Have you come across the 6 Thinking Hats model of Edward de Bono?  Edward de Bono is acknowledged as a guru, a world authority on teaching thinking as a skill.  In one of his books entitled ‘Six Thinking Hats’, he describes an interesting way in which we can all improve our thinking skills.

Thinking is one of the greatest skills which we possess.  Yet it can get in the way sometimes, as some of us think in habitual ways (maybe we all do) and don’t readily explore all the options available to us.  Also whilst one of us is thinking in one mode another may be thinking in a different mode and that can cause confusion in our communication process.

 
The idea of the six hats is to simplify a task by allowing the thinker to concentrate on one thing at a time.  The second benefit of using the thinking hats method is it allows a conscious switch in thinking mode at appropriate times.

Edward de Bono identifies six different modes of thinking that are represented by a different coloured hat each one is important in its own right although it is more likely to be powerful and effective if used separately from the other thinking styles in the first instance. The different types of thinking can then be brought together consciously at decision making stage.

The idea of the hats is interesting, as by ‘putting on a hat’ we assume the associated thinking style and our thoughts and comments are appropriate to that style. In this way we separate out our thinking styles in order to be more effective overall.  Yes, the concept of hats may seem artificial yet this is one of their greatest benefits as they provide a formality and discipline to the everyday skill of thinking.

The 6 Thinking Hats are:

I use the hats in a particular order for a problem solving situation/meeting. 

 
Firstly I don the white hat, this is the facts and figures.  Let’s get all the givens out on the table.

 Then I put on the green hat, what are the possible solutions.  A brainstorm can help here and you can brainstorm on your own.

Next is the yellow hat, what do I like about  each of the solutions.

Then the black hat, what don’t I like about the solutions.

Then the red hat, what is my gut feeling/my hunch telling me, what am I feeling emotionally.

Finally I put on the blue hat and this is the planning, organising hat.  What do I need to do to put the solution into action, what are the next steps.

So next time you are thinking through a problem or have a decision to make or are having a discussion that isn’t progressing towards a conclusion take up a hat and discipline your thinking process and be amazed at the results.