How to Use the Johari Window for Better Self-Awareness & Relationships
The Johari window is a simple yet powerful framework for understanding yourself better and improving your relationships with others. By shedding light on your hidden strengths and blindspots, it provides actionable insights to build self-awareness and mutual understanding.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn:
With practical examples and expert tips, you’ll be able to use the Johari window to uncover your full potential and connect better with people.
What is the Johari Window?
The Johari window is a communication model created in 1955 by American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham. It’s a simple framework to represent our self-awareness and understanding of others.
The name “Johari” combines the first names of its creators – Joe and Harry. “Window” refers to the window or lens we can use to better understand ourselves and others.
Johari window with four panes – open, hidden, blind, unknown. Image source: MindTools
The Johari window represents information in a two-by-two grid with four quadrants or “panes”:
Open area: Known to self and others
Hidden area: Known only to self
Blind area: Known only to others
Unknown area: Not known to self or others
So what does each quadrant really mean?
The open pane covers things we know about ourselves and openly share with others. For example, your name, your field of work, your qualifications, values, and passions.
The hidden pane refers to our private thoughts, feelings, and past experiences known only to us. For instance, a childhood memory, secret fears or ambitions, and subjective viewpoints.
The blind pane covers things others can see in us but we cannot. For example, the impact of our behavior on others, the potential we’re unaware of, or weaknesses we don’t recognize.
Finally, the unknown pane refers to undiscovered talents, traits, and areas of growth neither we nor others are aware of currently.
The size of each pane represents our level of self-awareness and understanding by others. The ultimate aim is to expand the open area by unveiling the hidden, blind, and unknown areas.
Let’s understand the logic behind this four-fold model of awareness.
Why the Johari Window Works
The Johari window gives a nuanced insight into self-awareness and mutual understanding. By dividing awareness into distinct zones, it helps us reflect on what we reveal, conceal, realize, and have yet to discover about ourselves.
Some key strengths of this elegant yet profound model are:
Highlights Common Communication Gaps
The hidden and blind zones depict gaps between our self-perception versus how others see us. The Johari window clearly highlights potential disconnects or mismatches in communications.
For instance, you may think you are open-minded and a good listener. But your colleagues may see you as opinionated and self-absorbed based on your blind spots.
Encourages Reflection and Feedback
The four windows motivate self-reflection and feedback to uncover hidden strengths, overcome blind weaknesses, and expand the open area.
For example, asking for feedback on your presentation skills can help you become aware of mannerisms that distract your audience.
Applicable to Individuals and Relationships
The Johari window applies both to understanding yourself better as an individual and improving mutual understanding in relationships.
Whether it’s your spouse, friend, colleague, or neighbor, the framework builds intimacy by opening up hidden and blind areas between you.
Flexible and Responsive Process
Unlike a fixed personality test, the Johari window is dynamic. The panes can expand or shrink based on self-discovery, feedback exchange, and life experiences.
For instance, a traumatic event may open up previously buried emotions. Mentoring others may uncover latent talents.
This built-in flexibility makes the Johari window relevant across diverse contexts and stages of life.
Universal and Intuitive
While created by psychologists, the Johari window is simple enough for anyone to understand and apply. The visual square lends itself to easy explanation and memorization.
The metaphor of “window panes” is apt as self-awareness involves both transparency and reflection to see clearly.
Now that you understand the meaning and benefits of the Johari window, let’s look at practical steps to apply it.
How to Use the Johari Window: A 4-Step Process
Using the Johari window involves a reflective 4 step approach:
Step 1: Map Your Current Johari Window
Start by mentally mapping out what currently falls in each of the four panes:
- Open: What facts and feelings about yourself do you openly share with others?
- Hidden: What are you aware of but don’t reveal to others? For example, fears, embarrassing memories, negative traits, and secrets.
- Blind: What feedback have you received from others that highlighted your blind spots? For instance, “You interrupt people a lot” or “You’re too harsh when giving feedback.”
- Unknown: What current skills, aptitudes, or experiences are you unaware of? Look back at major surprises, successes, and pivotal moments in your life.
Be honest with yourself as you map the four quadrants based on your life experiences so far. Having this baseline will help track your Johari window shifts later.
Step 2: Identify Areas to Open Up
Review your current Johari window map and reflect on:
- Quadrant(s) you’d like to expand?
- Information you are willing to move from hidden to open?
- Blindspots you want feedback on to uncover?
- New environments or skills to uncover unknown potential?
Expanding the open area involves sharing hidden feelings, motivations or past experiences that explain your perspectives. Seeking feedback to address blindspots also enlarges the open pane.
For example, you may share with a colleague how growing up short heightened your sensitivity to appearance-based judgments. Or request candid input on how patient you are in meetings.
Use your discretion on what to reveal or conceal depending on the type of relationship. But strive to gradually increase transparency.
Step 3: Request Feedback from Others
Now comes the most important and challenging part – asking others for feedback to uncover your blind spots and unknown areas.
Who to ask: Trusted friends and family who know you well and will be honest yet kind. Colleagues or mentors who observe your behavior in different settings than family.
What to ask: Make the feedback discussion clear and structured by preparing specific questions on aspects you want input on. For example:
- “What are my strengths that you think I’m unaware of?”
- “Do I interrupt you when we discuss heated topics?”
- “What advice do you have for me to improve as a public speaker?”
- “Have you noticed any recurring patterns in my work style or relationships?”
How to ask: Have an informal two-way dialogue where you also provide feedback. Mutual exchange builds trust and openness. Set a positive tone by expressing appreciation for their time and thought.
Listen without justifying or rejecting the feedback. Take notes and reflect afterward on patterns.
Step 4: Incorporate Learning and Grow
The Johari window gives insights but you have to do the work of applying them. Once you’ve received feedback, avoid shooting the messenger. Instead:
- Review: Look for agreement and differences between self-assessment and external feedback.
- Discuss: Have a frank but caring chat with the person to better understand their perspectives.
- Reflect: Carefully process and internalize constructive feedback, even if it’s hard to hear initially. Look for recurring themes across different sources.
- Implement: Turn insights into action items. For example, if there is consistent feedback that you lack empathy, consciously listen more and reserve judgment.
- Show change: Modify your behaviors and demonstrate to the feedback giver that you’ve taken steps based on their input.
- Thank: Express genuine gratitude to the person for taking the time and care. Mutual goodwill strengthens your bond.
With sustained effort, you can expand your awareness and abilities. The Johari window is a lifelong process.
Johari Window’s 4 Panes: Characteristics and Tips
Now that you know the overall process, let’s dive deeper into the nuances of each quadrant and how to leverage them.
Open Area Window
This represents aspects openly known to you and others. To expand this window of clear communication:
- Reveal interests: Share more about your likes, passions, and hobbies. This builds rapport through common interests.
- Be descriptive: Instead of saying you’re fine, give specifics on your energy, mood, or health. For example, “I’m feeling sluggish since I slept late last night.”
- Express appreciation: Give genuine praise for qualities and actions you admire in the person. Appreciation fosters mutual goodwill.
- Admit mistakes: We all make mistakes. Own up to yours openly and share what you’ll do to improve. People appreciate humility and learning from failures.
Hidden Area Window
This contains private feelings, past experiences, and opinions you haven’t revealed. To selectively open up:
- Start small: Share minor secrets or mildly embarrassing stories from your past. Humor and small doses of vulnerability can break barriers.
- Clarify motives: Explain the incident or personal motivation behind your view if it’s puzzling to others. The “why” behind what you think or do.
- Align words and actions: If coworkers see you as unapproachable yet caring, share how childhood experiences made you guarded. But stress you’re working on being more friendly.
- Practice self-disclosure: Reveal personal details and feelings gradually, while assessing the other person’s reaction. Match the intimacy level to build trust.
Blind Area Window
This covers weaknesses, limitations, and blindspots others notice but you miss. To expand awareness:
- Check assumptions: We often mistakenly assume our positive intentions translate into a positive impact on others. Reality check this gap.
- Observe body language: Nonverbal cues and subtle social signals can convey what people really think about our behavior. Listen with your eyes.
- Get mirror feedback: Ask others how you come across to them. Listen openly without self-defense to see your blind spots.
- Cultivate humility: The more humble, curious, and growth-oriented you are, the more feedback people will share to help you.
Unknown Area Window
This page holds undiscovered strengths, latent potential, and growth areas. To uncover them:
- Attempt new activities: Take on novel roles, classes, or hobbies unrelated to your day job. For example, improv classes if you’re an engineer.
- Face fears: Take on small challenges just beyond your comfort zone so you surprise yourself. Fears often block talents.
- Reflect on peaks: Recall peak moments when you were in flow and at your best. What conditions brought out those strengths?
- Embrace intuition: Follow your gut instinct on new possibilities you’re drawn to pursuing. Logic alone limits potential.
While it takes courage to uncover your blind and unknown areas, this enables growth. As Anaïs Nin wisely said, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Applying the Johari Window: Examples
To better grasp this abstract model, let’s walk through some concrete examples of the Johari window in action across different scenarios:
Johari Window for Career Growth
Pradeep completed his MBA and joined an IT company. He mapped his Johari window:
- Open: Technical skills, IQ, introverted personality
- Hidden: Feeling inadequately qualified despite an Ivy League degree
- Blind: Poor communication style, lack of strategic thinking
- Unknown: Potential to be an empathetic leader
He openly discussed his insecurities with his mentor (hidden to open). He also requested tactical feedback from peers on his communication gaps to address blindspots.
By practicing public speaking and aligning with visionary managers, Pradeep’s unknown potential as a charismatic, strategic leader emerged. Two years later he was leading key client accounts.
Johari Window for Teams
Acme Corp created a new 5-member marketing team. Here is their collective Johari window at their forming stage:
| Open | Hidden | Blind | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual skills | Personal biases | Interpersonal chemistry | Synergies through diversity |
| Hidden doubts | Potential strengths |
The team took personality tests, shared professional backgrounds, and candidly discussed work styles. This expanded their open area. They also provided anonymous feedback on the team’s communication and conflict-resolution tendencies. This helped address blindspots.
Brainstorming new products and assessing their skills matrix opened up unknown synergies. Improved understanding shifted them from a group of 5 to a cohesive high-performing team.
Whether it’s career, relationships, or teams, the Johari window facilitates self-discovery, authentic relating, and growth.
Tips to Give (and Receive) Johari Window Feedback
The Johari window process works best when you trade quality feedback with others. Here are some top tips:
Feedback Giving Tips
To help others expand self-awareness, tell them:
- Be specific: Give recent concrete examples of their strengths or areas for improvement. Vague generalities are unhelpful.
- Focus on changeable behaviors: Comment on aspects they can control – style and competence versus innate traits.
- Share your experience: Use “I” language to explain your honest reactions and how their behaviors affect you and others.
- Use observation skills: Describe their communication style, work habits, and emotional patterns as objectively as possible. Quantify frequency if you can – often interrupts, rarely makes eye contact, etc.
- Emphasize growth: Frame weakness as opportunities for growth. “You have a sharp mind and can develop more patience.”
Feedback Receiving Tips
To benefit rather than get defensive about feedback:
- Listen fully: Put aside preconceived notions and hear them out without interrupting. Reflect on what they say rather than react.
- Ask clarifying questions: Dig deeper into their specific observations. Get curious rather than self-justify.
- Find the truth: Objectively reflect on their comments later. Look for recurring patterns even in isolated feedback.
- Say thanks: Express sincere appreciation for their time and care, even if the feedback is difficult to accept initially.
- Commit to change: Don’t shoot the messenger. Demonstrate you value their feedback by taking steps to improve.
Ongoing truthful Johari window dialogue strengthens relationships, creativity, and results.
Limitations and Healthy Use of the Johari Window
The Johari window is an elegant communications model. However, mindfully avoid these potential pitfalls:
- Forced self-disclosure: Reveal personal details at your own pace when ready. Don’t yield to pressure for sudden or excessive transparency.
- Exposure without consent: Respect people’s right to privacy. Don’t share others’ hidden aspects without their permission.
- Labeling: Don’t reduce complex people to simplified open-area traits like “the introvert” or “the pessimist.”
- Assumptions: Even expanded awareness is still partial. Avoid assumptions about people’s hidden truths or blindspots.
- Blind condemnation: Criticize harmful behaviors but don’t judge people. Feedback must come from a caring not shaming stance.
- Feedback overload: Focus on one or two priority areas versus dumping overwhelming criticism. Baby steps.
- One-way transparency: Strive for reciprocal openness rather than expecting disclosure without sharing your blindspots.
With mindful communication and caring motives, the Johari window can greatly enrich self-discovery and relationships. Ultimately, our shared humanity makes us more alike than different.
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In Summary
The Johari window is a powerful framework to improve self-awareness, mutual understanding, and communication:
- It categorizes awareness into four panes – open, hidden, blind, and unknown areas.
- Making the hidden open, requesting feedback on blindspots, and exploring unknown areas help us expand our open window.
- To use it effectively, map your Johari window, identify areas to open up, get quality feedback, reflect, and implement changes.
- With ongoing practice, the Johari window facilitates enriching dialogue, trust, growth, and better relationships.
So open up a Johari window into yourself and others. The vista of expanded self-knowledge and relating is truly beautiful!
