6 Hats Managers Should Wear
By the time you reach management, youve worn many hats along the way, with each one contributing to your experience. Perhaps you still wear multiple hats.
6 Hats Managers Should Wear
By the time you reach management, you’ve worn many hats along the way, with each one contributing to your experience. Perhaps you still wear multiple hats. According to Edward De Bono, at the very least you should be comfortable wearing six hats as part of your decision making process. De Bono’s Six Hats Thinking Technique can be used to help managers challenge their habitual thinking style and make more informed decision by considering multiple points of view—represented by hats.
The Six Hats Thinking Technique will allow you to strengthen and diversify your approach to decision making. Below Lindsay Swinton, of mftrou.com, provides a definition of each hat using colors.
White Hat
The data hat, where you consider facts, figures and information, and identify anything missing. For example, you use historical data or case studies to predict the future, or perform a cost benefit analysis.
Red Hat
The emotional hat, where intuition, instinct and irrational responses are considered.
Black Hat
The pessimistic hat, where laws and assumptions can be flushed out and addressed, and contingency plans prepared.
Yellow Hat
The optimistic hat, where benefits and added value are considered.
Green Hat
The creative hat, where other ideas are considered. Is there a better or smarter solution?
Blue Hat
The equality hat, where the person facilitating the decision making process ensures each hat receives equal attention, with no color style dominating.
To view an example of these hats in action, read Lyndsay Swinton’s article.