When leaders are asked to think creatively, the picture sometimes gets muddled. Creative-thinking guru Edward de Bono likened creative thinking to the process used in color photography. Photographic film for color prints is comprised of several layers of emulsion. Each layer produces a differing color, such as blue, red, or yellow. If the final photograph has all of the colors filtered out, it is black and white. While depth of vision and the basic construct might be present in the photo, the final product may lose something in the translation. If viewed separately, each layer of color is abstracted, holds little meaning, and it may seem unfinished to the viewer.

The same holds true for creative thinking. If one filters out differing perspective, the final product may be unfinished. If one focuses on a single concept, the final mental image is distorted. To assist fire officers in thinking creatively, developing a fully explored picture, de Bono suggests fire chiefs have them don what he calls the six thinking hats.

Across the Color Spectrum

The six thinking hats are a way to approach problem-solving with creative thinking. The six thinking hats reduce confusion and lessen the likelihood of what de Bono referred to as adversarial thinking. Using the six thinking hats, fire chiefs can get fire officers to think together, as opposed to thinking against one another. The six thinking hats process is simple to apply and easy to understand, but it is capable of producing powerful results. In essence, each of the six thinking hats represents a differing perspective of thought, which when combined with the other perspectives, provides a complete, concise view of the whole.

The white hat symbolizes an absence of information. Think of clean, white paper. It reflects that part of the thinking process where information is collected and documented. Too often, fire officers tend to make judgments about the value of information as it is collected, or approach the data collection haphazardly, focusing on information that supports a pre-existing idea. Such behaviors have the effect of winnowing information rather than advancing the collection of comprehensive data, which should be developed to support an informed decision. When wearing the white hat, fire officers should be actively seeking new information from diverse sources, leaving aside any value judgments to a later time.

The yellow hat symbolizes logical positivism. It is symbolized by the sun; something bright and positive. Though logical positivism may be an unwieldy term, it simply means that in this part of the creative-thinking process leaders should consider all of the potential benefits that may be attained through the adoption of a new process, or the modification of an existing procedure. This comes easy to many in the organization, but it can be difficult for others. Too often, instead of simply focusing on positive outcomes, people try to make judgments on the value of the program, or start interjecting with issues that will likely crop up during implementation. It is not that this sort of information is unimportant, but raising it while wearing the yellow hat may blur the process, leading to a muddy image. While wearing the yellow hat, stay focused on the positives.

The green hat stands for creativity. Think of thick, luscious vegetation — green and wild. Think of the new growth, moving into new areas and blossoming into new plants. When wearing the green hat, fire officers should strive to develop as many new or alternative approaches as possible. They should not stop after each new idea, evaluating it for cost or benefit, nor should they attempt to minimize the value of ideas submitted by others. When wearing the green hat, leaders should think creatively, until all possible approaches have been identified. Then they should move on to another hat, keeping in mind that, at a later time, the green hat, or any hat for that matter, may be worn again, if needed.

The red hat stands for emotions. When wearing the red hat, fire officers consider how people will perceive a change and how they might react to it. Organizations are not monolithic entities, despite what many think. They are collectives of people, working together for varied reasons. As individuals with their own values, needs and abilities, individual goals and the goals of the organization may not always be fully aligned. On the other hand, they may be fully integrated. Individual differences lead to differing reactions from different people.

When some think of the red hat, they think of fire and the associated heat as being reflective on anger. That is only one-half the equation. While emotions may run the gamut, some people may be very happy with a change. They may be excited by the new opportunities presented, or proud that they may have some important role to play in the future of the organization.

Red-hat thinking attempts to identify how people may react to the change. While doing this, it is vital fire officers attempt to examine the issue from all viewpoints, and not simply overlay their own views over those of all employees. Doing so is not only presumptive, but it is also likely to lead to incorrect conclusions. To address this, de Bono suggests people adopt the OPV, which stands for the “other person's view.” While wearing the red hat, imagine specific individuals or groups and try to understand how they will view the change, not how you believe they should. This may help in addressing any potential conflict proactively, and may suggest that the conflict need not even come to pass, if the proposed changes are presented in an appropriate manner.

Modern leadership theories tend to suggest that true leadership involves the construction of a shared vision, working with diverse partners. Instead of trying to insure everyone in the organization has an aligned vision or values, modern leaders should seek to leverage individual differences into activities that support the overall success of the organization. An aligned vision and aligned activities may be important, but to harness the individual power of employees, it might be better to tolerate less alignment on the journey, instead focusing on a common destination. Because of their differences, different people will react to change in differing ways, and identifying and understanding those differences is the purpose of the red hat.

The black hat stands for judgment. The black hat is the critical hat, based on logical negativism. This should not be construed as a negative attitude, but instead should be associated with a judge's robe. Think of an impartial evaluation of the facts, not an attempt to criticize the views of others. While wearing the black hat, fire officers ask critical questions, ensuring that no questions are left unanswered. It is not the purpose of the black hat to destroy an idea, but rather to insure all concepts have been clarified.

Some in the organization reject the black hat, believing deeply that questioning proposals or processes is in someway disloyal to the organization, or reflective of a character flaw. That belief misinterprets the value of the back hat. Its value lies in it making fire officers ensure they have fully explored the ramifications of a decision. Arguably, the black hat may be the strongest hat. The black hat asks questions of the other hats and, until the black hat's questions have been answered or his questions have been exhausted, the black hat remains powerful. It is important to keep in mind that, despite the unquestionable value of the black hat in the overall process, if it is worn all the time, nothing will ever be accomplished.

The blue hat is the last hat. Think of the sky overheard. The blue hat is the control hat, over and above the fracas. Clearly, by virtue of individual temperament, preference, education or experience, each person is more comfortable in one hat, or at most in a few hats. Few willingly change hats unless circumstances change or they are compelled to do so by an external force. That is the value of the blue hat. When wearing it, imagine yourself standing high above the competing ideas and masses of information. Consider what has been done and what needs to be done. After doing so, the blue hat may decide that one part of the creative thinking process needs to be fleshed out, calling for a change of hats. For example, if the wearer of the blue hat believes that there has been insufficient consideration of how employees or the public will react to a change, he may call for more red-hat thinking, signifying to all involved that it is time to begin looking at the issue from another perspective.

Attaining goals, reducing conflict

De Bono suggested that, in many instances, people in a discussion are not really discussing anything. They are talking past one another, stating and restating their own perspectives, while not listening or engaging with others. In essence, each party in the discussion is wearing a different hat and is incapable of seeing or understanding anything presented from another perspective. This, he suggested, contributes to potential conflict and the inability of some groups to ever fully explore an idea. Without being able to think creatively from all perspectives, proposed changes may not be truly understood, leading to problems with implementation, goal attainment, or unanticipated consequences.

The six thinking hats has been adopted widely by the civil service in Great Britain, as well as by many organizations in the private sector. Those using the six thinking hats have said that by using the process, having employees all don the same hat at the same time, engaging in parallel thinking in a supportive manner, has led to less conflict, more fully explored ideas, and less time spent on debate. The process serves to minimize misunderstandings or needless competition, as employees focus their discussions on specific ideas or perspectives, greatly reducing the likelihood of unintentionally hurting the feelings of others, as the criticisms are not viewed as personal attacks. The six thinking hats help to open up communications channels, permitting leaders to leverage the individual capacities of all employees, while simultaneously developing their ability to think from other perspectives, which may lead to greater benefits for both the individual and the organization in the long run.

Using de Bono's six thinking hats, fire chiefs may accelerate the thinking process, arriving at a much more balanced decision than they might have otherwise. Using the six thinking hats, fire officers can reduce adversarial thinking, increase productivity and expand employee involvement in decision-making. If you have experienced any issues in spurring on creative thought among employees in the past, consider how this simple process may help you in the future. If some benefits spring to mind, you've just donned the yellow hat. What hat should you wear next?

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Thomas E. Poulin, Ph.D., is an adjunct assistant professor at Nova Southeastern University and Old Dominion University. He has served in local government since 1977, currently as a fire battalion chief in southeast Virginia.

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