Make Team Decisions Less Chaotic & More Productive: Using the Six Thinking Hats for Better Results
Here are two big ideas that, when truly grasped and practiced by teams, can fundamentally shift how decisions are made and dramatically improve the outcomes:
Disagreement is not a sign of dysfunction; it’s essential for high-performing teams.
Humans vary widely in how they think and process information; that variety isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.
When a team creates space for honest disagreement, for dissent, for people to be authentic —expressing their instincts, questions, concerns, and unique thinking styles—something powerful happens. Decisions get better. Outcomes improve. Innovations surface.
Is this always comfortable? Not at all. But here's the deal: Pursuing meaningful goals together, and truly achieving at a high level, is often uncomfortable. Sometimes it's even painful. High achievement is hard. And hard things are hard.
This kind of productive discomfort is only possible in an environment of baseline trust and respect. And that’s not something you can fake or force. It’s built slowly, through hundreds of small interactions over time: Listening with respect, following through, giving and receiving feedback well, showing appreciation, avoiding gossip, and staying open to others’ ideas and perspectives. All of these build the foundation for the kind of collaboration that drives meaningful progress and a healthy culture.
Group decision-making conversations are one of the most impactful opportunities to shape team culture in real time. Meetings aren’t just about solving problems. They’re culture-shaping events. That’s why so much of our consulting work centers on intentionally engineering team gatherings. (Feel free to view our Effective Meetings Guidebook here.)
With that in mind, we want to offer a cool tool to help teams navigate disagreement, tap into diverse thinking styles, and foster intentional, inclusive, and adaptable conversations.
I. The Problem: Why Team Conversations Often Go Sideways
II. The Tool: Applying the Six Thinking Hats
III. Running a Six Hats Conversation
IV. Enhancing Adaptability
V. Team Reflection Exercise
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I. The Problem: Why Team Conversations Often Go Sideways
Let’s be honest: team conversations can get messy fast.
You’re in a meeting about a major decision. Maybe it’s about resource allocation, a change in policy, or setting priorities for the year. Liam is breathlessly throwing out innovative ideas left and right. Clearly (and to the annoyance of some in the room), he is excited about the large variety of possibilities! Concurrently, Fatima is drilling down on the nitty-gritties of data and logistics. Sofia is pointing out what might go wrong, clearly worried about risks and attempting to steer Liam back to logic. Meanwhile, Aisha over here is trying to steer the conversation toward a final decision, but others won’t follow her. The group spins in circles for an hour.
What’s going on here? Everyone’s engaged, yes, and everyone is bringing a unique perspective, certainly, but the conversation isn’t going anywhere. People are talking past each other. The ideas get muddled. Time runs out. You leave the meeting with little clarity and a lot of frustration.
Sound familiar?
This happens not because people aren’t participatory or collaborative. It happens because we’re all “wearing different hats” in the conversation; engaging with different thinking styles, instincts, and priorities all at the same time, often without realizing it.
This is what Edward de Bono, the creator of the Six Thinking Hats framework, set out to solve. He recognized that group decision-making often falters when different styles of thinking show up simultaneously without structure. And modern research backs this up: studies on team effectiveness (like those from MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab) highlight the power of structured and inclusive communication for effective group work.
Here’s the good news: When we give teams tools to intentionally focus on one kind of thinking at a time, we can reduce confusion and actually leverage our diverse perspectives.
II. The Tool: Applying the Six Thinking Hats
This isn’t about scripting every meeting or shutting down natural conversation. It’s about guiding the discussion, especially when things get complex, emotional, or high-stakes. Most importantly, think of this tool as a permission slip for each mode of thinking, whether it’s cold hard facts, emotional instinct, or bold new ideas. It provides people with a shared language and a way to contribute, regardless of their style. And no, you don’t need actual hats (but hey, if you’re into that kind of thing, go for).
Below is a practical walkthrough of each of the Six Thinking Hats, followed by some tips for how to use this in practice.
Your application of this tool will be greatly enhanced with a good understanding of the four Behavior Styles, so check out our blog post here or our podcast series here. In Behavior Styles, we refer to four different styles: Analyzers, Promotors, Conductors, and Listeners.
⚪ White Hat – Facts & Information
Focus: Objective data, current knowledge, and what’s missing.
Sounds like:
“What do we actually know to be true?”
“What’s the data telling us?”
“What are the known facts and what do we still need to find out?”Behavior styles that thrive here:
Often Analyzers. Detail-oriented, analytical, logic-driven thinkers; those who ground decisions in evidence.Missteps if ignored:
Jumping to conclusions without sufficient information; confusion about assumptions vs. reality.Prompts to draw them in:
“Let’s gather all the known facts before we react.”
“What questions do we need answered before we move forward?”
“Where might we be making assumptions?”
🔴 Red Hat – Emotions & Intuition
Focus: Feelings, instincts, and emotional reactions without the need for justification.
Sounds like:
“I just have a gut feeling about this idea that’s not sitting right.”
“This decision makes me anxious, even though the numbers look fine.”
“I feel hopeful about this direction.”Behavior styles that thrive here:
Often Listeners and Promotors. Empathetic, relational communicators; those tuned into team morale and emotional undercurrents.Missteps if ignored:
Suppressed emotional concerns that later show up as resistance or disengagement; intuition, developed through pattern recognition and experience, gets ignored.Prompts to draw them in:
“What’s your gut reaction to this idea?”
“Is anyone feeling uneasy, even if you can’t explain why?”
“Let’s take a second to just name the emotional vibe in the room.”
🟣 Purple Hat – Risks & Challenges
Focus: Caution, potential pitfalls, and what could go wrong.
Sounds like:
“Have we thought through the downside of this approach?”
“What’s the worst-case scenario?”
“Where might this create resistance or failure?”Behavior styles that thrive here:
Often Analyzers and Listeners. Critical thinkers, risk managers, cautious planners, and those who scan for issues and mitigate threats.Missteps if ignored:
Overlooking blind spots, underestimating consequences, or walking into avoidable setbacks.Prompts to draw them in:
“What are the biggest risks we need to account for?”
“If this fails, why will it have failed?”
“What are we not seeing?”
🟡 Yellow Hat – Optimism & Opportunities
Focus: Positives, potential benefits, and best-case thinking.
Sounds like:
“What’s the upside if this works?”
“How could this move us forward?”
“What opportunities might this create?”Behavior styles that thrive here:
Often Promotors. Visionary thinkers, optimists, and those who lead with hope and possibilities.Missteps if ignored:
Becoming overly risk-averse, missing creative potential, or failing to inspire buy-in.Prompts to draw them in:
“What’s the potential benefit of going this route?”
“How could this help us innovate or improve?”
“Where could this lead if we give it a chance?”
🟢 Green Hat – Creativity & Innovation
Focus: Brainstorming, new ideas, unusual alternatives, and innovation.
Sounds like:
“What if we flipped the approach entirely?”
“Is there a wild idea we haven’t considered?”
“Let’s try to come up with five alternatives—even bad ones!”Behavior styles that thrive here:
Often Conductors and Promoters. Creative thinkers, brainstormers, those who thrive in ambiguity and love “what if” questions.Missteps if ignored:
Settling for the obvious answer, missing novel solutions, or shutting down innovation too early.Prompts to draw them in:
“Let’s throw out some ideas without judgment—what else could we try?”
“Is there a non-traditional solution here?”
“If constraints weren’t an issue, what would we do?”
🟦 Blue Hat – Process & Control
Focus: Meta-thinking—facilitating the discussion, summarizing progress, and managing the flow.
Sounds like:
“Let’s pause and see where we are.”
“We’ve heard a lot of risks—should we shift to opportunities now?”
“Let’s make sure we’ve covered all six hats before we decide.”Behavior styles that thrive here:
Often Conductors and Analyzers. Organized, structured, task-oriented team members, and those skilled at facilitation and process.Missteps if ignored:
Rambling discussions, unclear decisions, or lopsided focus (e.g., all risk, no opportunity).Prompts to use:
“Which hat are we wearing right now?”
“Is it time to move to another mode of thinking?”
“What’s our next step as a team?”
III. Running a Six Hats Conversation
You don’t need a script, but here’s a basic structure for running a Six Hats conversation intentionally:
1. Frame the purpose.
Start with a clear question: “What decision are we trying to make?” or “What challenge are we solving?”
2. Move through the hats intentionally.
You don’t need all six every time. Experiment with using the hats flexibly! The group can use its judgment to decide which hat might be most useful given where you’re at in the conversation. Still, it’s often helpful to work through each one systematically. Start with White and Red to gather facts and gut reactions. Then use Purple and Yellow to explore risks and opportunities. Use Green to brainstorm, and Blue to manage the flow and come to a decision or the next step.
3. Invite and name each hat.
Use phrases like “Let’s shift to the Yellow Hat and look at upside” or “Time for some Purple Hat thinking: what concerns do we have?”
4. Close with Blue Hat.
Wrap up with a summary: “What did we learn, what did we decide, what do we still need, and what’s our next move?”
IV. Enhancing Adaptability
Natural Fit, Intentional Stretch
One of the things we emphasize in our work at Nash Consulting is that self-awareness and awareness of others are key to team effectiveness. The Six Thinking Hats framework fits hand-in-glove with this idea because it gives team members “permission” to show up in ways that align with their natural style and encourages them to stretch into other thinking modes.
People will naturally gravitate toward certain hats based on their behavior style. That’s a good thing, because we want to leverage our strengths!
But the magic happens when the framework doesn’t just let people sit in their comfort zones, but when it helps them stretch.
The risk-focused person learns to think in terms of potential. The visionary learns to pause and assess facts. The emotionally intuitive team member learns to focus on structure. The analytical mind gets curious about creative possibilities. The hats help balance the team while nudging individuals to grow.
V. Team Reflection Exercise
This simple but powerful activity helps your team build awareness of individual thinking tendencies, appreciate one another’s unique contributions, and identify opportunities to grow as a more balanced and adaptable group.
You can facilitate this reflection at your next team meeting or retreat. (Or we can!)
Step 1: Individual Reflection
Which hat do I most naturally wear in group conversations?
Which hat is hardest for me to wear, and why?
Step 2: Pair or Small Group Discussion
What’s your default hat and what draws you to it?
What do you appreciate about others’ default hats?
Where would you like to grow in your thinking flexibility?
Step 3: Full Group Reflection
What hats are most represented on this team?
Which hats might we be underusing?
How could we intentionally stretch into underused hats in upcoming meetings?
Then, consider asking the team to practice using the Six Thinking Hats right now to make a relatively low-stakes decision. Get that muscle-memory thing going!
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Here’s the cool part: The Six Hats aren’t just about better thinking. They’re about better culture. They reinforce:
Psychological safety (people feel safe to offer different perspectives)
Fairness (everyone gets a turn)
Clarity (everyone knows what kind of thinking is happening and why)
The hats create a structure where no single style dominates. You don’t end up with the loudest voice steering the group, or the most risk-averse person shutting things down. Instead, you intentionally make space for every mode of thinking and show that you all value each unique style.
This is how healthy work teams are built.
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