The thought modes activated by the Six Thinking Hats
The "Six Thinking Hats" technique uses hats to associate each of them with a mode of functioning of our brain, which is therefore called to function on that mode.
The advantage of this technique, which allows you to implement the so-called "Parallel Thinking", is to allow those who use it to use and change thought mode in an elegant, rapid and effective way and, in the case of the use of hats by a group of thinkers, also easily perceptible by the various participants in the thought process, without the need to use long and complex linguistic expressions (as it is sufficient to summarily evoke the use of a hat of a certain colour), and to avoid the simultaneous use of different modes of thought which prevents the optimal exploitation of the intelligence we all have.
The main characteristics of the thought modes associated with each hat are illustrated below.
The White Hat
It is "the factual hat" or "the hat of facts". It is concerned directly with data and information.
The Red Hat
It is "the emotional hat" o "the hat for the heart". It is concerned with feelings, emotions, intuition.
The Yellow Hat
It is "the optimist’s hat". Represents the logical, positive aspects of thinking. The yellow hat looks for benefits and value.
Its functioning is similar to that of a metal detector that searches for hidden precious metals, that is, not easily detectable using the common way of thinking.
The Black Hat
It is the "the judge’s hat" (who sanctions and blocks those who violate the legal rules), points out the risks in our thinking. It also highlights the challenges. It is one of the most powerful hats and one of the main goals of the courses is to teach how to exploit its potential and not to abuse it.
The Green Hat
It is "the creative hat" or "the hat of creativity". It fulfils its functions by challenging the status quo and searching for alternatives and opportunities.
It is used to generate new ideas that help us accomplish our goals.
The "Lateral Thinking" tools allow us to exploit the potential of this hat to the maximum.
The Blue Hat
It is "the conductor’s hat". It is concerned with control, the organization of the thinking process and the use of the other hats.
The blue hat is concerned in particular with focus, as it decides what you want to think, with technique, as it chooses the right hat (and the right sequence of hats) or the right Lateral Thinking tool to use and with time, as sets time limits and works within them.
The "Six Thinking Hats" technique can only be effectively used after having acquired adequate knowledge of both the functionality of the individual hats and the methods of their sequential use, which requires the correct selection of the hats that make up the sequence, the determination of their order of use and the duration of the entire sequence.
An introductory video by Professor Edward de Bono is available in the following box.
