Everyone focuses on the same type of thinking at the same time (parallel thinking), which minimizes conflict and promotes progress.
When switching hats, everyone changes to the different mode of thinking to tap into their collective knowledge.
This eliminates egos and has the potential to dramatically reduce the amount of time spent in meetings.
Just one hat may be used ("What's your red hat on this issue?"), or a combination of the Six Thinking Hats may be used in a particular sequence to examine an issue.