thinking hats essay

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats Research Paper

Introduction, works cited.

Edward de Bono is a well-known thinker who has had a great deal of impact on the way in which we think in the modern world. He was born in Malta in 1933 and has earned a number of degrees in medicine, psychology and physiology. His books have been translated into 34 different languages and he has lectured in more than 50 countries around the world. In addition, his ideas have become required reading or part of the national curriculum in a number of academic programs.

“In the University of Buenos Aires five faculties use his books as required reading. In Venezuela, by law, all school children must spend an hour a week on his programmes. In Singapore 102 secondary schools use his work. In Malaysia the senior science schools have been using his work for ten years. In the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the UK, there are thousands of schools using Dr. de Bono’s programmes for the teaching of thinking” (de Bono, 2008).

Within his writings, Edward de Bono has worked to explain the processes and reasons for creativity and the concept of lateral thinking. “Parallel thinking guides thought processes in one direction at a time so we can effectively analyze issues, generate new ideas, and make better decisions” (Popovici, 2009). To teach this process, de Bono has developed a visual analogy called “Six Hats” that helps leaders and others break down the problems faced to understand them from a wide variety of viewpoints.

The “Six Hats” approach helps leaders of any group guide thinking processes in one direction at a time so that the various elements of the issue are thoroughly considered. By applying this process, teams are able to come up with new ideas, analyze issues to discover flaws or problems and ultimately make better decisions without a great deal of time lost in argument or counterproductive strategies. By using this approach, individuals begin to understand themselves as thinkers rather than reactors and are able to develop confidence in their ability to properly analyze and address the issues of their environment.

From a leadership standpoint, Six Hats provides a valuable tool that enables one to identify the problems at hand, discover numerous means of solving these issues and explore the potential consequences of these solutions. In addition, this approach enables leaders to further analyze the potential strengths and weaknesses of these consequences to determine how much they might help or hinder the goals of the group in order to select the best viable alternative for the direction the group is trying to reach. From this point, the Six Hats approach also helps leaders determine ways of implementing the new solution reached and evaluate it later to ensure it is delivering on its expected outcomes.

By envisioning new events as opportunities and being ready to pursue each opportunity to its fullest potential, leaders using this approach are able to react quickly and appropriately to changing environments and make the most of even bad situations. Finally, use of the Six Hats approach provides the individual with the confidence and competence to naturally assume the role of facilitator in group meetings, attempting to ensure group members’ thoughts and ideas are clearly articulated and organizing meetings so as to reach solutions rather than waste time.

As the name would imply, the approach is based upon the physical analogy of six hats, each hat representing a different aspect of the problem-solving process. The analogy refers back to the need for different types of hats to be worn for different professions – the baker wore a different hat from the nanny who wore a different hat than the chimney sweep. However, de Bono’s hats are different in color rather than style with each color representing a different area of thought.

These six hats are white, red, yellow, black, green and blue (Popovici, 2009). The white hat is dedicated to considerations of the facts. It is concerned with hard data and identifying what is known as opposed to what needs to be known. The red hat is more concerned with the emotional aspects of the issue. It focuses on the feelings of the situation and works to expose gut feelings, hunches and intuitive knowledge that is often helpful in making the correct choice.

The yellow hat is dedicated to consideration of the values and benefits of the situation both as it exists and in the potential values and benefits of possible solutions brought forward. Like the yellow hat, the black hat deals with the present and the potential future, but instead of the values and benefits, the black hat looks at the probable difficulties and problems of why an idea or solution might not work. The green hat looks for creativity in discovering new alternatives and solutions to an issue. This is the brainstorming hat that discovers the new ideas to be further considered while wearing other colors. The blue hat is essentially the managing hat.

It is involved in managing the thinking process, focusing the group on the current activity and determining the next steps to be taken. It is involved in determining suitable action plans for implementation and assessment as well.

In learning about these various types of hats, it is clear to me that I tend to wear the green and red hats most often. When problems arise, I am quick to jump in with half a dozen solutions before anyone else has normally even recognized a problem exists. As these solutions are being discussed, I am also the one who typically jumps in with consideration of the feelings of the situation, alerting others when I have gut feelings about something or when another member of the team is looking uncomfortable about something being discussed. When I do adopt another hat, it’s most often the yellow hat as I look to see how this idea can benefit the situation.

For every negative someone else comes up with, I’m usually the one offering the positive. However, I was surprised to realize that I do end up wearing all of the hats at one time or another, particularly when I’m working out a problem on my own. Without having realized what I was doing, my usual process is to begin with the black hat, listing off all the reasons I’m unhappy with a particular situation in the form of complaining even if it’s just to myself.

Then I begin coming back with the green hat, throwing out all kinds of weird ideas of how to get rid of each gripe. The white hat then begins to process all this information, collating it and beginning to recognize trends and patterns in my responses and in the situation. The red hat throws in input from time to time as different ideas and solutions are responded to and the black and yellow hats go to work to discover the best outcome. Finally, the blue hat identifies when my thoughts are circling unproductively and decides on the solution to be pursued and begins to develop a plan as to how to make that happen.

This concept can be used by leaders to empower his team because it cuts out a lot of meaningless arguing and instead allows all ideas to come forward. Instead of attempting to argue for any one idea, the leader can focus discussion to discover which idea might offer the best possible outcomes, creating a positive environment for the team, allowing creativity and ownership and often discovering solutions that are ‘outside of the box’ to achieve great success.

De Bono, Peter. “Biography.” Edward de Bono’s Web. (2008). Web.

Popovici, Simona. “Six Thinking Hats from Edward de Bono.” De Bono Consulting. (2009). Web.

Comparing Freud, Adler and Jung Psychology
Carl Jung: Main Theories and Their Importance
Hackers: The Good, the Bad and the Gray
Fashion and Reasons to Love It
Father-Son Dynamics in “Fences” by A. Wilson
Anna Freud: Background, Theoretical Perspective and Contributions to the Field of Psychology
Alfred Adler: A Classic Theorist
Mahler's and Winnicott's Contributions to Psychology
Albert Bandura: An Eminent Psychologist
Sigmund Freud: His Life and Work
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, November 1). Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats. https://ivypanda.com/essays/edward-de-bonos-six-thinking-hats/

"Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats." IvyPanda , 1 Nov. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/edward-de-bonos-six-thinking-hats/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats'. 1 November.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats." November 1, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/edward-de-bonos-six-thinking-hats/.

1. IvyPanda . "Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats." November 1, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/edward-de-bonos-six-thinking-hats/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats." November 1, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/edward-de-bonos-six-thinking-hats/.

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

Additional menu

The six thinking hats method: how to use it for effective brainstorming

August 10, 2023 by MindManager Blog

Learn how to effectively use the six thinking hats method to foster diverse perspectives and improve decision-making. Discover practical tips and techniques to promote more productive and collaborative thinking in your team!

What is Edward De Bono’s six thinking hats brainstorming method?

Edward De Bono’s six thinking hats is a decision-making and problem-solving method that encourages parallel thinking and creativity.

Parallel thinking is a term coined by De Bono. It’s a collaborative thought process where people explore different perspectives on a topic, enabling a balanced and productive brainstorming environment.

The six thinking hats process involves a facilitator guiding participants through different thinking styles by symbolically wearing different hats. Using these hats, participants explore a topic, one perspective at a time, giving everyone an equal chance to contribute without debate or criticism.

We’ll dive deeper into this later, but for now, here’s a quick breakdown of what each hat represents and its related thinking style:

White hat: Objective data analysis.
Red hat: Emotional and intuitive responses.
Black hat: Critical judgment for identifying risks and flaws.
Yellow hat: Positive thinking for exploring benefits.
Green hat: Creative and innovative ideas.
Blue hat: Facilitation and process control.

In all, the six thinking hats process provides a framework that improves collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving by leveraging the power of parallel thinking and tapping into group intellect.

The 6 benefits of six thinking hats

There are many benefits of the six thinking hats brainstorming technique that may be of interest when problem-solving and decision-making. Some of these include:

1. Enhanced creativity

The six thinking hats method stimulates creative thinking by encouraging participants to explore various perspectives, generate new ideas, and think outside the box.

By wearing different hats, individuals are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and explore uncommon ideas. Overall, the method promotes nontraditional thinking and unlocks fresh ideas and possibilities.

2. Balanced thinking

Each of the six hats ensures balanced thinking by considering all angles of a topic, including:

Facts
Emotion
Critical judgments
Positive thinking
Creativity
Process control

When all of these factors are considered, the results are more balanced and fairer. This allows participants to see the topic, idea, or problem comprehensively.

3. Improved collaboration

The structured framework of the six thinking hats facilitates effective collaboration by ensuring that all participants can contribute to the discussion. Furthermore, they have the opportunity to share their viewpoints without conflicts or interruptions.

4. Efficient decision-making

The method enables faster and more efficient decision-making by systematically analyzing different aspects, risks, benefits, and alternative possibilities.

By doing so, the method helps streamline the decision-making process, reducing the time spent on deliberation and enabling timely outcomes. Moreover, the approach minimizes the risk of overlooking important factors, which helps to create solid solutions.

5. Reduced bias and subjectivity

The six thinking hats technique asks participants to temporarily set aside their personal biases and judgments and focus on the specific thinking style that their appointed hat represents.

By encouraging a temporary shift in thinking, individuals can approach a problem or idea with an objective mindset. This enables them to consider perspectives based on logical reasoning rather than personal biases.

6. Increased productivity

The six hats process provides a structured and organized approach to brainstorming , ideation, and planning, which increases productivity.

During a session, discussions remain concentrated on the overall goal. By channeling efforts towards a common objective, participants can streamline their thought processes, eliminate distractions, and maintain focus throughout the session.

This increased clarity contributes to heightened productivity as team members use their collective intelligence to achieve outcomes quickly.

The six thinking hats step-by-step process

The six thinking hats process, developed by Edward De Bono, is a structured method for brainstorming, problem-solving , and decision-making.

The process involves the following steps, participants, facilitation, and tools:

Define the focus. The session begins by clearly defining the problem, idea, or topic of discussion that requires brainstorming and decision-making.
Select participants. Select a diverse group of individuals who bring different perspectives, expertise, and roles to the discussion.
Introduce the six hats. The chosen facilitator introduces the concept of the six thinking hats and explains the meaning and role of each hat color. Participants are briefed on the thinking styles associated with each hat and the purpose they serve during the session.
Assign hat roles. The facilitator assigns specific hat roles to participants. Each person is responsible for wearing a particular hat for a given period.
Hat rotation. The session progresses with hat rotation, where participants switch roles by changing hats at designated intervals. This rotation ensures that every participant has the chance to contribute from different perspectives and prevents individuals from becoming fixated on a single thinking style.
Hat exploration. While wearing a specific hat, participants share their thoughts, ideas, observations, or questions related to the topic. The facilitator guides the discussion, ensuring that the focus remains on the thinking style represented by the current hat.
Facilitator’s role. The facilitator plays a crucial role in managing the session. They guide the flow of the discussion, enforce hat rotation, encourage active participation, and maintain a balanced and inclusive environment. The facilitator also ensures that all participants have an opportunity to express their views and that the session stays on track.
Tools and visual aids. The brainstorming process can be supported by visual aids so that participants can jot down key points, ideas, or observations associated with their hat. Visual representations help in organizing thoughts and summarizing outcomes.
Summarize and analyze. At the end of the session, the facilitator summarizes the key insights, observations, ideas, and conclusions from each thinking style. This summary helps to consolidate the collective understanding, identify patterns, and inform subsequent decision-making processes.

The six thinking hats colors and what they represent

Each hat in the six thinking hats method represents a distinct thinking style. The collective use of these hats during a brainstorming session facilitates the evaluation of ideas and well-rounded decision-making.

Red hat

The red hat represents emotions and intuition. When wearing the red hat, participants can express their feelings, gut instincts, and subjective opinions without the need for justification.

This hat encourages the open sharing of personal perspectives and taps into the intuitive and emotional aspects of decision-making. It helps to foster a more holistic understanding of the topic at hand.

Green hat

The green hat symbolizes creativity and new ideas. Participants wearing the green hat are encouraged to think innovatively, develop fresh ideas, and explore alternative possibilities.

This hat promotes divergent thinking, encourages brainstorming, and stimulates creative solutions. It adds a spark of inventiveness to the session.

Blue hat

The blue hat represents process control and organization. It plays the role of a facilitator in the brainstorming session.

The blue hat wearer manages the overall thinking process, guides the discussion, and ensures the session stays on track. They summarize outcomes, coordinate the contributions of different hats, and keep the session focused and productive.

Yellow hat

The yellow hat signifies positive thinking. Participants wearing the yellow hat focus on exploring the benefits, advantages, and positive aspects of the ideas or proposal.

Yellow hat wearers look for value, prospects, and optimistic perspectives. In addition, they help to create a constructive and forward-thinking atmosphere.

White hat

The white hat is associated with facts and information. It represents a logical and objective thinking style.

Participants wearing the white hat gather and analyze data, facts, and information relevant to the topic. They provide an objective foundation and add evidence-based insights, helping the group make well-informed decisions.

Black hat

The black hat embodies critical judgment. Participants wearing the black hat take a cautious and critical approach.

They identify potential risks, flaws, and negative aspects of ideas or proposals. The black hat thinking style aims to identify pitfalls, challenge assumptions, and encourage careful evaluation.

When to use the six thinking hats method

The six thinking hats method provides a framework for collaborative brainstorming that maximizes the potential of a team’s collective intelligence. As a result, sessions may be more creative and effective.

The six hats thinking method is particularly useful in situations where:

A team needs to generate new ideas or solutions.
There are diverse opinions or conflicts among team members.
A comprehensive evaluation of ideas is required.
Emotional or intuitive aspects need to be considered alongside logical reasoning.
The decision-making process needs to be more objective and rational.

Six thinking hats example

To understand the six thinking hats method more fully, here’s an example of how the process may play out in a real-life scenario:

Team : The marketing team at a tech company.
Objective : Generate innovative marketing campaign ideas for a new product launch.
Process : The team leader introduces the six thinking hats method and assigns specific hat roles to each team member.
Red hat (emotions and intuition): The individual wearing the red hat openly expresses their gut feelings and emotional responses towards the marketing campaign ideas at hand. They discuss their personal inclinations and share their enthusiasm or concerns about specific campaign concepts.
Green hat (creativity) : The green hat team member freely shares creative marketing campaign ideas without criticism. They generate diverse ideas, such as viral videos, interactive social media campaigns, and experiential events.
White hat (facts and information): The team transitions to the person wearing the white hat. Here, the individual analyzes the feasibility and gathers data on the market campaign ideas. They consider budget constraints, target audience demographics, and competitor analysis.
Black hat (critical judgment): Moving to the black hat, this individual critically evaluates the ideas on the table. They identify potential risks, such as legal implications, negative public perception, or budget overruns. They weigh the pros and cons of each idea and highlight any drawbacks or challenges.
Yellow hat (positive thinking): The person wearing the yellow hat focuses on the positive aspects of the campaign ideas. They discuss potential benefits, advantages, and opportunities for each concept. They also highlight the possible impact on brand awareness, customer engagement, and market differentiation
Blue hat (process control): This team member takes on the role of session manager. They summarize the key insights and guide the discussion toward the most promising ideas. They also highlight the most feasible concepts from the overall hat discussion.
Results : The brainstorming session allowed the marketing team to explore various creative marketing campaign ideas. The team considered diverse perspectives, backed by data and discussion.

The session facilitated inclusive participation and balanced the exploration of ideas. As a result, the team identified three promising campaign concepts:

A gamified social media contest.
An influencer-driven product launch event.
An interactive augmented reality experience.

The team left the session with a clear direction for further developing and refining these ideas. This led to a more informed and effective marketing strategy for the new product launch.

Unleash the power of the six thinking hats method for brainstorming and take your ideation sessions to new heights!

Explore the benefits of MindManager®, the ultimate mind mapping tool, to unlock innovative ideas, foster collaboration, and make informed decisions.

Six thinking hats frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Below are a few commonly asked questions about the six thinking hats brainstorming method:

What is six thinking hats?

The six thinking hats is a method developed by Edward De Bono for structured thinking and decision-making. It involves wearing six metaphorical hats, each representing a specific thinking style.

This technique explores ideas, analyzes information, considers emotions, and facilitates well-rounded and effective discussions.

How do teams use six thinking hats?

Teams use the six thinking hats to develop unique perspectives and ideas. By assigning different hats to each participant, teams can work together to think outside the box and enjoy efficient and productive brainstorming, problem-solving, and decision-making.

What are the benefits of six thinking hats?

The benefits of six thinking hats include:

Enhanced creativity
Balanced perspectives
Improved decision-making
Efficient collaboration
Effective problem-solving
Increased productivity

Ready to take the next step?

MindManager helps boost collaboration and productivity among remote and hybrid teams to achieve better results, faster.

Why choose MindManager?

MindManager® helps individuals, teams, and enterprises bring greater clarity and structure to plans, projects, and processes. It provides visual productivity tools and mind mapping software to help take you and your organization to where you want to be.