This week we explore a timeless model and a tool underutilised in leadership and self-development circles. The JOHARI Window (named by joining the first two names of American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, who developed the model in 1955) is a fantastic self-exploration model to help you see how you perceive yourself and how others might perceive you. It is a tool to increase self-awareness and help you better understand how you relate to others.
The model inspires us to learn to be more authentic, open, and communicative in our relationships. The purpose of using this model is to look for growth areas and to expand the open, authentic “me” more.
The JOHARI Window model explained
The model is below, followed by an explanation of each quadrant with some examples and a set of questions and prompts to explore each quadrant more.
You can do this exercise with your team or significant other. It can also be used to gather feedback and solicit ideas from your leadership team on specific behaviours that might derail you from achieving your ambitions.
Using the JOHARI model is a powerful tool and helps uncover many facets of yourself that might be closed to yourself and others. It is also a tool that can be confronting. You are, after all, making yourself open and vulnerable to yourself and others. So be kind to yourself, and use it as a development tool, not a fail/pass test.
If you are a new leader, you might wish to tweak the model so that the questions relate to your leadership style and uncover behaviours and patterns to help improve your leadership competencies.
Caveat (and speaking from experience!)
The JOHARI Window model must not be used to shame people or as an excuse to go all out and call out every behaviour one sees. Like all models and tools, please use this model judiciously to uncover unknown behaviours so that we might become a more authentic version of our true, open selves and reach our full potential.
Open Me – I know, you know.
Information that I know about myself AND others know about me too.
In this quadrant, you explore what you know to be true about yourself. These could be positives or areas for development.
Examples:
I know I have a good sense of humour, and others can confirm that.
I know I am kind, and others confirm that to me.
I know I am a perfectionist, and others confirm that.
Blind Me – I don’t know, but you do
Information about me that I do not know but others do know.
In this quadrant, you explore what you might not be consciously aware of but others can see. These can be strengths or areas of development you have overlooked because they come naturally to you. It could also be areas that have unintended consequences for others when you do them.
Examples:
Look for examples where someone told me I was terrific at something or did something very well, and what they said surprised me. (Look for your reaction, like, “Oh, am I? I didn’t know that about myself”.)
Look for examples where I might have done something and got feedback that that action had unintended consequences.
Hidden Me – I know, but you don’t know (private)
Information that I know about myself but others do not know.
In this quadrant, you explore things you know about yourself but others do not. These could be positives or areas of development and may include talents and abilities or fears and insecurities. The more areas we keep hidden, the less authentic we become to ourselves and how others perceive us.
Examples:
I enjoy reading crime novels, but people might think I am odd if I share that with them.
I enjoy reading romance novels, but people might not like me if they think I read “trash”.
I’m afraid people won’t like me if they find out that I don’t have a university degree.
I feel like a fraud; what do I know about being a manager?
Unknown Me – I don’t know, you don’t know
Information that is unknown to me and unknown to others.
In this quadrant, you explore what you might not be aware of and what others might not be aware of. With exploration, you might start noticing repetitive behaviours, recurring patterns and limiting beliefs holding you back. Now the nature of the unconscious is to be unconscious, so I am not suggesting this is easy. Meditation helps, as does quiet time with yourself. Asking yourself questions when something happens to you helps uncover what might be happening “under the surface”.
Examples:
Uncovering unconscious feelings, fears, limiting beliefs, and conditioned behaviours. These are based on past experiences and behaviours that we might have learned to deal with uncomfortable situations and now play out unconsciously.
Tips on how to use the JOHARI Window
The area we want to focus on developing and expanding is OPEN ME. To do that, we need to explore the HIDDEN ME, the BLIND ME, and the UNKNOWN ME areas in more detail. The quadrants are not set. They are dynamic and can be “moved” around as we grow and uncover areas of ourselves. As our awareness grows and the OPEN ME expands, the smaller the other areas become.
So grab a journal or blank paper and explore the following.
To explore HIDDEN ME, we might ask ourselves questions such as:
- What beliefs do I have that I am uncomfortable with? And why?
- What stories might I have that I wouldn’t want to share? And why?
- What personal passions might I have that I don’t share with people? And why?
To explore BLIND ME, we can start to:
- Request feedback about my strengths or positive qualities that distinguish me.
- Request feedback about areas of development or derailers that I might not see.
- Request feedback about areas that my family/friends/colleagues/etc. have, that I might want to adjust.
To explore the UNKNOWN ME, we can start to:
- Be open to surprises. Schedule experiences I might not have had before to take me out of my comfort zone. What are my feelings telling me?
- Be open to repeating patterns, experiences, or conversations. What are they telling me?
- Be open to meeting new people (see previous article on Networking). What “feedback” am I getting from the experience?
Final thoughts
If you are new to the JOHARI Window, I hope it helps you gain another window into yourself as the amazing human you are. And if you are not new to this model, I hope it is a worthy reminder. Every time we change roles, change jobs, become part of a new team, or present ourselves in a new environment, it is helpful to revisit this model and gain new data to help us.
If you have used this model? What do you think? If you are new and have tried it, what are your thoughts? Worthy of using?
As always, if you invest in yourself, the rewards will be unfathomable.
Until next time.
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