Six Thinking Hats

The different styles of thinking and how to apply them

How to structure your thinking using sequences of hats

Parallel thinking and how it differs from adversarial thinking

Why This Course Is Essential

Knowledge is the key to a safer future!

The Six Thinking Hats course is an essential programme for anyone seeking to refine decision-making, enhance creativity and improve collaboration in the workplace. Its focus on lateral thinking sets it apart from traditional problem-solving methods by inviting a structured but highly flexible approach to organising thoughts and generating ideas.

Workers, supervisors, managers and safety professionals benefit from learning to view decisions through various lenses rather than relying on a single train of thought. This becomes especially valuable for those in leadership positions since the capacity to direct a team’s thinking towards fruitful outcomes requires both a structured framework and the flair to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

Importance of the Course

People taking this course discover that each “hat” serves a different purpose in shaping more balanced, inclusive and innovative discussions. Participants learn to gather facts and recognise knowledge gaps with the White Hat. The Yellow Hat introduces a method of highlighting positive outcomes and reasons for optimism.

The risk management mindset illuminates potential drawbacks and the steps to mitigate them. The Red Hat ensures that intuitive and emotional reactions receive their due moment so that unspoken reservations and motivations do not derail progress later.

Meanwhile, the Green Hat fosters originality and unconventional solutions, and the Blue Hat ties all these strands together by structuring the process itself. Through these modes of thinking, everyone understands how to balance rational analysis, creative exploration and practical caution in day-to-day work, making the method accessible to diverse roles and sectors.

Benefits to Companies and Individual Learners

When employees master these principles, companies experience fewer misunderstandings, stronger team cohesion and a sharper competitive edge. Because the method encourages people to tackle complex problems step by step, it reduces the likelihood of stalled projects and missed opportunities.

This systematic thinking approach also empowers individuals to speak up confidently, knowing their contributions will be heard at the right time, under the right hat.

As a result, employers often see greater engagement and a sense of collective responsibility among staff, who become more willing to work together in pursuit of common goals. Individuals benefit from a measurable boost in personal and professional growth since mastering lateral thinking can open doors to higher-level positions that require strong leadership and problem-solving skills.

Environmental and Accessibility Advantages

Safetyman Academy is committed to reducing the carbon footprint associated with traditional training methods. By offering this course online, we eliminate the need for travel and accommodation, significantly reducing the environmental impact for each participant. This contributes to a more sustainable future and reflects our commitment to innovative, forward-thinking education and professional development approaches.

It also provides flexible learning opportunities for individuals across different geographical locations, breaking down barriers to essential training.

Recognizing the diverse global workforce, we offer all our courses in 60 languages, reinforcing our commitment to the universal right to safety education. Accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of location or language, can benefit from our comprehensive safety training.

CPD Credit Hours

This course is accredited for 4 CPD credits.

Who the course is for

This course is designed for all workers, from new hires to managers in every sector of the local authority, charitable and industry, who are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of people. It is also suitable for individuals seeking to enhance their knowledge of six thinking hats.

Why it works

Minimal disruption to the working day – the course takes less than half a day
Designed for anyone, in any sector, worldwide
Provides the knowledge and tools required to identify roles and responsibilities in your workplace environment.
High-impact programme
Efficient and effective learning – multiple topics are covered in a single, self-contained course.

The business benefits

Participants will have the knowledge and tools to create a safer environment, protect themselves and their colleagues, contribute to the business’s success, and enhance their well-being.

Improve your safety culture
Develop staff roles in critical point controls.
Achieve an internationally recognised and respected certification for staff
Enhance your reputation within your industry.

Your benefits

By taking this course, you’ll be able to:

Understand your responsibilities for conducting reserach
Identify and report on potential hazards
Assess public and workplace impacts

By helping participants clarify why six thinking hats make such a difference in innovation and quality, the course equips them to translate ideas into concrete actions. This has a direct impact on an individual’s professional outlook. Those who can demonstrate the ability to lead structured, conflict-free and imaginative sessions often rise more quickly into supervisory or managerial roles. It can reduce errors and promote more thoughtful risk assessments in safety-related fields, making it highly relevant to safety professionals.

The expertise in connecting facts, emotions, creativity and risk-awareness appeals to organisations looking for forward-thinking employees who adapt swiftly to challenges. Consequently, this course can enhance employment prospects, particularly in industries that emphasise creative collaboration and strategic problem-solving.

Whether an individual hopes to refine existing skills, acquire new ways of thinking or shift into greater responsibility, the Six Thinking Hats course provides a solid bedrock of structured creativity, rigorous logic and balanced emotional insight.

By explaining why lateral thinking is crucial to real-world outcomes and demonstrating how participants can apply it to everyday tasks, the course empowers them to shape their future opportunities meaningfully. That sense of empowerment also extends to businesses, which enjoy the benefits of a more capable and motivated workforce, the potential for more efficient decision-making, and the advantage of having sustainability baked into their training processes.

For all these reasons, the Six Thinking Hats course is a practical educational experience and a timely investment in the success and well-being of organisations and individuals alike.

The average time needed to complete the course is 4 hours, and the minimum passing mark for the exam is 70%.

Do you know who will benefit from this course?

Everyone!

The world is changing quickly, and businesses need employees with training, knowledge, and skills to be competitive.

People continually developing their professional skills or pursuing higher education and training are positioning themselves for future career advancement opportunities.

By giving yourself or your employees the knowledge to perform your role safely at work, you will stay safe and go home safely, making the rest and play time in life far more rewarding, whatever you love to do.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, EMPOWER YOURSELF TODAY!