5 critical thinking team building activities for adults [research-based]

This just in: Critical thinking is one of the top 10 job skills of the future.

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While that's not entirely shocking, most leaders aren't sure how to develop critical thinking. If you're one of those people, we've compiled five activities that will sharpen your team's skills and bring them closer together.

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Dive deeper: Reverse-engineering Google - Team building for high-performance teams.

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How employers see critically thinking employees 

Thanks to critical thinking, you can stand out during the recruitment process and excel throughout your career. But what makes a powerful workplace critical thinker?

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In 2020, the Journal of Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues (JESI) published a phenomenography study dedicated to an average employer's expectations from their workers. 

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It identified 3 most-valued "categories" of critical thinking at the workplace: 

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1. Decisions to act here and now. Quick decision-making makes problem-solving and crisis management easier. To master this type of critical thinking, you need to take responsibility for your actions and opinions. 
2. Verified and assured decisions to act. Here, team players driven by the company's values stand out. Learn to manage conflicts, highlight each others' strengths, and work as a team for the good of the organization. 
3. Innovative decisions for operational improvement. This aspect of critical thinking encourages you to work with others and socialize, finding solutions that will improve the existing processes in your company. 

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As you can imagine, it's pretty difficult to come up with a training that would cover all three specifics at once. Instead, work on each of the critical thinking categories on their own.

Critical thinking team building games to practice acting here and now

According to the JESI research, this type of critical thinking directly relates to your internal inspiration and courage. You need to believe that what you decide is right and act accordingly. 

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Classical team building activities like survival simulation and escape rooms are perfect for this practice. 

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1. Take part in survival simulation activities

Survival simulation challenges your on-the-spot decision-making. This type of exercise puts you in situations where you need to think fast as if your life depends on it. 

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2. Go to an escape room

Carefully scripted challenges of modern escape rooms work similarly to the survival simulations. It forces you to act here and now, knowing that your decisions will affect the rest of the team.

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This kind of team building is perfect for remote teams, as you can do the most sophisticated escape rooms online! 

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Critical thinking team building activities for adults who want to make verified decisions

This type of employer-oriented critical thinking helps you understand professional activities better. Here, it's not just about finding the right solution. Instead, it's about discovering as many solutions as possible and justifying them. 

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Try team building activities dedicated to research and group problem-solving, like the timely classics: SWOT analysis or group debates. 

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3. Make a SWOT analysis together

SWOT analysis is a popular marketing framework for analyzing a project's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It encourages research, outside-of-the-box reasoning, and teamwork. So it also makes a fruitful critical-thinking team building experience! 

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4. Hold a debate

Another great way to practice making verified decisions is by holding a debate-style team building event. This way, you'll get valuable experience backing up your statements with facts. Also, you will practice public speaking and argumentation - the other two highly-valued professional skills.

Critical thinking team building activities to promote innovation

You can use critical thinking to drive innovation and change. Innovators feel safe sharing their ideas and are ready to become leaders. For this, focus on team building activities that promote communication, creativity, and empathy. 

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There are many team building activities for work that promote these behaviors. But today, we wanted to share the one that encourages innovation particularly well:

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5. Create a vision board with your team

Think of a company you'd be proud to represent. Brainstorm the values it stands for. Present the opportunities it opens for the employees and the clients. Highlight the good things you already have. And think about what you could do as a team to turn it into reality. 

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This powerful team building exercise works on many levels:

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• It allows you to appreciate the benefits you may be taking for granted;
• It demonstrates what goals and values you share with your team;
• It creates a sense of direction for the positive impact you could have on the company;
• It promotes creativity, critical thinking, and trust among the participants. 

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All these critical thinking team building activities work for remote teams as well as the on-site ones and are affordable! All you need is a reliable virtual conference platform (like Veertly!) and some of the must-have software to make your online team building feel like a face-to-face one. 

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Have fun and drive the change you want to see!