Recently, I came across a file tucked away in my published articles folder that gave me an “oh, yeah” moment.

The children’s magazine article was about Six Thinking Hats. This creative problem-solving method is something I’ve used for years as a facilitator and project leader. And it’s helpful for sifting through possibilities in my writing and family life as well.

Named in the spirit of putting on our thinking caps, Six Thinking Hats is a useful way to sort through different viewpoints about ideas and issues. Creativity researcher Edward de Bono developed it based on studying how people problem-solve. He discovered our brains are wired to use different thinking moods. But our thoughts can easily get jumbled or stuck. We may only focus on things we don’t like about a situation. Or maybe we like an idea so much we ignore how it could go wrong.

de Bono also used the term parallel thinking and lateral thinking to describe this method. That’s because it involves thinking about the idea or issue with one thinking mode/hat at a time. This keeps us focused on the positives, negatives and so on at the same time instead of jumping around in our minds. In a group, it can give space for more viewpoints to be shared rather than one voice dominating. We listen to each other better.

How to Use Six Thinking Hats

First, the thinking modes are:

• Yellow Hat: List the good about the situation, or what you like about the idea
• Purple Hat (sometimes called Black Hat): List things you don’t like about the situation, or what worries you about the idea
• White Hat: List facts about the problem, or what information you would need before trying the idea
• Red Hat: Share your feelings about the problem or new idea
• Green Hat: Share any new ideas that come to mind as you think it through
• Blue Hat: Worn by the designated facilitator for group conversations to keep the conversation parallel; review what you have learned and decide next steps

Now, let’s use a current idea I’m bouncing around as an example: whether to rejoin my neighborhood YMCA as a member.

• Yellow Hat (positives): High-quality equipment, interesting classes, could get some personal training advice, could help propel my fitness/health goals, strong sense of community, the vibe fits me, our younger daughter works there and has a staff membership
• Purple Hat (negatives, worries): Going enough to justify the cost, it would mean carving out time from my limited capacity
• White Hat (facts, information needed): Nail down the current membership costs, look at my schedule, is there an upcoming class that I want to try?
• Red Hat (feelings): More excited than worried, curious
• Green Hat (new ideas or adaptations): A reminder to self that I can make it a trial period and stop if it isn’t working
• Blue Hat (learnings and next steps): I miss the Y’s sense of community, I could use some of my evening time and it might help me sleep better, gather my needed info from White Hat and decide this month while they are running a fall discount

Flexible Uses

You can use Six Thinking Hats on your own like I did in the example, or with others. It’s a valuable way to bring some structure to a discussion about a challenge or need. And I like creative problem-solving methods that don’t feel suited only for a work setting. This one is definitely portable.

• Writers – you might use this technique to evaluate project ideas or how you want to structure a work.
• Teachers – you can use Six Thinking Hats in the classroom as part of developing critical thinking skills. Here’s a video from a school in England about how they incorporate it.
• Parents and Kids – I’ve tested this in my own home and it’s useful in getting to decisions and helping everyone feel heard on an issue (I just have to be subtle because my husband doesn’t like to be “facilitated.” 😊)

Six Thinking Hats Resources

• You can learn a lot more on the de Bono Group’s webpage.
• I’ve added a handout to my Creative Thinking Resources page that includes a couple of youth-oriented examples.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you, or if you have questions about how it works!