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de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats®

de Bono's internationally renowned decision-making, idea evaluation and meeting management workshop - get everyone thinking in the same direction, from the same perspective, at the same time.

Overview

So much time and energy is wasted in ineffective meetings and group interactions. Dr Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats® is a globally renowned tool that will streamline the way your team thinks and communicates - with real effect and impact. With the Six Thinking Hats®, you will learn how to:

  • Halve online and face-to-face meeting times and double their effectiveness.
  • Shift your thinking (and others) from negative to positive; and from emotional reactions to facts within seconds.
  • Identify solutions and tackle problems in a timely and cost efficient way.

The Six Hats® approach reduces adversarial thinking and encourages clearer, more effective thinking and idea development.

Maximise your training budget

Learning credits, multiple booking, NHS and charity discounts available, find out more...

 

Six Hats® helps to solve

The challenge

How it helps

Do you hear people complaining about meetings, meetings and more meetings? Hours upon hours spent debating issues, with very few positive outcomes or problems solved? Often, in this environment, creativity and innovation are stifled and people fear speaking out.

The approach eradicates situations like this, leading organisations to more effective idea generation and decision making through the use of Parallel Thinking. Read more about unproductive meetings.

Our online meetings are chaos, with everyone thinking in different directions.

This world-renowned parallel thinking framework invites meeting participants to all think in the same direction at the same time – directing their collective intelligence towards one outcome.

My opinion is not valid/I knew that was going to fail.

Using Six Thinking Hats® in group situations not only breaks down the way attendees think, it helps to ensure that all attendees feel included asnd have their say - whilst isolating personal agendas – meaning solutions are reached efficiently with consensus, less conflict and positive input from the quietest person in the room.

We always concentrate on the negative.

The approach gives disruptive influencers a voice, forcing them to look at different aspects of a challenge, so that they can identify a positive outcome and reduce negative focus.

We always come up with the same ideas.

You may be getting ideas that are fantastic, but undeliverable, this approach provides techniques to develop implementable ideas without stifling creative thinking.

There is too much conflict.

The approach will provide a clear structure and a defined focus to any discussion or problem-solving requirement. It empowers everyone to think in the same way, at the same time, preventing adversarial behaviours and lack of decision-making.

Who is it for?

Anyone who wants to improve team-working, hold more productive online and face-to-face meetings, generate new ideas and solve problems faster. It will be especially beneficial to the following groups:

  • Project/strategy teams.
  • Departmental managers and their teams.
  • Managers and executives who require greater levels of innovation and creativity.
  • Individual contributors and teams working in highly competitive or changing environments.

What's it all about?

During the workshop, you will:

  • Learn to use different approaches to business problems.
  • Explore all aspects of each situation and generate alternatives that go far beyond obvious solutions.
  • Separate fact from opinion.
  • Look fully at both positive and negative options and expose hidden agendas that can sabotage any meeting.
  • Learn how to stimulate innate creativity.
  • Learn how to turn seemingly insoluble problems into real opportunities.
  • Leave the workshop with skills that they have practised and can apply immediately on return to the workplace.

The workshop includes a mix of teaching and practical exercises. You will work in small groups with continual support from the trainer, who has been certified by a de Bono Master Trainer to deliver the workshop. The practical materials have been developed by Dr Edward de Bono and each delegate is supplied with a comprehensive workbook (interactive online workbook for online workshops) to provide ongoing reinforcement of the techniques learnt.

What will you get out of it?

Dr Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats® system is a simple and powerful tool. It will change the way your team thinks by teaching creative problem-solving skills. You and your team will learn how to:

  1. Lead shorter, more productive online and face-to-face meetings.
  2. Look at decisions and problems systematically.
  3. Generate more and better ideas.
  4. Improve team results.
  5. Reduce conflict.

Workshop outline

You will understand and learn:

  • The nature of thinking.
  • Why we need to change our behaviour.
  • Why argument is inadequate.
  • Introducing the Six Thinking Hats®.
  • Why very little new thinking is accomplished at meetings.
  • Tools and techniques focusing on each hat.

Using the Six Hats®:

  • Single use of the Six Hats.
  • Systematic use of the Six Hats.
  • Frameworks for structuring meetings and focusing thinking.
  • How to turn disagreements into positive contributions.
  • Techniques for opportunity thinking.
  • Programming meetings for a successful outcome.
  • Creating the action plan.

The Six Thinking Hats®:

The White Hat
Information available and needed

Red hat

The Red Hat
Intuition, feelings, and hunches

Black hat

The Black Hat
Cautions and difficulties
Where things might go wrong

Yellow hat

The Yellow Hat
Values and benefits
Why something might work

Green hat

The Green Hat
Alternatives and creative ideas

Blue hat

The Blue Hat
Managing the thinking process

Duration and delivery methods available

Indigo is proud to be an official distributor and training partner for Edward de Bono Limited. Six Thinking Hats® is a practical one-day workshop available as:

Delivery can be split into multiple days/sessions.

Training for trainers

Accrediting your own trainers is the most cost-effective way to offer Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats® within your organisation or to your clients. After attending the workshop as a delegate, you or your in-house trainers will be taught by some of Indigo’s globally recognised Master Trainers, who have been specially authorised to train these programmes to other trainers, to the highest standard. Once successful, you will be authorised to dovetail our award-winning programmes into your organisations training plans, at a fraction of the normal cost.

Indigo Business Services is proud to be a:

UK Distributor for de Bono Thinking Systems

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Six Thinking Hats® can count towards your CPD recognition with leading professional bodies and trade organisations. You can normally record your attendance in the 'organised learning' or 'self-learning' sections. Please check with your membership organisation for more information.

Additional resources

Public workshops

See all workshop dates

Our most popular workshops are open to all and are ideal for individuals, smaller groups and those reviewing workshops before wider roll out. Delivered to small groups: 

  • Face-to-face in major cities thoughtout the UK - provide the best in-depth and exercise-packed experience. They are delivered between 9am and 5pm. Our venues are all located close to major public transport hubs. Delegates will receive a printed workbook and peripherals. 

    We are determined to work with public workshop venues that provide the safest possible environment – the latest updates to what we are doing in conjunction with our partners can be found at: https://www.indigobusiness.co.uk/Workshops/calendar/Public-Workshop-Health-And-Safety-For-Delegates
  • Online - highly interactive online modular delivery. We deliver using Zoom (free to download and use at www.zoom.us/meetings) and Microsoft Teams. You will require access to a PC/Mac/tablet and internet connection, you will require a webcam, speakers/headphones and to enable your microphone, or you can simply dial in on your phone.

    The format will be similar to face-to-face classroom workshops, we always cover a core programme. It is delivered using interactive group learning sessions, lots of practice, group and individual feedback and 1-2-1 trainer coaching. We combine this with screen and document sharing, polls, interactive whiteboards and breakout rooms. Delegates are given 12 months access to an online workbook that can be used interactively. Printed workbooks are available at additional cost. 

You can reserve a place on this workshop at up to £485pp + VAT.

24 April 2024

Zoom (0900-1700 UK)

Book now

14 May 2024

Glasgow

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2 July 2024

London

Book now

In-House workshops

Our in-house delivery option gives you the flexibility to train teams, groups and departments. Reducing delegate travel, training cost (significant saving when compared to our open public workshops) and environmental impact - as we train at your choice of location or online, in the UK or internationally. Options for tailoring content are available.

Prices quoted are based on 12 delegates per event, we can accommodate up to 20 delegates for an additional fee:

  • Face-to-face classroom workshops - delegates receive a printed workbook and peripherals.
  • Virtual learning sessions - delivered as highly interactive modular sessions using our Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex platforms or your own. Virtual workshops require access to a PC/Mac/tablet and internet connection, a webcam, speakers/headphones and enabled microphone, or attendees can simply dial in on their phone.

    The format will be similar to face-to-face classroom workshops, we always cover a core programme. It is delivered using interactive group learning sessions, lots of practice, group and individual feedback and 1-2-1 trainer coaching. We combine this with screen and document sharing, polls, interactive whiteboards and breakout rooms. Delegates are given 12 months access to an online workbook that can be used interactively. Printed workbooks are available at additional cost. 

Delegate places are available at from £330pp + VAT.

More details