Critical Thinking with Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence has been identified as a fundamental leadership skill in the 2025's. Using emotional information appropriately builds relations and supports critical thinking and problem solving. Decisions are confidently made that are ethical, authentic and empathetic.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyse information objectively and make a reasoned judgement. Good critical thinking involves the evaluation of sources, such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings. Good critical thinking also considers unconscious bias and how this impacts upon logical thinking and systems thinking.

Critical thinking and problem solving abilities are among the most sought-after skills in almost every industry and workplace. Often thinking is considered separate from emotions, but good critical thinkers use emotional intelligence to draw reasonable conclusions from a range of information sources determining what is useful and what isn't. Using emotional intelligence as a part of critical thinking means that the impact of this thinking is considered with empathy.

Critical thinking is often confined to systems thinking, but to be an effective critical thinker involves understanding how emotions can help and hinder thinking processes. This course explores the connection between critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence skills considering how they can be applied to strategic thinking skills in pragmatic and applicable ways. Combining critical thinking with emotional intelligence makes for a powerful combination.