The Johari Window

Abstract

In the 1950s large, complex and interdisciplinary projects started to emerge. It was therefore evident that new materials, methods and procedures had to be developed to ensure the success of these projects. This allowed for development of new concepts in the Socio-technical arena, which focused on the interdisciplinary project team and how to evolve and develop these teams effectively^[1]. In other words; the new complex and interdisciplinary projects paved the way for the soft skills and focus on behavior in individual and team development.

The Johari Window was developed by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingram in 1955. It seeks to foster and improve self-awareness by providing the user with different perspectives in relation to context, and can be used on, but are not limited to, an individual or team level. In order for a person, or a team, to grow and mature, they must seek information from the outside in order to uncover their strength and weaknesses. This can for example be done either by comparing oneself to another person or team (individual level), or by comparing the team to other teams (teams level). When used and understood correctly, the Johari Window can help manage teams and individuals by creating an understanding of how they communicate, are perceived and present them self. For teams the Johari Window may result in a change of the group dynamic, as new information can be uncovered.

This article will start by introducing the reader to the history of the Johari Window, followed by an explanation of the four quadrants, and how these interplay with each other. The reader will then be introduced to ways of changing and broadening specific windows with feedback in order to become more self-aware. Lastly the Johari Window will be used as an example of how to conducting information retrieval on a group, team and individual level.

Background

The Johari Window was created by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingram in 1961, and have since been interpreted and adapted for many different use cases. The name Johari comes from the two authors, how decided to name this model after them self (JOseph and HARrIngton). In 1961 Joseph Luft described the Johari Window as "a graphical model of awareness in interpersonal relations" ^[2]. It was originally designed to promote self-awareness and foster communication for development. Since the Johari Windows first saw the light of day, it has, by some, been used to gain a deeper insight into the world around us by analyzing knowledge and assumptions rather than individuals^[3].

Theory

The Four Quadrants

Figure 1. The Johari Window By Wendy G. Troxel (Copyright CC-BY 4.0)

The Johari Window consists of four quadrants;1) Arena, 2) Façade, 3) Blind Spot and 4) Unknown, which together illustrates the relationship of awareness. The four quadrants are categorised into a matrix system with two viewpoint: self and others, and two elements: known and unknown^[4]. The Johari Window is often depicted in a way, where all of the quadrant have the same size. In reality, this is not the case, as the quadrant can change in size according to the amount of knowledge it reflects. This will be covered in a later chapter.

Arena

Loft refers to the first quadrant as the area of free activity^[2]. As seen in the Figure 1 this quadrant refers to elements known to both the self and to others.

As this quadrant hold the information known to all members, it is also referred to as the known^[5], Open Self/Area, Free Area and Public Area^[6]. This is quadrant where we are most effective when talking about team work and other collaborations. A team should therefore seek to develop an arena for each of its members to become more productive in their work^[6].

Façade

This quadrant holds emotions, information, learnings, context and more which the person is aware of but have not yet shared with others. This is also why this part of the window is referred to as the hidden self, hidden area or avoided self. There may be many reasons why the person have not shared this information with others yet, such as trauma, fears, missing trust or the context in which the person and the group is operating ^[6].

Blind Spot

The Blind Spot is also referred to as the Blind Area and Blind Self. Loft defined the this quadrant as where others can see things in ourselves of which we are unaware^[2]. This is also known to be a sensitive quadrant to some people, as they themselves are not aware of what elements resides here, while the people around them are.

Unknown

The Unknown part of the window are defined as; Netiher the individual nor others are aware of certain behaviors or motives. Yet we can assume their existence because eventually some of these things become known, and it then realized that there unknown behaviors and motives were influencing relationships all along ^[2]. In other words; even though the Unknown area is something we cannot see, nor explore, it can be assumed to exists as we know we can learn something new. Which is also why it is sometimes called the Mystery Arear. Examples of unknown elements are (but are not limited to); Unknown illness, natural ability which have not yet been uncovered and subconscious feelings^[6].

Using feedback to expand the quadrants of the Johari Window

While some people or teams may be comfortable with the current layout of their Johari Window, it is important to evolve the window to ensure the continued growth of the team and/or person.

As mentioned above, the Arena is the part of the Johari Window, where both oneself and others are aware of the information. By having a larger Arena, teams and individuals will have a larger area of operation where they are productive. It can be argued, that already established team members will have a larger Arena than new team members. This is due to the fact that this quadrant consists of elements known to both self and others. The Arena can be expanded if we share our knowledge with others, or others share their knowledge with us. By being an established member of a team, chances are that the members within the team have already shared their knowledge with each other, thus expanding this area. New team members may have a smaller Arena as they may not be known to the existing team members and do not possess knowledge of the current team^[6]. It is possible to expand the Arena, by limiting the space of the Blind Area. Luft referred to this as "I need to have your information about me"^[2]. This is also known as feedback or as "Accepting the blind"^[5].

As research have shown that professionals are generally blind to their own mistakes, thus leading them to overestimating themselves and their performance and/or competencies, it is important to provide the feedback-receiver with outside insights. It can be difficult for others to make a person aware of his/her Blind Spot, as a politeness barrier may be a part of the culture of a working place or a team work. It is however important for both individuals and teams to explore their Blind Spot, as this area hides knowledge known by others, thus leading to ignorance which means that teams and individuals are not effective when operating within this area. The managers in the company or of the group therefor have a great responsibility in creating an open and understanding culture where employees and team members may provide others with feedback to decrease their Blind Spot. Some suggest that giving feedback training to the people involved may help foster this open and understanding culture. It is however important that the feedback training does not only focus on giving constructive feedback but are also focusing on receiving, accepting and using the feedback given^[5]. Feedback sessions are also beneficial to the feedback-giver, as they ay decrease their Façade by giving feedback. By giving feedback, the feedback-giver are giving the feedback-receiver valuable information about the responses he/she has about the actions from the feedback-receiver. The feedback-giver may provide information about likes/dislikes, previous experiences and feelings to the feedback-receiver, as he/she shares their feedback in a context^[2].

As it may be sensitive for some people to explore the Blind Spot within the Johari window, it is the managers responsibility that this is done in a manner, where the individuals involved feels safe and the feedback is not seen as a manner of attack.

One may also need to share their Hidden Self, by reveling their Façade, in order to expand the Arena. This is also known as Exposure^[5]. In general, this is done by the person exposing their dreams, fears, feelings, hidden talents, memories and more, to other people. Motivating people to share their experiences with the team may not only increase the Arena for that specific person but will also increase the Arena for the other people and the team. How a team receives and reacts to the information from another person’s Hidden Self, conveys a vast amount of information from the team to the person giving the information. How the team react, verbally or nonverbally, to the information given, provides the giver with data about the team, thus decreasing the teams blind or hidden areas^[2]. It is possible that by reducing the Hidden Area of a team, the risk of confusion and misunderstanding between team members decrease as their common Arena expands. As with the Blind Spot some individuals may be sensitive when reveling their Façade to others. A lot of people fear being judged on the basis of their feelings and experiences, thus tending to keep the information from the Hidden Area to themselves. It is therefore important that the individuals only expose the information hidden within their Façade when they themselves feel comfortable in doing so. Like with the Blind Spot, it is important that the managers seek to foster an open and understanding culture, where the individuals involved trust one another enough to expose themselves to others.

Some employees may only want to expose their feelings and goals when a trusting relationship have been established between the feedback-giver and feedback-receiver. Research have shown that having a positive relationship between the feedback-giver and feedback-receiver make the data from the feedback sessions more acceptable. It is therefore the managers duty to ensure a safe space and a trusting relationship between the feedback-giver and the feedback-receiver, to guarantee the expansion of the Arena for both the individuals and the team.

It is also possible to disclose information from in the Unknown Area. Luft argued that the Unknown Area could be explored in multiple ways^[2]:

Intentionally doing things you have not done before
Continuously exploring both the Blind and Hidden areas
Using untapped resources/skills/talent you have
Exploring your dreams
Paying attention to what stimulates you
Unnumbing yourself

While Luft focused mainly on actions the individual could take in order to explore their Unknown Area, there are also processes which managers can make use of, to let groups or individuals explore this area. It is, however, important to remember that it is up to the individual, and not up to the manager or other group members, to decide that he/she wants to explore this area. To ensure the success of the exploration of this area, it is important for the manager to establish an environment which appreciates and inspires the individuals or group to participate in the discovery of the Unknown information^[6]. While the individual or the group can try to explore this area by themselves, it may be beneficial to bring in other groups or individuals with different backgrounds to help foster the exploration and uncover the Unknown Secretes. Research conducted in regard to exploring self-awareness during residency education in the medical field found that non-physicians such as nurses, patients and case managers are able to provide useful insights on another level. This may enhance the continued professional development by helping the residents to explore their Unknown Area. The research also showed that the physicians are more likely to view this form of feedback as less credible and beneficial^[5]. It is therefore important that the managers who which for their teams and individuals to explore the Unknown Area evaluates the background and possible power relations between the insiders and the outsiders before bringing in external resources.

In all of this, it is important to remember to accept and validate the known to make the individual or the group feel heard and validated. By circling back to the Arena during feedback sessions, the feedback-giver offers the feedback-receiver validation that his/her perception of self and the context in which they operate are correct. It is important to validate the actions, emotions and thoughts in the Arena, as this help to justify or adjust the self assessment of both feedback-giver and feedback-receiver^[5].

Summary

It is important, both when receiving and giving feedback, that we feel seen and understood. This self-assessment occurs in the Arena of the Johari Window. This is also the place where collaborating teams are most effective. While some people will have a fairly large Arena, others will need help to expand their Arena by exploring either the Blind Spot, the Façade or the Unknown.

As mentioned above, certain people are blind to their own mistakes, which leads to ignorance. This is also called the Blind Spot. It is possible for individuals and groups to expand their Arena, by exploring their Blind Spot through actions such as feedback. Elements which can stand in the way of successful exploration of the Blind Spot can, for instance, be the culture of the working place or the need to learn how to receive and use the feedback given.

The Arena can also be expanded by a person, or a team, reveling something known to themselves, but not to others, and therefore making their Façade smaller, while enlarging their Arena. It is important that the managers of an individual, team or company seek to develop and maintain a culture, where the person(s) involved feel safe to expose their Façade to others.

The Unknown quadrant is the most difficult to explore, as this is an area unknown to both self and others. Managers can foster the exploration of the Unknown by letting their employees seek new adventures, try new skills and giving them freedom. It is also suggested that one can explore the Unknown through feedback from people or teams, not directly involved in their work. This can for instance be doctors seeking feedback from their patients or the family of their patients.

In order for all of the individuals involved to be comfortable with exploring or exposing hidden and unknown parts of themselves, it is important that the managers and leaders of the teams and organizations work toward a safe and understanding environment. It is also important that the exposure of the quadrants happens on the individual or teams requestion. In other words; exploration of the Johari Window should not be mandated, but encouraged.