The Six Thinking Hats Technique by Edward de Bono

Perhaps it sounds familiar to many of us and most of us have helped us solve problems in a more original way. The six thinking hats technique developed by Edward de Bono is a very effective communication and reasoning tool. Thanks to it, we see our personal realities from various approaches and perspectives, while applying lateral thinking.

Edward de Bono is now 84 years old, but he is still active. This Maltese psychologist and professor at the University of Oxford has given us, with his now classic works, a more than appreciable legacy in the field of creativity, highlighting the potential of thought and enriching the world of managementthose processes that characterize the world of organizations.

What are we talking about?

It is very possible that everyone has already tried the six thinking hats technique on some occasion. This dynamic is very classic to promote communication in companiesalthough it is also usually proposed as an exercise in universities and in school classrooms with children to teach them to think better and reach agreements as a group.

Something that Bono transmits to us, both with this well-known technique of the 6 hats and in other of his approaches contained in books, such as “Practical thinking”, “Fluid logic” or “Lateral thinking: manual of creativity”, is that We should all learn to think better. Furthermore, within that “we should” it actually recognizes a fact, and that is that we can do it, that we also learn to think.

Opening perspectives to other approaches, learning to be more flexible, reflective and original in our reasoning schemes, would allow us not only to make better decisions, but also It would improve the quality of our relationships and our productivity.

Six hats technique

Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats technique always follows the same pattern, the same strategy. However, no matter how simple it may seem at first glance, This dynamic still has a very positive impact on our brain, since what we are carrying out is a “training.” in every way so that you learn to think better.

One aspect that de Bono suggests to us in his book of the “6 hats” is that something as simple as putting a hat on your head constitutes in many cases a deliberate act. Thought should also follow this rule, “be deliberate and very careful.” Thinking well, to live better, is a rule to follow and, therefore, there is nothing better than using “several hats” to achieve a varied, agile and creative style of thinking.

So, what this technique seeks is represent six directions of thought contained in six imaginary hats. When a problem appears or we try to make a decision, each hat will offer us a premise, a vision, a specific frame. Once we have used them all proactively, we will feel more empowered to make a decision.

Let’s now see what each hat teaches us.

The white hat

This hat will teach us to see things from an objective, neutral and bias-free point of view. The thinking style that we will apply will be based on the analysis of data, on the contrast of the information provided without making value judgments.

This approach will allow us not to get emotionally involved in a decision and move away. In this way we can see it more clearly and sharply without emotional distortions. Taking distance is important and fundamental to making a good decision, so with this hat we would distance ourselves as much as necessary to reach an objective point of view.

The white hat looks for concrete facts. It does not interpret or give opinions. It remains neutral. It takes distance.

black hat

The black hat represents the negative-logical and teaches us to understand why certain things can go wrong, not work, or not happen the way we think.The six hats technique also helps us to be critical and see the negative side of things to be more realistic.Sometimes, it is necessary to be aware of adverse or complex facts, those dead-end walls that must be accepted to find more valid exits. Likewise, this type of thinking is also nourished by our past experience, the one that reminds us of yesterday’s mistakes. , the one that tells us that it is better to try new things before falling into the same traps again.

Green hat

The green hat demands originality, creativity, crossing borders, making the impossible possible.It is in this hat where lateral thinking is contained, the one that invites us to be provocative and not so conservative, to use novel movement rather than restrictive judgment. This type of thinking in turn reminds us that it is not good to feel satisfied quickly. , that we must find more routes, more alternatives, generate more proposals… It is important in this hat to free ourselves from external and internal judgments and conditioning and let the imagination flow.

Red Hat

The red hat is passionate, it is emotional and feels life from the heart and the emotional universe. While the white hat allowed us to use the most neutral, careful and objective logic, the red one will throw us into the void to embrace that world inhabited by the most palpitating and yet free subjectivities. In this case, and when we put on this hat, we will have the opportunity to say out loud what we are passionate about, what worries us or what our intuition says about the information we have. Likewise, it will also allow us to understand the emotions of others, the needs of others.

Yellow Hat

While the black hat offered us that negative-logical approach so useful to be more realistic in our daily lives, The yellow hat teaches us to apply a positive-logical thinking approach.

We will be able to see possibilities where others see closed doors. Just because other people see little or no possibilities behind a door doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the case. So with this hat, always being realistic, it gives us a more optimistic approach to reality and encourages us to see new challenges. We will develop a constructive and optimistic approach. Now, that positivity, that openness, will be characterized at all times by the logic. If we do not maintain this line and let ourselves be carried away by fantasy or that sometimes irrational passion, we will be wearing the red hat and not the yellow one. It is important to keep our feet on the ground.

Blue hat

The color blue encompasses everything, it is always present and dominates every corner. At the same time, it transmits tranquility, balance and also self-control. Thus, within the technique of the 6 thinking hats, this is the one that has control over the entire process and hence in this dynamic it is used twice: at the beginning and at the end.

At the beginning to decide what hats we are going to wear, what order we should follow and at the end to make a decision.The blue hat represents, therefore, structured thinking, which focuses and guides us in every step.pointing out alternatives, proposing new strategies and maintaining control in each sequence so that we do not go around the bush or get stuck.

What does the evidence say about the six hats technique?

Although the studies carried out on this technique are scarce, It has been possible to verify its effectiveness in solving group problems and developing creative thinking..

For example, a 2014 study found that the six hats technique benefited problem solving—assessed in terms of fluency, quality, and originality—compared to control groups.

For its part, research carried out in 2019 found that the six hats technique can improve creative thinking, especially when participants used the green hat.

That being said, we can conclude that Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats technique is a good strategy to improve the quality of decision making.

Thanks to it, we apply the necessary thinking styles to evaluate the problems or events that surround us from all possible perspectives and approaches. The answers we issue later will not only be more accurate, but they will also be much more creative and original.

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