johari window

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Ingham and Luft's Johari Window model diagrams and examples - for self-awareness personal de!elopment group de!elopment and understanding relationships
The Johari Window model is a simple and useful tool for illustrating and improving self-awareness, and mutual understanding between individuals within a group. The Johari Window model can also be used to assess and improve a group's relationship with other groups. The Johari Window model was devised by American psychologists Joseph Luft and arry !ngham in "#$$, while researching group dynamics at the %niversity of &alifornia Los Angeles. The model was first published in the 'roceedings of the Western Training Laboratory in (roup )evelopment by %&LA *+tension ,ffice in "#$$, and was later e+panded by Joseph Luft. Today the Johari Window model is especially relevant due to modern emphasis on, and influence of, 'soft' s-ills, behaviour, empathy, cooperation, inter-group development and interpersonal development. The Johari Window concept is particularly helpful to understanding employee.employer relationships within the 'sychological &ontract. ,ver the years, alternative Johari Window terminology has been developed and adapted by other people particularly leading to different descriptions of the four regions, hence the use of different terms in this e+planation. )on't let it all confuse you - the Johari Window model is really very simple indeed.

free johari window model diagram "pdf - landscape# free johari window model diagram "pdf - portrait#
/The Johari Window diagram is also available in 01Word format from the free resources section.2 Luft and !ngham called their Johari Window model 'Johari' after combining their first names, Joe and arry. !n early publications the word appears as 'Jo ari'. The Johari Window soon became a widely used model for understanding and training self-awareness, personal development, improving communications, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics, team development and inter-group relationships. The Johari Window model is also referred to as a 'disclosure.feedbac- model of self awareness', and by some people an 'information processing tool'. The Johari Window actually represents information - feelings, e+perience, views, attitudes, s-ills, intentions, motivation, etc - within or about a person - in relation to their group, from four perspectives, which are described below. The Johari Window model can also be used to represent the same information for a group in relation to other groups. Johari Window terminology refers to 'self' and 'others'3 'self' means oneself, ie, the person sub4ect to the Johari Window analysis. ',thers' means other people in the person's group or team. 5.6. When the Johari Window model is used to assess and develop groups in relation to other groups, the 'self' would be the group, and 'others' would be other groups. owever, for ease of e+planation and understanding of

the Johari Window and e+amples in this article, thin- of the model applying to an individual within a group, rather than a group relating to other groups. The four Johari Window perspectives are called 'regions' or 'areas' or '7uadrants'. *ach of these regions contains and represents the information - feelings, motivation, etc - -nown about the person, in terms of whether the information is -nown or un-nown by the person, and whether the information is -nown or un-nown by others in the group. The Johari Window's four regions, /areas, 7uadrants, or perspectives2 are as follows, showing the 7uadrant numbers and commonly used names3

johari window four regions

". what is -nown by the person about him.herself and is also -nown by others - open area open self free area free self or 'the arena' 8. what is un-nown by the person about him.herself but which others -now - blind area blind self or 'blindspot' 9. what the person -nows about him.herself that others do not -now - hidden area hidden self a!oided area a!oided self or 'facade' :. what is un-nown by the person about him.herself and is also un-nown by others - un$nown area or un$nown self

johari window four regions - model diagram

Li-e some other behavioural models /eg, Tuc-man, ersey.6lanchard2, the Johari Window is based on a fours7uare grid - the Johari Window is li-e a window with four 'panes'. ere's how the Johari Window is normally shown, with its four regions.

This is the standard representation of the Johari Window model, showing each 7uadrant the same si;e. The Johari Window 'panes' can be changed in si;e to reflect the relevant proportions of each type of '-nowledge' of.about a particular person in a given group or team situation. !n new groups or teams the open free space for any team member is small /see the Johari Window new team member e+ample below2 because shared awareness is relatively small. As the team member becomes better established and -nown, so the si;e of the team member's open free area 7uadrant increases. 1ee the Johari Window established team member e+ample below.

johari window model - explanation of the four regions

<efer to the free detailed Johari Window model diagram in the free resources section - print a copy and it will help you to understand what follows.

johari %uadrant & - 'open self/area' or 'free area' or 'public area' or 'arena'
Johari region " is also -nown as the 'area of free activity'. This is the information about the person - behaviour, attitude, feelings, emotion, -nowledge, e+perience, s-ills, views, etc - $nown by the person /'the self'2 and $nown by the group /'others'2. 'he aim in an( group should alwa(s be to de!elop the 'open area' for e!er( person because when we wor$ in this area with others we are at our most effecti!e and producti!e and the group is at its most producti!e too. 'he open free area or 'the arena' can be seen as the space where good communications and cooperation occur free from distractions mistrust confusion conflict and misunderstanding. *stablished team members logically tend to have larger open areas than new team members. 5ew team members start with relatively small open areas because relatively little -nowledge about the new team member

is shared. The si;e of the open area can be e+panded hori;ontally into the blind space, by see-ing and actively listening to feedbac- from other group members. This process is -nown as 'feedbac- solicitation'. Also, other group members can help a team member e+pand their open area by offering feedbac-, sensitively of course. The si;e of the open area can also be e+panded vertically downwards into the hidden or avoided space by the person's disclosure of information, feelings, etc about him.herself to the group and group members. Also, group members can help a person e+pand their open area into the hidden area by as-ing the person about him.herself. 0anagers and team leaders can play an important role in facilitating feedbac- and disclosure among group members, and in directly giving feedbac- to individuals about their own blind areas. Leaders also have a big responsibility to promote a culture and e+pectation for open, honest, positive, helpful, constructive, sensitive communications, and the sharing of -nowledge throughout their organi;ation. Top performing groups, departments, companies and organi;ations always tend to have a culture of open positive communication, so encouraging the positive development of the 'open area' or 'open self' for everyone is a simple yet fundamental aspect of effective leadership.

johari %uadrant ) - 'blind self' or 'blind area' or 'blindspot'

Johari region 8 is what is $nown about a person by others in the group, but is un$nown by the person him.herself. 6y see-ing or soliciting feedbac- from others, the aim should be to reduce this area and thereby to increase the open area /see the Johari Window diagram below2, ie, to increase self-awareness. This blind area is not an effective or productive space for individuals or groups. This blind area could also be referred to as ignorance about oneself, or issues in which one is deluded. A blind area could also include issues that others are deliberately withholding from a person. We all -now how difficult it is to wor- well when -ept in the dar-. 5oone wor-s well when sub4ect to 'mushroom management'. 'eople who are 'thic--s-inned' tend to have a large 'blind area'. (roup members and managers can ta-e some responsibility for helping an individual to reduce their blind area in turn increasing the open area - by giving sensitive feedbac- and encouraging disclosure. 0anagers should promote a climate of non-4udgemental feedbac-, and group response to individual disclosure, which reduces fear and therefore encourages both processes to happen. The e+tent to which an individual see-s feedbac-, and the issues on which feedbac- is sought, must always be at the individual's own discretion. 1ome people are more resilient than others - care needs to be ta-en to avoid causing emotional upset. The process of soliciting serious and deep feedbac- relates to the process of 'self-actuali;ation' described in 0aslow's ierarchy of 5eeds development and motivation model.

johari %uadrant * - 'hidden self' or 'hidden area' or 'a!oided self/area' or 'facade'

Johari region 9 is what is $nown to ourselves but -ept hidden from, and therefore un$nown, to others. This hidden or avoided self represents information, feelings, etc, anything that a person -nows about him.self, but which is not revealed or is -ept hidden from others. The hidden area could also include sensitivities, fears, hidden agendas, manipulative intentions, secrets - anything that a person -nows but does not reveal, for whatever reason. !t's natural for very personal and private information and feelings to remain hidden, indeed, certain information, feelings and e+periences have no bearing on wor-, and so can and should remain hidden. owever, typically, a lot of hidden information is not very personal, it is wor-- or performance-related, and so is better positioned in the open area.

<elevant hidden information and feelings, etc, should be moved into the open area through the process of 'disclosure'. The aim should be to disclose and e+pose relevant information and feelings - hence the Johari Window terminology 'self-disclosure' and 'e+posure process', thereby increasing the open area. 6y telling others how we feel and other information about ourselves we reduce the hidden area, and increase the open area, which enables better understanding, cooperation, trust, team-wor-ing effectiveness and productivity. <educing hidden areas also reduces the potential for confusion, misunderstanding, poor communication, etc, which all distract from and undermine team effectiveness. ,rgani;ational culture and wor-ing atmosphere have a ma4or influence on group members' preparedness to disclose their hidden selves. 0ost people fear 4udgement or vulnerability and therefore hold bac- hidden information and feelings, etc, that if moved into the open area, ie -nown by the group as well, would enhance mutual understanding, and thereby improve group awareness, enabling better individual performance and group effectiveness. The e+tent to which an individual discloses personal feelings and information, and the issues which are disclosed, and to whom, must always be at the individual's own discretion. 1ome people are more -een and able than others to disclose. 'eople should disclose at a pace and depth that they find personally comfortable. As with feedbac-, some people are more resilient than others - care needs to be ta-en to avoid causing emotional upset. Also as with soliciting feedbac-, the process of serious disclosure relates to the process of 'selfactuali;ation' described in 0aslow's ierarchy of 5eeds development and motivation model.

johari %uadrant + - 'un$nown self' or 'area of un$nown acti!it(' or 'un$nown area'

Johari region : contains information, feelings, latent abilities, aptitudes, e+periences etc, that are un$nown to the person him.herself and un$nown to others in the group. These un-nown issues ta-e a variety of forms3 they can be feelings, behaviours, attitudes, capabilities, aptitudes, which can be 7uite close to the surface, and which can be positive and useful, or they can be deeper aspects of a person's personality, influencing his.her behaviour to various degrees. Large un-nown areas would typically be e+pected in younger people, and people who lace+perience or self-belief. *+amples of un-nown factors are as follows, and the first e+ample is particularly relevant and common, especially in typical organi;ations and teams3

an ability that is under-estimated or un-tried through lac- of opportunity, encouragement, confidence or training a natural ability or aptitude that a person doesn't realise they possess a fear or aversion that a person does not -now they have an un-nown illness repressed or subconscious feelings conditioned behaviour or attitudes from childhood

The processes by which this information and -nowledge can be uncovered are various, and can be prompted through self-discovery or observation by others, or in certain situations through collective or mutual discovery, of the sort of discovery e+perienced on outward bound courses or other deep or intensive group wor-. &ounselling can also uncover un-nown issues, but this would then be -nown to the person and by one other, rather than by a group.

Whether un-nown 'discovered' -nowledge moves into the hidden, blind or open area depends on who discovers it and what they do with the -nowledge, notably whether it is then given as feedbac-, or disclosed. As with the processes of soliciting feedbac- and disclosure, striving to discover information and feelings in the un-nown is relates to the process of 'self-actuali;ation' described in 0aslow's ierarchy of 5eeds development and motivation model. Again as with disclosure and soliciting feedbac-, the process of self discovery is a sensitive one. The e+tent and depth to which an individual is able to see- out discover their un-nown feelings must always be at the individual's own discretion. 1ome people are more -een and able than others to do this. %ncovering 'hidden talents' - that is un-nown aptitudes and s-ills, not to be confused with developing the Johari 'hidden area' - is another aspect of developing the un-nown area, and is not so sensitive as un-nown feelings. 'roviding people with the opportunity to try new things, with no great pressure to succeed, is often a useful way to discover un-nown abilities, and thereby reduce the un-nown area. 0anagers and leaders can help by creating an environment that encourages self-discovery, and to promote the processes of self discovery, constructive observation and feedbac- among team members. !t is a widely accepted industrial fact that the ma4ority of staff in any organi;ation are at any time wor-ing well within their potential. &reating a culture, climate and e+pectation for self-discovery helps people to fulfil more of their potential and thereby to achieve more, and to contribute more to organi;ational performance. A note of caution about Johari region :3 The un-nown area could also include repressed or subconscious feelings rooted in formative events and traumatic past e+periences, which can stay un-nown for a lifetime. !n a wor- or organi;ational conte+t the Johari Window should not be used to address issues of a clinical nature. %seful references are Arthur Janov's seminal boo- The 'rimal 1cream /read about the boo- here2, and Transactional Analysis.

johari window example - increasing open area through feedbac$ solicitation

This Johari Window model diagram is an e+ample of increasing the open area , by reduction of the blind area, which would normally be achieved through the process of as-ing for and then receiving feedbac-. =eedbac- develops the open area by reducing the blind area. The open area can also be developed through the process of disclosure, which reduces the hidden area. The un-nown area can be reduced in different ways3 by others' observation /which increases the blind area2> by selfdiscovery /which increases the hidden area2, or by mutual enlightenment typically via group e+periences and discussion - which increases the open area as the un-nown area reduces.

A team which understands itself - that is, each person having a strong mutual understanding with the team - is far more effective than a team which does not understand each other- that is, whose members have large hidden, blind, and.or un-nown areas. Team members - and leaders - should always be striving to increase their open free areas, and to reduce their blind, hidden and un-nown areas. A person represented by the Johari Window e+ample below will not perform to their best potential, and the team will fail to ma-e full use of the team's potential and the person's potential too. *ffort should generally be made by the person to increase his.her open free area, by disclosing information about his.her feelings, e+perience, views, motivation, etc, which will reduce the si;e of the hidden area, and increase the open free area. 1ee-ing feedbac- about the blind area will reduce the blind area, and will increase the open free area. )iscovery through sensitive communications, active listening and e+perience, will reduce the un-nown area, transferring in part to the blind, hidden areas, depending on who -nows what, or better still if -nown by the person and others, to the open free area.

johari window model - example for new team member or member within a new team

This Johari Window model diagram is an e+ample of a member of a new team or a person who is new to an e+isting team. The open free region is small because others -now little about the new person. 1imilarly the blind area is small because others -now little about the new person. The hidden or avoided issues and feelings are a relatively large area. !n this particular e+ample the un-nown area is the largest, which might be because the person is young, or lac-ing in self-nowledge or belief.

johari window example - established team member example

This Johari Window model diagram is an e+ample of an established member of a team. The open free region is large because others -now a lot about the person that the person also -nows. Through the processes of disclosure and receiving feedbac- the open area has e+panded and at the same time reduced the si;es of the hidden, blind and un-nown areas.

!t's helpful to compare the Johari Window model to other four-7uadrant behavioural models, notably 6ruce Tuc-man's =orming, 1torming 5orming 'erforming team development model> also to a lesser but nonetheless interesting e+tent, The ersey-6lanchard 1ituational Leadership team development and management styles model /1ee both here2. The common principle is that as the team matures and communications improve, so performance improves too, as less energy is spent on internal issues and clarifying understanding, and more effort is devoted to e+ternal aims and productive output. The Johari Window model also relates to emotional intelligence theory /*?2, and one's awareness and development of emotional intelligence. As already stated, the Johari Window relates also to Transactional Analysis /notably understanding deeper aspects of the 'un-nown' area, region :2. The Johari Window processes of serious feedbac- solicitation, disclosure, and striving to uncover one's un-nown area relate to 0aslow's 'self-actuali;ation' ideas contained in the ierarchy of 5eeds. There are several e+ercises and activities for Johari Window awareness development among teams featured on the team building games section, for e+ample the ring tones activity.

exploring more ideas for using ingham and luft's johari window model in training learning and de!elopment
The e+amples of e+ercises using the Johari Window theory on this website which might begin to open possibilities for you. The Johari Window obviously model provides useful bac-ground rationale and 4ustification for most things that you might thin- to do with people relating to developing mutual and selfawareness, all of which lin-s strongly to team effectiveness and harmony. There are many ways to use the Johari model in learning and development - much as using any other theory such as 0aslow's, Tuc-man's, TA, 5L', etc. !t very much depends on what you want to achieve, rather than approaching the sub4ect from 'what are all the possible uses@' which would be a ma4or investigation. This being the case, it might help you to as- yourself first what you want to achieve in your training and development activities@ And what are your intended outputs and how will you measure that they have been achieved@ And then thin- about how the Johari Window theory and principles can be used to assist this. <esearching academic papers /most typically published on university and learning institutions websites2 written about theories such as Johari is a fertile method of e+ploring possibilities for concepts and models li-e Johari. This approach tends to improve your in-depth understanding, instead of simply using specific interpretations or applications 'off-the-shelf', which in themselves might provide good ideas for a one-off session, but don't help you much with understanding how to use the thin-ing at a deeper level. Also e+plore the original wor- of !ngham and Luft, and reviews of same, relating to the development and applications of the model. Johari is a very elegant and potent model, and as with other powerful ideas, simpl( helping people to understand is the most effective way to optimise the value to people. *+plaining the meaning of the Johari Window theory to people, so they can really properly understand it in their own terms, then empowers people to use the thin-ing in their own way, and to incorporate the underlying principles into their future thin-ing and behaviour.

<elevant reading, /if you can find copies23 '(roup 'rocesses - An !ntroduction to (roup )ynamics' by Joseph Luft, first published in "#A9> and ',f uman !nteraction3 The Johari 0odel' by Joseph Luft, first published in "#A#. !n the boo-s Joseph Luft e+plains that Johari is pronounced as if it were Joe and arry, and that is '...4ust what the word means'. e e+plains also that the Johari model was developed by him and arrington B !ngham 0) in "#$$ during a summer laboratory session, and that the model was published in the 'roceedings of the

Western Training Laboratory in (roup )evelopment for that year by the %&LA /%niversity of &alifornia Los Angeles2 *+tension ,ffice.

see also

see, download and print the free detailed 4ohari window model diagram in the free resources section /pdf - landscape2 free 4ohari window model diagram /pdf - portrait2 /The Johari Window diagram is also available in 01Word format from the free resources section.2 the 'sychological &ontract - within which Johari principles of mutual awareness are crucial