“Think Critically” Needs Better Teaching
Why “figure it out” needs guidance on decisions
I’m not 100% sold on the advice “think critically.”
On its own, it’s incomplete when leaders don’t explain how decisions work.
Critical thinking matters. I teach it. I stand by it. I’ve built talks around it for college students getting ready for their first jobs.
Critical thinking helps people understand information, question assumptions, weigh options, and make decisions. It’s one of the few skills technology can not replace. People still outperform tools when situations don’t come with tidy rules.
The trouble starts when leaders use the phrase as a shortcut instead of a guide.
Where Work Breaks Down for New Hires
This problem becomes obvious at work, especially for early-career analysts, support agents, and associates who take responsibility seriously.
Strong thinkers slow down when decision lines stay invisible. They look for cues, think through consequences, and protect the work in teams that never explain how choices get made.
I saw this happen when I worked as a New Hire Trainer.
Our team trained analysts, developers, and early-career professionals who came prepared and engaged. They learned systems quickly. They understood workflows. They asked good questions and cared about doing the work well.
They were rockstars.
Then, decision moments arrived.
An analyst asked whether to fix an issue or escalate it.
A support agent paused before replying to a customer, even with the steps memorized.
A new hire reread a handoff document, despite having approval to move forward.
Nothing about their skill level changed. The setup around them did.
Judgment Needs Teaching
Workplaces talk a lot about judgment. Few explain how people develop it.
A lot of managers treat judgment like something people either have or don’t. They assume analysts and associates already know how decisions work on that team. They skip the part where judgment grows through shared examples and open conversations.
Bruce Tulgan names this problem in Bridging the Soft Skills Gap.
Tulgan explains that most performance issues don’t come from laziness or poor attitude. They come from expectations leaders keep in their heads instead of putting into words. Managers know which calls need approval, which risks matter, and which tradeoffs the team accepts. New hires do not (yet).
Every workplace runs on unwritten rules.
Leads decide which calls stay with the team and which ones move up. Managers decide what level of risk is okay. Teams build habits around speed, tone, and ownership.
When leaders leave those rules unspoken, new hires guess. Guessing slows work and chips away at confidence.
What Helps People Move Forward
Confidence grew fastest when team leads talked through decisions out loud.
A lead said, “You own this call.”
Another said, “Bring this to me before sending.”
A supervisor said, “Loop me in when this sign appears.”
Once those lines were visible, work moved forward with ease.
Tulgan calls this structure before autonomy.
Many managers push people to act independently without explaining where the guardrails are. They praise initiative, then question decisions that cross lines they never pointed out.
Structure supports thinking. It does not replace it.
When people know the limits, they spend less energy worrying and more energy solving problems.
How Critical Thinking Works in Real Life
Critical thinking includes understanding data, weighing evidence, judging options, and drawing conclusions. Research shows these skills predict job performance better than tool knowledge alone.
People outperform automated systems when problems lack fixed rules because they adjust goals, make judgment calls, and find new ways forward.
AI works best when rules stay the same. People work best when situations change.
Work lives somewhere in between.
Deadlines exist. Risk limits exist. Approval paths exist. Leaders weaken critical thinking when they refuse to explain those limits.
Professionalism Gets Learned on the Job
Leaders often tell new hires to “be professional” without explaining what that looks like on their team.
When leaders leave those ideas fuzzy, hesitation follows.
Most early-career professionals want to contribute. They want to handle responsibility well. Slowing down often reflects care in systems that never explain the cost of getting a call wrong.
That care deserves respect.
What Good Leaders Do Differently
Good leadership does not rely on personality. It relies on making work easier to understand.
I watched new hires change the moment leaders did that. They did not become different people, nor gain confidence overnight.
Once they knew which calls they owned and which ones needed support, they moved forward with ease. They focused on the work instead of worrying about stepping out of bounds.
Nothing about them changed. The setup did.
When an analyst hesitates, when a support agent double-checks, or when a new hire asks, “Is this okay?”, the behavior points back to the system.
Leadership lives in what you explain, what you repeat, and what you make safe to decide.
Your Turn
I spend a lot of time coaching early-career professionals on this exact stuff. Most conversations focus on real situations and making the unwritten parts of work easier to see.
If you’re figuring things out right now and want to talk, you’re welcome to grab time on my calendar. I’d love to meet you and hear what you’re working through.