The 4 types of thinking leaders need

1. Expert thinking

Expert thinking is rooted in the knowledge of a particular field developed through years of experience, training, and practice, Grant and McCann write. Experts can recognize patterns and engage in finely honed habits, relying on mental shortcuts and assumptions that allow them to work quickly and accurately.

Typically, novices observe situations more superficially, as they lack the knowledge to know exactly what to pay attention to, expending effort to do things experts could do quickly, Grant and McCann write.

Companies are frequently good at turning novices into experts. "Most often, when we say we want our people to think more critically, what we really want is for them to do more expert thinking," Grant and McCann write.

This type of thinking is useful in situations that require quick, automatic responses based on well-defined sets of rules or situations where previous experience and knowledge can provide a clear solution. However, it's important to note that being an expert in one field doesn't make someone an expert in others.

2. Critical thinking

Critical thinking requires a person to stop their automatic stream of expert thinking to examine and question the underlying assumptions that our expert conclusions rest on, Grant and McCann write.

When we think critically, we evaluate the quality of the information we have, determining whether it's current, accurate, and comprehensive. To do this, it's important to actively seek out and consider multiple perspectives, specifically ones as different from our own as possible.

3. Strategic thinking

Strategic thinking is focused on taking a long-term, high-level perspective, looking beyond the immediate situation and the limits of our current ways of knowing and doing, Grant and McCann write.

"Strategic thinking's defining characteristic is the use of imagination — a willingness to ask 'What could be?' or 'What if?'" Grant and McCann write.

Using imagination and asking, "what if?" allows an organization to move beyond the status quo and shape their environment, instead of being reactive and adapting.

This type of thinking can be useful when making a big decision that will have long-term consequences shaping or constraining your future, or when you're thinking about your company's future or anticipating how market forces and customer needs could change.

4. Systems thinking

Systems thinking focuses on the interconnectedness of things and involves understanding how the different parts of a system interact with each other and how changes within the system can affect other parts, Grant and McCann write.

This type of thinking requires a knowledge of interdependencies and the ability to see all of the elements within a system both simultaneously and holistically.

Systems thinking often relies on the use of visualization to help our brains hold many potentially complicated parts of one system in mind, Grant and McCann write.

This type of thinking can be useful when you need to understand a complex situation with interconnected elements, when you want to identify any patterns or relationships within a system, or when you want to design for or take into account qualities possessed by a system that aren't possessed by any one specific part but are created by the collective sum of its parts.

"These invaluable types of thinking are essential tools of modern leadership, and each is absolutely something that can and should be taught in every organization," Grant and McCann write. "Understanding what each type of thinking is for, and when to use it, provides leaders with a common language and a way to choose the right tool for the right job at the right time."

However, Grant and McCann note that "every type of thinking is best done in teams, not as individuals. There is no thinking that isn't made more thorough, more accurate, and more innovative by the presence of other minds, offering different perspectives and together, asking even better questions."