Hats Off to This Problem-Solving Method

Quick Win

This strategy teaches you to tackle a problem by approaching it from a new perspective.

Try This Today

• The “Six Thinking Hats” method categorizes the ways people tend to think. The white hat represents a neutral look at the facts. The red hat represents feelings and intuition. The green hat stands for creativity and new ideas. The yellow hat is about the potential benefits of a situation. The black hat is for assessing risks. And the blue hat focuses on organization and process.
• Start by thinking about which hats you tend to rely on the most when approaching a problem. Do you look at the facts? Listen to your gut? List out the pros and cons? Create an action plan with next steps?
• Challenge yourself to put on a different hat and use a problem-solving approach you don​’​t normally use. For example, if you usually go right to the data and take an analytic approach, try listening to your gut instinct as well.

Why

Physician and philosopher Edward de Bono recognized the benefit of looking at problems from multiple perspectives. Thus, he created the “Six Thinking Hats” method, which encourages people to think in new ways and work their brains in the process. In a pilot study published in Journal of Education and Health Promotion in 2024 in which 41 physiotherapy students were taught the Six Thinking Hats method, researchers concluded that “the ability to understand patients’ views, see both the positive and negative aspects in conditions, develop their ability to think critically and create with unique concepts all improved for the students.”