Problem solving by using 6 thinking hats

Q. What hat color is most comfortable for me?

I feel comfortable in white hat as with this thinking hat I can focus on the data available. Look at the information I have, and see what I can learn from it. Look for gaps in my knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them.

This is where I analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data.

Q. What is the least comfortable for me? 'Wearing' the red hat, I look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and

emotion. Also I try to think how other people will react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know my reasoning.

My experiences using 6 thinking hats

I’m doing this assignment as an individual so I cannot have other people’s responses. As a subject head ,sometimes, I have to make decisions on my own which my team members might not agree with. So this time I tried to use these thinking hats to reach to a better solution for an argument. Let me show you how I used these hats.

When I got into that argument I instantly wore my red hat and tried to convince the other person through conversation based on our emotions which didn’t take us anywhere. So we stopped the conversation.

Then I put on my black hat and started looking at all the bad points of the decision. I looked at it cautiously and defensively. I tried to see why it might not work. This was important because it highlighted the weak points in my plan. It allowed me to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them.

Black hat thinking helped to make my plans 'tougher' and more resilient. It also helped me to spot fatal flaws and risks before I embark on a course of action.

As I told you earlier I feel comfortable in putting on white hat So I put on my white hat to collect data about that argument. It gave me a chance to look at the condition from new angles.

Now I put the yellow hat which helped me to think positively. I was able to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it. Yellow hat thinking helped me to keep going when everything looked gloomy and difficult.

Once I wore the Green hat which stands for creativity I started developing creative solutions to my problem. I shared these ideas with the person and we came to a better solution for our problem.

The blue hat is concerned with control, the organization of the thinking process, and the use of the other hats. So once I used the hat in that particular scenario, I started thinking of my next steps to avoid future confrontations and how I can use these hats in solving my day to day problems.

Report submitted by:

Ms. Fauzia Samreen

30.11.12