Solve Problems Using the Six Thinking Hats

The role of the Managerial Blue Hat is to act as a director. It essentially manages all the other hats and ensures that an adequate solution to the problem is found. Its other primary responsibilities involve defining the problem, gathering insights and information, encouraging the flow of ideas, managing time sensitive issues, and moving from an idea to the implementation of that idea in the most effective and efficient way possible. The Blue Hat’s main objectives are therefore to organize ideas, plans and future actions, based on the input it gathers from the other thinking hats.

The role of the Neutral White Hat is to act as a detective. Its main objective is to explore the facts of the problem in an unbiased and neutral way. This essentially means collecting relevant information, stats and data surrounding the problem. This hat isn’t interested in beliefs, assumptions or opinions. It’s only interested in solid concrete information that can be proven and measured. However, in order to perform this role it must stay objective. It cannot allow itself to get emotionally involved because that would simply corrupt the data. Like a detective, it stays neutral and very open to the possibilities that may exist.

The role of the Intuitive Red Hat is to act as the heart. Its main objective is to seek intuitive answers to the problem at hand. It does this by tuning into its internal feelings that can often lead to insights and hunches. Its purpose is to unlock ideas that come from the intuitive heart, rather than from the intellectual head. It therefore preferences using its instincts to formulate ideas that can help move the problem forward. Feelings of course don’t always need to make intellectual sense. The Red Hat therefore never feels compelled to justify its feelings or to rationalize the contribution it makes toward solving the problem.

The role of the Optimistic Yellow Hat is to act as a sun, or a beacon of light that symbolizes faith and hope. It’s main objective is to take every idea on board and build a case as to why it will succeed, and how it can potentially be implemented. It therefore always looks for the opportunities that may arise from the implementation of an idea. The Yellow Hat of course takes into account the risks, while also assessing the feasibility of getting an idea off the ground. It always however favors possibilities. If there is a will, then the Yellow Hat will always find a way to make things work, irrelevant of the drawbacks that may come to light.

The role of the Creative Green Hat is to act as a seedling. Its main objective is to explore new perspectives and creative ideas that can lead to interesting insights and breakthroughs in thinking. The Green Hat consistently challenges itself to expand possibilities by searching for unique and different ways of doing things. This of course means that they don’t follow traditional rules of thinking, or adhere to standard practices of how things should be done. There are in fact no rules where they’re concerned. The Green Hat will therefore bring many crazy and wacky ideas to the table. Most ideas probably won’t be viable, but some certainly will.