How To Use The Six Thinking Hats Technique For Decision Making + Examples

Does your decision making process ever leave you feeling stuck? Do you find yourself slipping into black and white thinking more often than you’d like? In episode 216 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast, we’re talking about the six thinking hats technique that I think your brain will love.

It’s one that offers the unique ability to help you:

• Strengthen your decision making
• Streamline your problem solving
• Enhance your cognitive flexibility overall

(Yes, please!)

The Six Thinking Hats Technique is structured yet an adaptable approach for the ADHD brain. 

Tune in now to learn why!

You can listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app here.   

Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for the entire podcast transcript. 

In This Episode, You Will Discover

• What the Six Thinking Hats Technique is
• Why it’s such a great approach for the ADHD brain
• How to implement the framework in your life

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Episode #216: Use The Six Thinking Hats Technique For Decision Making + Examples (Transcript) 

This week we are talking about a concept known as the six thinking hats technique. Now this is not something that I created. It’s a framework created by Professor Edward de Bono, who is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of creative thinking and problem solving, and he introduced this concept in his 1985 book called “Six Thinking Hats.”

What is the Six Thinking Hats Technique?

Originally, the concept of the six thinking hats was created to enhance and strengthen group discussions and decision-making processes.

It encourages each group member to approach whatever problem they’re solving from a different perspective or way of thinking. Each of these perspectives is represented by a different colored hat.

Essentially, everyone in a group was wearing a hypothetical thinking hat, which encouraged the individual to see the problem through one particular lens or one angle of the situation.

Some Examples

If I was wearing the Red Hat, I might be looking at the situation through the lens of emotion and intuition.

While the yellow hat would have me looking through the lens of positive thinking.

The green hat had me thinking through the lens of creative ideas and thinking outside the box.

By using this approach, the group is much more likely to see a situation from many different angles. This can streamline the thinking process while helping prevent the limitations of traditional thinking patterns and biases.

Instead of focusing on just one perspective, this method really allows the group to approach the problem or situation from different angles, which encourages less bias as well as greater innovation.

Why is the Six Thinking Hats Technique Great for ADHD?

Now here’s the deal, when I first heard about this framework, I got so excited about its possibilities for those of us with ADHD and ADHD tendencies.

As we often talk about on the podcast, one of the areas with which many of us struggle is cognitive flexibility. Our brains love to get stuck in black and white.

We decide on a particular way of doing something, or we assess a particular interaction in a certain way, and that’s it. There’s no room for discussion. Our boss made a passing comment about XYZ, and we’re convinced we’re losing our job. Or we map out a plan to work toward a goal, and if we don’t stick to it perfectly, we’ve fallen off the wagon and failed.

More specifically, I love the six thinking hats technique for helping those of us with ADHD and ADHD tendencies problem-solve more easily.

So often, we think to ourselves… “Here’s the problem. I can either do this or that.” Or “I can either say this or not say anything.” “So I can either try this or just keep it the same.

We have such a hard time seeing that there are a multitude of other options in addition to option A or B there are so many alternatives to choosing solution one or two. There are an infinite number of approaches, and this 6 thinking hats framework helps us recognize some of these different options.

At the same time, it also provides some constraints. Meaning yes, it helps us consider different perspectives, but there’s also a systematic approach that guides you through the different perspectives.

In other words, the six thinking hats framework provides guidelines without being too rigid. And for many of our ADHD brains, that is the sweet spot.

We have some structure and scaffolding guiding us through a process of making a decision or solving a problem, but we don’t feel completely boxed in by it either. There’s room for exploration and creativity within the framework.

While this approach was originally created for groups and teams of people, I actually find it helpful to move through the process myself.

I think this is an impactful way to help the ADHD brain begin practicing greater cognitive flexibility. It strengthens this meta-skill of helping us recognize all the different shades of gray between the black and white. Also helping us solve the problem or make the decision that works best for us in our current situation. It’s a win win.

What are the Six Thinking Hats?

First of all, there are six thinking hats – or six different perspectives to consider.

There is the white hat, red hat, black hat, yellow hat, green hat, and blue hat.

So what do each of these six thinking hats mean?

The White Hat

The white hat, which focuses on facts and information.

When we’re looking through this lens, or when we’re wearing this thinking cap, we focus on the facts and the figures and all of the objective data.

We’re not even necessarily trying to solve the problem or make the decision. We’re just putting all of the facts out there.

For example:

• What are the things we’re deciding between?
• What are the words your boss said?
• What are the steps to reaching your goal and when do you want to reach it?

Essentially, we are gathering and analyzing relevant information, and trying to do so without involving our emotions. It’s just the facts when we wear the white hat.

The Red Hat

The Red Hat focuses on emotion and intuition.

It’s no secret that emotions and intuition play an important role in solving problems and making decisions, and they offer a valuable fresh perspective from logical analysis alone. So when we put on the hypothetical red hat, we’re bringing this perspective of emotion and intuition into the mix.

The Black Hat

The Black Hat is all about critical thinking and caution.

When we wear the black hat, this is when we think carefully about the situation, the problem we’re solving, or the decision we’re making. Then we identify potential risks, challenges, or drawbacks of the particular idea or decision.

For those of us who navigate impulsivity quite a bit, the black hat is critical because it helps us pause and check in with ourselves before acting entirely on emotion. It plays a key role in helping us refine strategies and avoid pitfalls.

The Yellow Hat

The yellow hat looks at the opposite side. The yellow hat focuses on the benefits and the positives of the potential situation or decision.

When we wear the yellow hat in this process, we’re challenging our brain to highlight potential advantages and positive outcomes of whatever situation we’re considering.

This perspective is incredibly helpful…

• For those of us who tend to always assume the worst will happen.
• When we find ourselves spinning in anxiety and what ifs.

The yellow hat helps us see the other side. It helps us genuinely consider, “What if it DOES work out? Look at how powerfully impactful this decision, or this opportunity, or this perspective could be!”

The Green Hat

The green hat offers a creative perspective.

This is when we think outside the box and we allow ourselves to explore fresh ideas and alternative perspectives.

This is when we ask ourselves:

• What have we approached this in an entirely new way that’s never been done before?
• What if we wiped the slate clean and started fresh?
• How would we approach it, then?

The green hat really offers an opportunity for creativity and innovative thinking.

The Blue Hat

The blue hat coordinates all the different perspectives and ensures that everybody’s ideas are heard – almost like the conductor of the orchestra.

The blue hat considers:

• The different ideas that each hat brings to the table
• Listens carefully to each one
• Guides the discussion toward a constructive conclusion that takes into account each of these different perspectives

Additionally, since our ADHD brains have a tendency to slip down rabbit holes, the blue hat plays an important role in helping us have some structure and reigns us in when we might be getting sidetracked.

The blue hat helps us keep returning to the question at hand, the decision we’re making, or the problem we’re trying to solve while taking each of the different perspectives into consideration.

Six Thinking Hats Benefits

As I alluded to earlier, the six thinking hats method provides a clear, structured approach to thinking through a problem or a decision. And then within that relative structure, you find so much freedom and flexibility.

Offers Great balance between structure and flexibility

For example, if we’re working with a super strict structure with no flexibility, we can often feel trapped.

Sometimes our inner rebel sneaks out and resists the rigid rules. And we push back thinking, “You can’t tell me what to do. I’m going to do what I want.”

Other times, our creativity feels super restricted, and we just feel super stuck or uninspired.

Alternatively, when we have absolutely zero structure and no sense of direction, we often get either…

A) Incredibly overwhelmed trying to think about every single option out there, and the brain shuts down, or

B) We lean into what we already know – what’s already familiar.

This pattern often keeps us stuck doing the exact same things and creating the exact same results for ourselves because we’re not challenging our brains to think in new ways.

The six thinking hats technique provides just the right level of structure that allows us to really focus our thoughts and organize our ideas with more clarity.

Helps Us Navigate Overwhelm

Because the approach breaks down the thought process into these manageable steps, it helps us navigate overwhelm as well.

Not only do we have a reliable system that we can count on that we know guides us through the process of making informed decisions or solving layered problems, but also, because we are thinking through the six different hats, we are also making the actual problem or decision feel smaller, too.

We are zooming in on each different perspective, which makes it feel more manageable for our brains.

Provides A Balanced Perspective

Finally, I love thw six thinking hats technique because it helps ensure that I incorporate a more balanced perspective.

It encourages me to consider many different perspectives, which helps to minimize my risk of impulsively jumping on one decision or the other.

Instead, it encourages me to..

• Pause
• Consider the different options
• Check in with myself and my values and my priorities
• Make an informed decision based on the data that I gathered

4 Tips To Implement The Six Thinking Hats Technique

Now to implement this framework yourself, I have 4 tips for you to keep in mind.

1. Embrace Flexibility

I encourage you to keep embracing flexibility. This doesn’t always come naturally to our black and white thinking brains, and that’s okay. But before you sit down to go through the exercise, remind yourself to practice that flexibility.

The thinking process may not always follow a linear path, and in fact, it likely won’t. That’s beautiful. That’s not a problem at all. And you might not go through the hats in the order that I shared today. Again, that is not a problem.

You may find that you bounce back and forth between the hats. Great.

Allow yourself to move back and forth as needed.

Key Guideline: Make sure you’re not spending all your time in one hat, and that the blue hat is doing its job of considering all the different perspectives when it comes time to synthesize the information.

2. Set Clear Objectives

Second, before you begin the exercise, it’s important to clearly define the problem you want to solve or the decision you want to make.

It’s very easy to launch into this exercise or framework with a vague problem like “how do I manage my time better?”

And while you could certainly find some answers to that question going through the six different hats, you will have much greater luck finding effective, supportive answers to a question like “how can I more accurately estimate my administrative work blocks so I’m submitting my invoices and paperwork on time throughout the month?”

By getting more specific in your question, you’ll get more specific supportive answers in return.

3. Use Visual Aids

I’ve found that for most of us, certain thought patterns or perspectives are easier to consider than others. I don’t think it’s the same thought patterns for every person, but I do think we all have certain thought patterns we are more practiced in thinking. This means it’s often easier for the brain to slip into those familiar patterns

For example, maybe I’m good at wearing the black hat, which is all about critical thinking and identifying potential obstacles and problems in the plan.

At the same time, maybe I’m not so great at the yellow hat thinking, which focuses on the possibility and all the incredible things that could happen should I make one decision over the other.

If that’s the case, when I’m trying to think through the lens of the yellow hat, maybe I notice my brain constantly slipping back into black hat thinking.

This is where visual aids can come in handy.

Maybe you print out color-coded hats, or you draw six different hats with different color markers on note cards, or you simply write Blue Hat, Green Hat, Red Hat. Now I feel like I’m reading a children’s book… isn’t that a book?!

I digress. Hey, ADHD.

But having the individual hat colors written on note cards or sticky notes, and then you put whatever hat you’re focused on directly in front of you, can be a powerful visual reminder to stay within that line of thinking.

4. Take Breaks to Transition

And then the final tip, especially for those of us with ADHD brains, is to allow time to transition between the different hats if necessary.

Again, it can be challenging for us to shift from one perspective to the next, so this exercise may feel taxing, especially if you are using it on a decision or you’re solving a problem that is especially important or feels quite heavy to you.

Perhaps you’re considering a system you’ve been doing the same way for as long as you can remember, so putting on the green hat of creative, out-of-the-box thinking feels like serious heavy lifting. None of this is a problem. We just want to be aware of it.

If we notice that we’re facing a lot of mental fatigue as we’re going through the exercise, allow yourself to take a short break as you’re switching hats.

Maybe you go get a drink of water, you run up and down the stairs, or you stand outside on your back deck for 5 minutes, etc.

Again, this can be a rather intense exercise that does demand a lot of cognitive energy. So if you notice you’re focus and engagement waning, or you’re battling a lot of mental fatigue or fogginess, it is no problem, in fact I encourage you, to step back and take a break.

And when you’re ready, come back and put on the next figurative hat.

Six Thinking Hats Technique: Example

All right, let’s run through one quick example of how this exercise works in practice. I’ll be providing example questions to give you an idea of the process.

I’m going to go through it pretty quickly and just for the sake of time, but if you want to take this work further or are interested in learning more about how you can implement this 6 thinking hats approach in your life, let’s talk.

You can head to the show notes where you can tap through the link to read more about working together either in my small group coaching program, We’re Busy Being Awesome, or if you’re interested in one-on-one work, let me know HERE. We can talk explore how the six thinking hats approach could be one of the supportive tools that we design specifically for your ADHD toolkit.

The Scenario: Create clarity on managing our administrative work time more effectively.

The White Hat: Collecting Data, Facts & Information

If we start with the white hat, we may look at the data.

Here are some example questions:

• How many hours do we have dedicated to the administrative work?
• How much time does it usually take us to complete this work? Is it daily? Weekly?
• How much time do we have to complete these tasks?
• How often have you been late or missed deadlines?
• What approaches have you tried in the past?
• What approaches have you heard about?
• Do you know of any approaches your colleagues news?

Again, we’re just gathering data. Just the facts.

The Red Hat: Taping Into Intuition & Emotion

Then we put on our Red Hat. Remember, this is all about intuition and emotion.

What do we think is getting in the way of finishing our administrative work?

• What makes it hard?
• Are we bored?
• Is it confusing?
• Do we feel completely overwhelmed?
• How do we feel about not finishing the work or being behind in our schedule?
• Are we frustrated that we simply don’t have enough time?
• Are we overwhelmed by the sheer amount of administrative tasks, and we don’t know where to start?
• What are all the emotions that arise when thinking about managing your time around these administrative tasks?
• And what does your gut tell you about what might be the biggest problem in the way?

The Black Hat: Analysis

Then we put on our Black Hat. This is where we critically analyze what we’re doing.

We say that we set aside two hours each morning, but is that actually true?

• Or do other people tend to book meetings during that time?
• Do we find ourselves hopping into helper mode, trying to help everybody else with their projects, rather than maintaining that time for you to get your own work done?

If you noticed a lot of confusion and overwhelm when wearing the Red Hat, perhaps the Black Hat recognizes some procrastiworking behavior, which makes sense.

Because often when we are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, the brain turns to something it knows how to do, which – for many of us – is procrastiworking. Clicking through tabs, organizing our desk, folding laundry, tidying up the kitchen, et cetera.

The Yellow Hat: Reviewing The Benefits & Positives

From there, we put on the yellow hat. In this situation, maybe we think about the possibility that comes with honoring those hours we set aside for our administrative work.

We think about…

What it would feel like to end our work day on time, and not have to extend it later into the evening to make sure we get all the numbers entered so we can submit the reports on time.

How much less stressed we will feel when we’re not telling ourselves that we’re so behind, and we have so much to do. We help get our mind into the possibility of making that change.

Th Green Hat: Creativity

After the yellow hat, we put on our green hat, which is all about creativity.

Perhaps we think about what we’ve tried in the past, and rather than beating ourselves up about not following through on it, we look with curiosity.

• What worked in the past?
• What didn’t work?
• How might we think about the situation differently?
• How might we approach the entire process of administrative work differently?
• Is there a way we can make it fun?
• Is there a way we can make it easier?
• Can we collaborate or bring in body doubling?

Our brains often shine with the green hat, so give it space to do so.

The Blue Hat: Pulls Together All Perspectives

And then finally, we put on the blue hat, and we combine all of this important data we’ve gathered with all the different hats so that we can make an informed decision about how best to move forward.

Perhaps after looking at the information from the white hat, we realize that it’s only on the weeks when we have meetings both in the morning and afternoon that we fall behind on our deadlines.

When we reserve a couple of hours in either the morning or the afternoon to tend to the administrative tasks, we usually submit the information on time, good to know.

When we combine that with the information from the Red Hat and the Black Hat, we realize that most of the time, it’s people pleasing and feelings of guilt that have us agreeing to book meetings or take on other projects during the time that we originally set aside for our administrative work. Again, good to know.

After seeing the possibility and the freedom that comes with honoring that administrative time from the Yellow hat perspective, we’re inspired to try some new approaches we came up with when looking through the creative lens of the green hat, and all of this together created a well-informed plan to approach navigating our time.

Final Thoughts: The Six Thinking Hats Technique

I think this 6 thinking hats approach offers so much to those of us with ADHD and ADHD tendencies.

It helps us more confidently problem solve and make decisions knowing we have our bases covered.

It also provides a simple yet flexible structure that guides us through what can otherwise seem like an overwhelming process.

In addition, it encourages us to continue stretching our cognitive flexibility even further.

And I would love to hear where you’re trying out this framework in your life. Pop over to Instagram and let me know! I’m @imbusybeingawesome. You can leave your comment on the post for this episode or drop me a DM, I can’t wait to hear from you.

Alright, my friends, that’s going to do it for us this week.

If you’re ready to take these concepts deeper and apply them to your life. If you’re ready to learn how to support your ADHD in a way that works for YOU, then I invite you to check out my small group coaching program, We’re Busy Being Awesome. And if it sounds like a great fit for you, you can add your name to the waitlist so you’re the first to know when the next cohort begins. 

Also, have you grabbed the podcast roadmap yet? It has the most popular episodes all detailed for you so you can get yourself up to speed and ready to work with your ADHD brain, you can grab it HERE!

Until next time, keep being awesome. I’ll talk with you soon.