Soft skills Series -Day 5-Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
Life and work will always throw challenges at you. The question is: Do you react quickly without thinking, or do you pause, analyze, and decide wisely? ✨ Objectives: 🔹 Identify and analyze problems clearly: Many times, we react to the symptom instead of the real problem. Example: If sales are low, the real problem might not be the product but poor marketing or weak customer service. 🔹 Differentiate between praise, criticism, and feedback: Not all criticism is negative. Example: A colleague says, “Your report has good data, but the formatting is confusing.” That’s feedback, not an attack. Learn to use it to improve. 🔹 Make ethical decisions under pressure: Sometimes the easy way isn’t the right way. Example: A manager might be pressured to fake numbers to impress investors — but integrity is always the better choice for long-term success. 💡 Activities to Try: - STAR Method Role-Play: Pick a challenge (like missing a project deadline). - Practice explaining it with - Situation, - Task, - Action, and - Result. - This helps you structure your thinking. - Workplace Ethics Case Studies: Discuss with friends: What would you do if you saw a colleague cheating on expenses? - Example 1: Project Deadline A team has a project due on Thursday. Suddenly, one member gets sick. - Some people focus only on the problem: “We can’t finish on time.” - Critical thinking asks: “What’s truly important? Can we redistribute the tasks and still make it? Or politely request an extension from the client?” ✨ Lesson: Clear thinking helps you separate panic from solutions. Example 2: Customer Complaint A customer says: “This device is bad and doesn’t work.” - The quick reaction: “Return it, we’ll give you a refund.” - Critical thinking asks: “Wait, what exactly isn’t working? Is it the battery? Is it how the customer is using it?” Maybe the solution is simply explaining how to use it, instead of losing the customer. ✨ Lesson: Gathering information before making a decision saves both time and money.