We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge, and so increasing self-awareness should be a key focus for leaders.
A well-recognised tool for deeper self-reflection is the Johari window, originally created in 1955 by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham during their research into group dynamics and humanistic psychology.
The window was designed to help individuals understand their relationship with themselves and with others by mapping what is known or unknown to them and those around them - be that about your own characteristics or organisational matters like initiatives and rules.
What is the Johari window?
The window is formed by creating the following four quadrants and then reflecting on the results personally and with peers of your choosing:
Open area: what is known to self and known to others.
Blind area: what is unknown to self but known to others.
Hidden area: what is known to self but unknown to others.
Unknown area: what is unknown to self and others.
Over time, the Johari window has been used widely to aid the discovery of blind spots in decision-making, as a pillar of emotional intelligence growth, and in the development of psychological safety.
How does it work?
Step 1: Identify items and participants
The first step is to decide on the list of values, attributes or skills that will go into the window. These can be role-specific or generic, and should be chosen carefully because they will affect the depth of analysis and the usefulness of the insights.
Typically, this might include words like “brave”, “calm”, “introverted” and “trustworthy” or more specific words like “analysis”, “mediation”, “oracy” and “foresight”. Leaders must then decide who will be involved in providing alternative perspectives and guiding reflection or exploration.
Step 2: Assess and collect
The next step in the process is for the leader to privately select from the list the items that best describe them or that they are most proficient in.
The leader must then collect a similar list from the other participants, who highlight items that they feel the leader is most aligned with or most effective in.
Step 3: Populate the window
Now for the interesting bit. The user must then take both lists and allocate items to the different windowpanes using the following guidance:
Open area: items chosen by you and your peers.
Hidden area: items only you chose.
Blind area: items only your peers chose.
Unknown area: items not chosen by anyone.
Step 4: Reflect, restructure and rebalance
Once the window is complete, the next step is to reflect - either privately or with others - on what was expected, surprising or triggered any other emotions.
After this, it can be useful to redraw the window so that the size of each pane reflects the volume of items within it, providing a visual indication of how much is known, blind, hidden or unknown.
As the goal of the Johari window exercise is increased self-awareness, a final step is to plan actions that increase the known pane and reduce the blind and unknown panes, and this is often achieved by seeking out feedback or taking part in guided refection.
Why might it work?
It encourages self-disclosure
When leaders move information and their thinking out into the open, they reduce uncertainty, clarify decisions and model vulnerability. Creating a larger “open area” gives permission for others to do the same and improves empathy and connection, and reduces the filtering of concerns and failures.
It identifies blind spots
Information asymmetry occurs when one person or party has a better understanding than the other, and this is a key barrier to decision-making and development. Shrinking the “blind area” of the window through feedback and reflection enables leaders to see the ugly truth and proactively take action.
It supports learning and growth
There are benefits to shrinking the “blind area” and growing the “open area”, but transformational growth often comes from exploring the “unknown” element of the window. A leader’s latent potential can be unlocked by discovering skills that have not been tested, challenges that have not been set or root causes that have not been unpicked.
Potential pitfalls
In the right hands and a psychologically safe environment, the Johari window is a great tool, but step outside that and it can create issues. If used in a formal way, the window can be seen as forced self-disclosure and lead to users acting defensively or sharing “safe secrets” to satisfy the process.
The shared discovery and feedback parts of the process can cause embarrassment, disrespect and be used as a way to attack rather than improve.
My experience
I wish I had discovered the tool a lot earlier in my career because I spent a long time either hiding from the “ugly truth” or filtering weaknesses because of fear. I also thought that my hidden area was quite small but after reusing the window recently, I discovered that the clarity of my communication is not as great as I thought and my levels of empathy need to improve.
Chris Baker is school improvement and teaching and learning lead at Cabot Learning Federation
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