Problem Solving and Decision Making: Put On Your Thinking Caps

Many professionals view problems from a rational and positive angle which keeps success flowing their way. However, there are some leaders who find problem solving a complex task to master which can have a detrimental impact on their career.

Problem solving is a skill which can be developed and having a good process in place will help solve matters quickly and effectively.

Welcome to the 'thinking caps' technique to enable you to look at the whole picture. By dissecting a problem into a number of different perspectives, this will encourage you to move away from rigid forms of thinking and gain a more rounded view.

You can use this tool whenever you need to resolve a matter privately or even during a business meeting. With this technique, you can feel as though you are sharing a problem with your team (even when you are away from the office) and benefit from their individual perspectives.

So try on all of these different thinking caps and view the situation from a variety of angles.

The White Cap: Wear this and read all of the data available to you. You are looking for hard facts and nothing else. Carefully go through all of the information on hand so as you have a thorough grounding of the matter. If there are areas which have not been thoroughly explained, do some research or take notes and plan time to fill in the blanks.

The Black Cap: Use this hat to make critical judgements about a course of action. Black is a sign of deepness, a heavy, dense feeling associated with negativity. Look for all of the reasons why an idea might not work and elaborate on the negative connotations that stir in your mind.

Look for difficulties that could arise, areas where there are likely to cause difficulties. Identify the weak areas and find ways to tackle them. This will enable you to plan in advance for likely difficulties which could arise.

The Red Cap: Slip this on and feel the emotions of others and look at the wider impact of the decision. How would this problem affect other people emotionally and how could this impact on the outcome? Do you sense fear, passion, belief, doubt, love or hate. Tune into your emotions and feel those feelings and use that to find solutions.

The Green Cap: Wear this hat and you will come up with creative solutions to the problem; ideas which will change and transform in a positive way. This colour will give you the freedom to explore new ideas when you want to change or grow. Don't be afraid to let your imagination run wild and have some fun, if you join together dissimilar elements you might actually create a new whole that is actually feasible.

The Yellow Cap: Put some yellow into the equation and to see all of the benefits of the decision. Yellow is the colour of brightness and energy, it fills you with positivity and accentuates clarity and awareness.

The Blue Cap: Strut around in a blue cap and you will put yourself in the control centre. Here you can direct the other five members to actively join in if they are falling behind. For instance, there may be a problem which requires the creative input of the green cap or the black cap to set up contingency plans.

The thinking caps method of problem solving encourages people to work in unison, to explore an issue from different view points. Using this technique, means you can go beyond the obvious and discover new and innovative solutions and see opportunities when you could only see setbacks and achieve results which are meaningful and significant.