity and critical thinking skills to their decision-making process.

Workshop Course

Through a series of interactive small-group workshops, you gain practical decision-making skills using critical thinking and creative problem-solving techniques. Workshops include:

Profiling your personal thinking style and the styles of others
Identifying personal and team roadblocks to success
Analysing left- and right-brain characteristics
Leading through speaking in another style
Applying logical methodologies to transform a range of creative options into supportable decisions
Preparing a framework to present your decision
Developing your personal decision-making toolkit

Course Content

Introduction

Balancing people, processes and tools for optimal decisions
Business drivers that demand creative problem solving
Deciphering critical thinking

Leveraging Personal Thinking Styles

The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI)

MacLean's Triune Brain Theory
Assessing your preferred approach to thinking
Leveraging whole-brain thinking
Identifying left/right-brain dominance

Analysing personal preferences

Identifying your own natural brain dominance
Determining nondominant approaches

Managing thinking preferences

Avoiding quadrant bias
Bridging opposing styles
Predicting co-worker profiles

Unleashing Your Creativity

The creative environment

Setting the creative stage
The power of positive communication
Identifying elements that stimulate creativity
Eliminating barriers to innovation

Group creative thinking

Brainstorming options
Challenging assumptions
Dispelling personal and corporate myths

The iterative mind

Moving between quadrants
Valuing nondominant preferences
Stretching outside your personal style

Recording the creative process

Drawing mind maps
Chart writing

Solving Problems Using Analysis and Prioritisation

Systematic approaches to problem solving

Defining criteria
Focusing on outcomes
Leveraging left-brain thinkers
Applying questioning techniques
Deconstructing problems using stair-step techniques

Analysing the creative process

Identifying business-critical ideas
Categorising, prioritising and purging

Avoiding analysis paralysis

Overcoming the "It won't work here" mentality
The Five Monkeys Syndrome or "But we've always done it this way"
Analysing for outcomes, not solutions

Applying analysis models

Situation assessment
Decision analysis
Problem evaluation

Translating Creativity and Analysis into Practical Application

Organisational politics

Recognising the workplace culture
Maintaining outcome-focused goals

The influence of decision-making styles

Recognising your own blind spots
Self-awareness and self-regulation
Forming a coalition with style opposites

Deploying your decision

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

Putting It All Together

Integrating your solution into the business

Creating a whole-brain presentation
Strengthening your nondominant position
Adjusting communication to thinking styles
Transforming confrontation into communication

Continuing your development

Conducting self-checks
Being persistent: a key trait of successful creatives
Mapping thinking skills to your business

Your Personal Decision-Making Toolkit

Your personal thinking style
Your stakeholders' styles
Flexing to colleagues' styles
Committing to your Personal Action Plan
Checklists for success

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