CRITICAL THINKING SERIES NO. 17 – THE SIX THINKING HATS

Albert Einstein is famous for stating, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Critical Thinking is a set of enabling skills to help someone (and teams) examine problems from multiple perspectives, and to stop the cycle of repeated failure, or enduring mediocrity, to enable effective positive change. Problem Solving sometimes reminds me of the five blind men each trying to describe an elephant by examining a different part of the animal. The blind man who examines the leg may think he’s found a tree. The man examining the trunk thought it a large snake. The man grasping the tail thought it a rope, the man touching the ear thought it a fan, and the man pressing the side of the animal thought it a wall. Only be combining the perspectives of the five men would you arrive that the object was an elephant. So, too, in problem solving – considering and coordinating multiple perspectives to arrive at the best solution. One of the best methods to do this is “Six Thinking Hats.”

WHAT IS “SIX THINKING HATS”?

Teams and companies that examine problems from various perspectives, through Critical Thinking, are often the most successful.

The "Six Thinking Hats" approach to problem solving was published by Edward de Bono in his 1985 book of the same name. de Bono was a Maltese physician, psychologist, and philosopher, who developed the technique to use in his work advising government agencies. He published his methodology to share as a practical tool for everyday problem-solving.

The “Six Thinking Hats” approach? helps a team examine a challenging problem from six different perspectives. The methodology moves you beyond your instinctive method of problem-solving, to enable exploration of a range of perspectives. Use of this methodology should remove the argument of “which perspective is right or wrong”, and instead allow an objective study of the problem, resulting in a complete set of insights from which to decide next steps.

HOW DOES THE SIX THINKING HATS METHODOLOGY WORK?

The recommended process is as follows:

1. DEFINE THE ISSUE TO DISCUSS.
2. ASSIGN THE BLUE HAT TO ONE PERSON. The blue hat is the meeting leader who starts and ends the discussion and announces when it’s time to change hats.
3. AS A GROUP, DISCUSS EACH HAT, ONE AT A TIME – de Bono recommended each participant spend one minute addressing the problem from each hat. You can extend the time, but the goal should be to keep the discussions brief and focused.
4. DEFINE THE OUTCOME – By the end of the discussion the team should be able to make a decision and move on to next steps.

WHAT ARE THE SIX HATS AND THEIR PERSPECTIVES?

1)??? BLUE HAT – MODERATOR – Think of the Blue Hat as the moderator, or perhaps the traffic cop. They start and end the meetings. The frame the agenda and set the agenda. They announce when hats change, poses timely questions, keeps the discussion on track, and requests the outcome of the discussion.

2)??? WHITE HAT – INFORMATION – The White Hat is the “fact leader”. This role remains neutral during the discussion, only dealing with what is definitively known. Assumptions are not allowed, unless proposed in the context clarifying that the assumption is not based on fact.

• What do we know?
• What do we need to find out?
• How do we acquire the missing information?

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3)?? RED HAT – EMOTIONS AND INSTINCT – The Red Hat is the raw emotion perspective. This role normalizes and legitimizes gut feelings. Emotions are welcomed, and need not be explained or justified. It’s best to spend as little time wearing the Red Hat as raw emotions quickly dissipate, corrupted by the need to rationalize or defend.

• How do you feel about this issue?
• What is your gut reaction?
• Do you have any hunches?

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4)?? BLACK HAT – RISKS / CAUTION – The Black Hat voices caution. This is the role of risk assessment and mitigation. This is the hat that can save money, cycle time, ?and avoid problems. De Bono labeled the Black Hat as “the most valuable of all the hats, and certainly the most used.”

• Should we move forward on this decision?
• What are some of the weaknesses of this option?
• If we choose this path, what could go wrong?

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5)??? YELLOW HAT – BENEFITS – Think of the Yellow Hat as the “Sunshine Hat” – what is going to get better if we do this? The role of the Yellow Hat is to identify the benefits of an idea and think of an action plan to bring the idea to fruition. De Bono warns that Yellow Hat thinking is harder than black hat thinking because humans are so naturally sensitive to danger. The Yellow Hat is valuable because it requires the wearer to find value in an idea.

• How could we make this idea work?
• What are the strengths of this option?
• If we choose this path, what could go right?

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6)??? GREEN HAT – CREATIVITY – People tend to quickly focus on the first or the easiest option. Unfortunately there may be better and more creative options out there that are missed. The role of the Green Hat is to encourage creative solutions. This could be the most fun role – the bearer of the Green Hat gets to promote ?“Outside-The-Box” thinking, and help drive creation of solutions that address the Black Hat’s challenges.

• What is interesting about this idea?
• Where could this idea lead to?
• What are some alternatives? ?

At the end of the exercise, hopefully your team will have come up with multiple effective yet creative solutions. Beyond that, a benefit of a “Six Thinking Hat” exercise is the sense of community it drives. All team members get to participate and share their opinions. Everyone gets a chance to practice Critical Thinking. And solutions are arrived at through open discussion, with an action plan everyone agrees on.

As Robert Ditts shared, “Flexibility comes from having multiple choices; wisdom comes from having multiple perspectives.” The “Six Thinking Hats” methodology is a key method in the Critical Thinking toolbox to help drive that wisdom.