How to Use the Six Thinking Hats Methodology
Understanding Each of the Six Hats
Each of the Six Thinking Hats has a very distinctive ‘vibe’ and represents a different way of thinking about a problem or topic.
Yellow Hat – Golden sunshine!
A team will put on the Yellow Hat to think about the positive aspects and outcomes of a situation or project. They will ask questions such as “What are the benefits? What can go right?”
Key phrases: Looking on the bright side, feeling optimistic, considering the benefits of the situation, thinking positively about outcomes, finding harmonious solutions.
Green Hat – Brand new green shoots sprouting!
A team will put on the Green Hat to think about new ways of doing things and to get creative in their approach. They will ask questions like “What could we try that is different from usual? How can we view the issue from a fresh perspective?”
Key phrases: Growth-oriented, new ideas, fresh energy, creativity, getting curious, thinking outside the box, breaking new ground.
White Hat – All about the facts.
A team wearing the White Hat is in an information gathering mode. They will ask questions like “What are the facts of the matter? What data do we have as evidence?”
Key phrases: Information gathering, analyzing data, paperwork, identifying any gaps in records or knowledge, sticking to the facts, what we know about a situation.
Red Hat – Pure emotion.
When wearing the Red Hat, team members are in the realm of pure emotion. They will ask questions such as “How do I feel about the project when I think of it? What is my gut reaction to the solution we have come up with?”
Key phrases: Emotionally driven, focus on feelings, listen to intuition, pay attention to hunches and gut reactions.
Blue Hat – The big picture.
The Blue Hat gets everyone focused on the big picture. A team might ask questions like “How shall we approach making a decision about this? What is the strategic significance of this issue?”
Key phrases: Blue sky thinking, overview, thinking about the thinking, keep the goal in sight, conductor of the orchestra.
Black Hat – Discernment.
When the whole team is wearing the Black Hat, it is time to think critically and use discernment. A team might ask questions like “What are the pitfalls? How can we minimise the risks?”
Key phrases: Using judgment, caution, critical thinking, identifying potential challenges or problems, worst case scenario, risk assessment.
Basic Method for Using the Six Thinking Hats
If working alone, you will go through this process by yourself. If you are in a group, it could be useful to designate or engage a facilitator to guide you through the process and keep an eye on the time. The process is basically the same in either scenario.
Here is a step-by-step guide to walk you through using the Six Thinking Hats:
- Identify the topic for discussion. Choose a topic or issue that you would like to explore using the six hats and make the group aware of it.
- Review the Six Thinking Hats. Familiarize yourself or the group with the characteristics of each of the six hats so that everyone involved is clear on what kind of thinking is represented by each hat.
- Decide on the order in which you will use the hats. The sequence that you choose for exploring the different hats will help shape the progression of your thinking. You can choose to plan the whole sequence out and stick to it, or you might decide to plan only the first part of the sequence and improvise the rest as you go along.
- Set a time limit for each hat. Think about how much time you wish to spend on the process and then assign time limits for each hat. This is really up to you as a group. However, spending just a few minutes on each and moving through at a reasonable pace can have a positive impact on the thinking process.
- Explore each hat in turn. Move through all six hats in your chosen order, trying to remain focused on the parameters of each hat and not to wander outside the defined way of thinking for each. You may wish to nominate someone in the group to help you stay within the parameters of each hat and keep the process to time.
By the end of the Six Thinking Hats process, you should have a rich tapestry of perspectives on your chosen issue or topic and feel like you have really explored it from every angle. Each person involved in the process will have had the opportunity to share their thinking from each of the six viewpoints.
Adapting the Six Thinking Hats Sequence for Different Purposes
The Six Thinking Hats allows you to design your thinking process before you start, choosing which hat to ‘try on’ in which order. You can also think about whether certain hats need to be used more than once in the sequence.
It is usually recommended to start and end sequences with the Blue Hat. The group decides together how they will think about the problem at hand and then at the end, they evaluate how the thinking process has worked. It often makes sense to place a White Hat session early in the sequence to gather and examine all the data.
You can choose how much time to spend on each hat. Often, the Red Hat (emotions) time allowance is shorter because it is really a momentary gut response that is required and when too much time is given, people may move into analyzing. The Green Hat can take up more time as it is opening up several new possibilities.
