Six thinking hats (De Bono)

Edward de Bono introduced the six thinking hats in his 1985 book of the same name. Each colour represents a particular mode of contribution. Rather than assigning people permanent roles, participants deliberately adopt a shared perspective for part of the discussion. De Bono (1985) argued that habitual patterns narrow cognition; naming and switching among different modes can make thinking more productive and collaborative. A person who normally concentrates on facts through the white hat, for example, can be invited to generate possibilities through the green hat. Changing the hat changes the requested contribution, helping a team work together with greater range and discipline.

When to use it

Use the method when a decision needs to be examined from several perspectives, when habitual positions are limiting a conversation or when a group is arguing rather than thinking together. The sequence can expose overlooked opportunities, add nuance to initial reactions, encourage lateral thought and accelerate a decision by giving each stage a clear purpose.

The hats are also useful when a group needs to practise complementing one another rather than competing for the strongest position. Observing how the team handles each mode can reveal gaps in what is communicated, how contributions are made and how well people cooperate.

Origins

Edward de Bono developed Six Thinking Hats as part of his wider work on lateral and parallel thinking. He set out the colour-coded method in his 1985 book Six Thinking Hats. Rather than asking participants to defend competing personal positions, the method invites everyone to use the same mode of thinking at the same time and then change modes together. This procedural separation of viewpoints helped the approach spread through education, facilitation and organisational decision-making.

What it is

Six Thinking Hats separates modes of thought so that a group can apply them in parallel. White gathers information, red makes room for feeling and intuition, black tests danger and weakness, yellow searches for value and feasibility, green creates alternatives, and blue directs the thinking process. When everyone uses the same mode together, the conversation is less likely to become a clash of personal positions and can move deliberately among evidence, emotion, caution, optimism and invention.

How to use it

Apply the model in a meeting, workshop or brainstorming session, or use it alone to structure personal reflection. In a group, participants normally wear the same conceptual hat at the same time. The facilitator selects a sequence that serves the decision rather than cycling mechanically.

De Bono distinguishes these modes:

• White hat (factual). Concentrate on the available data. Establish what is known, what can be learned and what information is missing.
• Red hat (emotional). State intuition and feeling without forcing them into a factual argument. Consider how other people may respond and seek to understand those reactions.
• Black hat (critical). Examine weaknesses, risks and reasons the proposal may fail. Use caution to identify what requires protection or correction.
• Yellow hat (positive). Search constructively for benefits, value and reasons the idea could work. Make optimism reasoned rather than vague.
• Green hat (creative). Suspend judgement long enough to generate alternatives, variations and novel solutions.
• Blue hat (process control). Manage the session. The chair or facilitator defines the focus, selects when to change hats and summarises the resulting thinking.

Final analysis

The model broadens a discussion by giving several legitimate forms of thought their own space. Its effectiveness depends on deliberate focus during the discussion. Select the hat that fits the purpose of the current stage: one mode may clarify goals, another may gather reactions, and another may produce options. Because everyone attends to the same aspect at once, participants can collaborate on the problem instead of defending habitual roles. This shared focus is particularly useful during change, when evidence, concerns, emotion and possibility all need to be heard without becoming confused.

Top practical tip

State the question and the purpose of each hat before beginning, then ask everyone to contribute in that mode at the same time.

Top pitfall

Do not assign colours as permanent personality labels. The value comes from every participant changing perspective, not from making one person “the critic” or “the creative.”

Further reading

De Bono, E. (1985) 6 Thinking Hats. London: Little Brown.