Are you using this simple method for big decisions?

Brainstorming and working collaboratively with other professionals in your workplace or organisation is a useful way of making well rounded business decisions and for assessing whole pictures. Many hands make light work - so they say, as long as everyone is working together that is.

Collaborating with people who think differently and can share experiences, knowledge and advice is vital when making big decisions. I think that's why I will always ask for several opinions - because everyone tends to think with different "hats".

The Six Thinking Hats created by Edward de Bono, is a simple method to use during meetings that encourages thinking in a completely different way, and it's a technique that gets your whole team working together more effectively: you’re asking the entire team to switch their thought process in order to achieve efficient collaboration. The difference between brilliant and mediocre teams won't be their individual ability (making the assumption you have recruited the right people), it will be their collective capacity to tap into their knowledge and experience as a group. This method allows:

• Maximising productive collaboration & minimising counterproductive interaction/behaviour
• Digging deeper and making the right decision; considering issues; problems, decisions and opportunities systematically
• Reduction of conflict in the team when brainstorming
• Outside the box thinking means creative solutions
• Parallel thinking as a group/team to generate more and better solutions
• Each person uses the method to expand their thought process and ideas
• Quickly finding the right solutions
• Being able to see all sides of the situation before making the decision
• Thinking clearly and objectively
• Achieving great results in less time

Enough about what the method does and what it achieves; what are the six different hats?

When conducting meetings or thinking through big decisions, you basically ask yourself or your team to think with their white hats which means everyone is thinking about facts, data, figures and feelings or negative/positive outcomes aren't allowed in, so you are forced to only look at the facts and establish what is factual. Then you move on to the yellow hat thinking; the logical positives, best case scenarios, benefits and general optimism about the potential decision/situation. This enables people to be positive without being advised with a counter negative view by another team member. It means everyone sees the positives and creates different views on what's good about that decision/situation. Black hat thinking is what I go to my Nan for help with (just joking Nan), it’s the risks, downsides, obstacles, potential problems and weaknesses. It means when you've made your decision, you understand what could go wrong and are prepared for it. Feelings are not to be pushed to the side for this, which is where the red hat comes in; allowing feelings, intuition, gut instinct, fears and impact on others be voiced. Thinking with your green-hat allows outside-the-box thinking, no limitations, alternative and creative solutions to be thought out. Lastly, the blue hat is used for the overall summary of what's being discussed, time management, big picture, focus and process control are included in this agenda.

I currently work with lots of allied health professionals, social workers and healthcare professionals who collaborate with different professions daily in multidisciplinary teams. They must work well together in order to help their clients - who are some of societies’ most vulnerable. I've suggested this to a few managers who I work with when we recruit their teams & some already use it, whilst others have found it extremely simple, yet really effective. The best decisions are usually made not by impulse, but by wearing every hat.

Using this method, the Six Thinking Hats is a really powerful decision making tool and can be used for important individual decisions too. It can help people look at problems, decisions and situations from different perspectives one perspective at a time to avoid everyone coming from different angles. The Six Thinking Hats forces you and others to think outside of normal thinking styles, because we will probably always lean towards one or a few more naturally, than all six systematically.

I would love to hear how your team meetings/decisions have gone if you have used this, as well as any other methods people use in the industry.