"Six Thinking Hats" Reflection

After reading the two sections in the "Six Thinking Hats", I was able to understand better the two hats.

First the 'white' hat. This hat is the factual hat. I think that this hat is beneficial as everybody in a group needs to be aware of the facts. I think if some people in a group have the wrong facts or miscued facts, it could put their thinking at a different level. To lay the facts out on the table so they are clear, will help everybody involved. I also liked how this section talked about the difference between a 'checked' fact and an 'unchecked' fact (belief). I feel that this is important as not all meetings will have 'checked' facts and may be more belief based facts. I also liked how they discussed how different cultures handle disagreement. I again feel that it is important to understand this as not all group members may be of the same culture.

The next hat that was discussed was the red hat. This is the emotion hat. One point that I really liked that was made in this section, was that everybody in the group had to state how they were feeling. It is not to take 'sides' or to form an opinion. It is more about stating how you feel. You don't need to justify your feelings just state them. I think it is important that everybody feels like they are heard and that their feelings are also heard. I think it is also important that this hat can be constantly changing. I felt the book did a nice job with making this clear. People are always adjusting how they feel on topics based on information provided. I think checking in with your red hats through out a meeting is very important for that reason.

These two sections gave me ideas to use when communicating. In my position, it seems that I am always involved with meetings or some kind of group work. I think there are some great ideas behind this book. My struggle will be implementing the ideas with others. I am not the type of person to step out side of my comfort zone and this would be something that I would have to do in order to get co-workers to use these techniques. I also can see some of my co-workers (ones that I would really like to use this with) blowing it off and not wanting to try it.