Help clients ask better questions

I can imagine using the 6 hat method to help a client or organization get a better picture of what they are focusing on and unearthing what they might be missing.



I like the idea of asking people what their own questions as a way of encouraging their own process of questioning. It strikes me that coaches ask a lot of questions but don't always ask clients what their questions are. It seems like soliciting questions from a client could provide the coach with insight into what they are wondering and what they might want to work on.

I have occasionally used the six thinking hats with the vestry. And earlier this week I offered it as a resource to a newly ordained deacon who has been assigned to a small congregation.



One of the things I like about the six thinking hats is it let's everyone think about the same category of questions knowing all the categories will be addressed. It helps avoid group conversations in which one person dreams big and another responds with all the reasons that won't work. I think it also offers a structure and accountability for looking at a situation from different angles. That way we don't focus on only the questions we like or are comfortable with and avoid others we don't like or want to deal with.



The journalist questions seem a bit more fact/information oriented. I think they would be helpful in insuring that a decision is not made too quickly or easily and that it is based on some principled thinking and not just "This is what I want to do," or "It feels right." This was part of our vestry conversation as we considered resuming further in-person activities.

I think I would probably go automatically into the "journalist" mode by default and I can see how those types of questions are important. However, I really see the benefit of the 6 hat model. I never considered that before nor have I used it in a group setting such as a parish council or small group work. I can see how if people look at the situation/event through different lenses and perspectives how ideas and creativity could arise. I can also see the benefit of creating conversations. I'm not sure how I'll use the 6 hat method but I will certainly look for opportunities.

Thinking like a journalist comes naturally to me, so I'm glad to see that framework offered for coaching.



I'm intrigued by the six thinking hats approach. People tend to default to various aspects of a plan, depending on their areas of expertise or involvement. This type of approach invites clients to explore a wider swath of the process. I could see the red hat being challenging for some people, as feelings or emotions can be discounted. However, these parts of us can be valuable sources of knowing. I'm eager to try this with clients.

Unfortunately I missed last week's sessions, but I find both of these models (Journalist's method and 6 hats method) really helpful as I think about the powerful questions of good coaching The comments from the others in the blog are helpful to me. I agree with Jessie that the journalist's approach works for me and is a nice affirmation of my natural inclinations. I think this "investigative" approach to coaching can help the clients investigate themselves and can help coaches ask good clarifying questions. I'm intrigued by the 6 hat approach as a tool in coaching cohorts and inviting groups within cohorts to look at shared concerns, priorities or growth areas from 6 different perspectives (set of questions). I want to learn more about Edward De Bono and his approach.

The second approach is a great tool for group coaching. I can see the power of having people look from one specific vantage point so they can dig in deeper and discover more than just what’s at the surface. To further this approach, I could envision coaches shifting teams multiple times, so that groups can experience several different “hats” and add to the collective thought process. In this way, dynamic and creative solutions will surface.

I can envision using the "hats" approach at an off-site retreat with church council members as we discuss a new ministry idea. Perhaps we give 1-2 people a different hat and we bring the collective wisdom back to the group after some brainstorming. With the approach I would need to make sure each cluster had the specifics of what their "hat" is. A lot of ideas could be generated this way, but idea recording and follow up will be important.

I've never heard Edward de Bono’s "6 Thinking Hats" approach before, and admit that my initial reaction was something like: "too hard" "too much to keep track of" and "how long would such a group coaching session go?" But then I started to recognize how many of our church council members ARE these hats...and how powerful it would be to help them realize their voice is NEEDED and VALUED. [Does anyone else have a problem of not enough voices/ideas/concerns shared in the actual council meeting...and not in the parking lot?]

Yes, I could definitely see potential in using this with our council or certain committees that are working on/will hopefully be working plans for kitchen project, returning to 'normal' worship/faith formation, decision making on other upcoming projects/new ministries.

I can see these approaches being very beneficial with my ministry team. There are several challenges on the horizon, as well as ongoing projects that could use some clarification as we seek to move forward.

In my role in working with congregations in visioning processes, I can see this help people get excited about what they might be doing and also to articulate clearly what the possible next steps can be. What I really like about the six hat method is it balances both the dreaming and envisioning the future with a realism and pragmatism about what is possible, what would need to happen to make the vision a reality, and what potential obstacles might need to be overcome.

I love Edward de Bono's approach. I have done a few coaching sessions with my Children, Youth, and Family team and this would be a great way for people to feel like they have something to offer to the conversation as well as with notes in hand not feeling like they are challenging the topic at hand, but living out their role in the conversation.

I like the Thinking Hats approach because it adds a visual/symbol for those persons who are more visual oriented learners. The journalist approach is a more right brain approach for analytical thinkers. Both have their place.



I used the journalist approach last spring (though I didn't realize it) with my council when presenting a review of Dave Daubert's "The Hybrid Church." I proposed that the 'why' for our faith community is the mountain top and the whom, what, when and where are signposts pointing the way to the 'why.' I shared that my 'why' is my core conviction that a Christ-centered faith community transforms lives and that lives transformed in this way can transform the world for the better and asked each of them to reflect on their 'why' and we later took turns sharing.

I really got excited about the 6 Thinking Hats for my council and the organizational development work we will be embarking on after Easter. It will allow for some targeted exploration and I can set it up in such a way that for certain topics we are strategically led by different persons as group in these specific areas with the set of questions that makes it more cohesive for the group and big personalities do not get to monopolize the group or time.



I envision the journalist style being more conducive to a small group and definitely 1 to 1 coaching as there are short questions that get to the point and elicit some of the

Maybe it is because I love journalism, but I am a big fan of the first approach. To be honest I think I am going to bust out some of these questions for our up coming council meetings.



I don't know how I feel about the other approach. One limitation I see is that you need to have six people on the committee or group to use this method. Though you could have a smaller group tackle each part on its own. I might change the language of the hats to something different because for me the hats have a different connotation. I know it sounds silly at first but for whatever reason, I don't like this language because it throws me off to what the actually hat stands for.

I have seen how well this "color coding" or "hat wearing" technique works (even as an elementary school teacher back in the day ). It helps to compartmentalize focus, ideas, functions for more in depth study and development with the end result in bringing each piece of the plan back as a synthesized version of the more general or broad version that they started with. I can see it's value even in an individual client session. While it might seem cumbersome and too much work at the outset, I think using this approach in a situation where there are numerous factors at play, can in the end produce a clearer, cleaner objective and plan moving forward.

One of my biggest insights came a week or so ago when Jim was talking about the 6 different hat approach. I was so caught up in doing them all at once, but Jim reminded us that we have the freedom to pick and choose which ones we could use. We could use all of them or one of them at a time. I think that really makes this approach a lot more meaningful for me and allows me to better coach to where the individual or the group is at.

These are dynamic approaches. I can see encouraging an individual client to use the journalist approach if they are feeling stuck or at a halfway point in our work together - it would give them a space to reflect between sessions without the coach having to be present, and might open them up to bring new insights to the next session. It seems like a good checkin tool to make sure their goals are still the most important/urgent ones and that they are moving the direction they want to go.



The hat exercise is a great one for ministry teams. Whether they are thinking of a goal for the year or planning individual programs, I can envision assigning each team member with a different hat color. That also forces people to consider opportunities or problems from a different perspective than they might usually gravitate toward - it gives everyone a clear role rather than organically letting a few voices or perspectives dominate.

I appreciate learning what the 6 thinking hats are and I could see utilizing them with a client where their temperament is in one very strong quadrant and help them to see another perspective other than their own natural bent. It would be more natural for me to use the journalist approach to asking questions.

I think that this is a really helpful exercise. I can envision using it both for individual coaching (asking the client to put on and take off different "hats") and for groups - perhaps asking each participant which hat do they typically feel like they where, and asking them to consider switching "hats" for a session or two to try out different perspectives.

Very interesting hats and ways to assess particular conversations in group settings. The Yellow Hat speaks to me particularly right now as we prepare for our Fall Stewardship Campaign and prepare goals that would be relevant in 2023. To ask these questions from the Yellow hat perspective, gives us clear ways to speak to people in a positive, forward visioning way. The YELLOW Hat (Sunshine: Symbolizes optimism and possibilities)

What are the good points about this proposal?

What are the benefits for moving forward?

Who would benefit from this program or ministry?

How would people experience these benefits?

I could see Approach 2 to be particularly useful with group coaching. I think it would take more finesse to make it work in individual coaching, unless the topic was quite clear and you could work through these categories sequentially. I could see Approach 1 and 2 working well as homework.

I could see using these kinds of questions with a church council, a transition task force, a committee, etc. As a pastor, I always like to encourage groups to ask the God questions too, such as "where is God in this?" "What's God's preferred future for us and our ministry?" "What would Jesus have us do in this situation?" etc.

WHOM are we seeking to serve? What are their needs? Do we offer what they need? -- So good! I feel like I need to use this in day-to-day life, not just when coaching!



I also love the color hats. I see that the general use of this is the coach assigning hats -would there ever be a scenario where a coach would allow team members to choose their own color?

As a visual person, I like the colored hat method as a way to organize for myself different types of questions. In individual sessions, I probably wouldn't talk about the hat, but instead, I'd be able to pull from different "hats" the right type of question for the session. As I continue to become more familiar with different powerful questions, I think I'll even use these colors to sort through all the options as I come up with my own list.



In a group coaching session, I can see the thinking hats method as being really helpful to keep the conversation moving, to help people move out of their comfort zones by assigning "color" that are out of their typical roles, and to make sure all aspects of the problem/goal are being looked at.

1. As a coach, when would you use these approaches in your settings?

In a team or group setting, when the organization is considering a program push or a major culture shift. The color questions are pretty thorough. Depending on the size of the group, it would require time to go through these.

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!! I got SO EXCITED when I saw this blogpost! I LOVE these!!!



So the journalistic questions are also called the "Thomistic questions" in spirituality, based on Thomas Aquinas and his reasoned approach to existential questions. I use Thomistic/journalistic questions ALLLLLL the time. Literally. ALL. THE. TIME. Sermon prep, planning, evaluations, writing. It is not going to be difficult to incorporate them into coaching.



Secondly, the Six Thinking Hats were something I had come across at another time, and have engaged when processing for myself. As I mentioned in reply to Darren, I'm planning to use them to train my Wisdom Circle as a way to give them a new (?) skill but also to help me. I'm SUPER excited about both of these being useful for coaching!



I would use both of them in both individual and team coaching without hesitation, and was already toying with the idea of using them in a coaching cohort I'm leading currently. The journalistic/Thomistic questions are great investigative questions, which is exactly what they are designed to be. They bring reason particularly to someone who is more likely to feel their way through. (A P vs. a J on the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator would benefit from journalistic questions.) The Six Thinking Hats is useful for individuals in helping them think through all the angles vs their natural perspectives alone. This approach would also be useful for teams addressing monumental changes in structure in that it honors all the voices at the table. I particularly appreciated the color/symbolism associations, which I had not seen before. This will help me clarify my thinking when I'm wearing a particular hat.



Another approach that I find tremendously helpful each time I use it with people is the Thinkertoys method by Michael Michalkski. SCAMPER = Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Multiply/Magnify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse/Rearrange. Helping people explore new ways to be creative is one of my favorite things to do! :)

Approach 2 is very cool. I think it would be a fantastic tool for a planning retreat for a committee or a staff. I could see value in assigning hat color in a way that might go against character, such as having the dreamer as a white hat, or the money person be red or green. This feels both practical and really creative.

I'd use the journalism style questions in a session that seemed to be flowing well. The 6 Hat questions seem more like they'd function better for teams really mired in a problem and unable to move past a challenge. I feel like they're more basic questions that can help root out the source of a challenge. It helps teams move more deeply among themselves.



I think that coaches can broaden client's perspectives by gently challenging assumptions they have about themselves. Sometimes people hold deeply grained ideas and need to come up against and break through challenging mindsets.

I really like the first approach. I think I tend to do a similar thing most of the time anyway--I'm mining for information to help them discover what they already know. The hat method seems really hard to hold in my head and still listen well.

I love the idea of using the hat method for teams. I'm wondering if it would be more helpful to let people choose to wear the hat that is the most similar to the way they always show up in group/team or assign hats and give folks a chance to see things in a different way.

As a coach, I'd probably use these approaches when I felt like I needed an extra tool. Perhaps with a team coaching environment, this could be especially helpful.



I also think that coaches can expand the mindset of their clients by softly questioning assumptions they hold about themselves, including any long-established beliefs that require confronting.

Many pieces of the 6 hat approach come easy to me because they revolve around logistics and planning. This is where I thrive! The one hat that I don't wear often enough is the yellow hat. Helping think about the benefits of change or new ideas and promoting those reasonings will completely shift how I program plan.



Many times clients need to step outside of their situation and look in, as if they were viewing the same scenario as an outsider. When asking clients to give advice to someone in a similar situation they seem to make the perspective shift and make it quickly!

I feel that curiosity plays an important part in formulating questions. The 6 hat approach is useful because it helps cover all aspects of a coaching session. This is a great tool to help the client reach to their own answers and help them move forward their goal.

The visual interpretation of the 6 hats seems to be incredibly helpful for clients who like to visualize outcomes. I can see it having a great impact on helping a client identify their topics and facilitate deep questioning into areas they might not have considered before. Many of us probably have a singular hat that we rely on heavily, but what might the other areas have to contribute to our conversation?

The congregation I am serving is going through a visioning process. The six thinking hats will be a valuable tool in evaluating current programs and ministries, and the future plans and ideas we create. The questions for each color helps frame a program by getting to both the emotions and facts, recognizing that decisions are made using both.