Are you familiar with the Johari Window? Coined by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, this psychological tool helps individuals discover their unknown aspects of self, leading to increased self-awareness and personal growth.
According to the Johari window, there are four aspects of self that an individual possess. The first quadrant is referred to as the open area. This area is so named because it is what you know about yourself and others know this as well.
The second quadrant is called the blind spot. It’s like when you are driving and you look through the mirror you see no one but the person that’s driving beside you sees you. Let’s relate this to the Johari window. You are not aware of certain things about yourself but others are aware.
The third quadrant is the opposite of the second, this is called the hidden area. I know this about myself but others are unaware. For example, I love red wine but others don’t know this about me. Some things should be kept from others.
The fourth quadrant, when we explore the self is unknown to both the individual and others.
But why it is important to know about yourself, you may ask. It is important to understand ourselves so we can know why we behave the way we do and in turn, treat people a certain way. By doing this we identify our strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes, and a clearer picture is painted about how others see us. The Johari window can help us to control our moments of outburst, it can motivate us to be better leaders. A leader who is motivated can motivate team members as well.
Communication among individuals at work and in their personal lives can also be improved. There will be fewer conflicts and when such arrive can be easily dealt with as the individual is more aware of self and the team dynamics. Overall this will be an improvement in effective leadership skills.
Guys let’s put all of the above in a game that you can play at work. Make it fun and interactive. Here are the instructions:
Get groups of three to five members. Ask each person in the group to write down at least 5 adjectives to describe themselves. This can represent the open area of the Johari window.
Moving on to the blind spot where each member shares what’s written on the paper with the other members of the group. The group members can add additional adjectives that describe the individual.
The hidden area of the Johari window can be explored when individuals look inward and write two to three additional adjectives that are only known to them and not to others,
And last but not least the group members are given a few additional minutes to ask questions that are not known to self and others. These questions can range from, do you prefer peanut butter versus Jelly to something more personal or professional. It all depends on how relaxed your group is.
When all aspect of the Johari window has been explored, a debriefing should be made by the leader to see how effective the game was and how each individual feels about what they have learned about themselves and other members of the team, and how it can be applied to improve their overall goals, be it personal or profession.
It is on You to own You. We must know ourselves before we can own who we are. Don't you think? Please post your comments below.
References
Davis Kevan: https://kevan.org/johari
Blackbyrn Sai, the Johari window model, the definitive guide: https://coachfoundation.com/blog/the-johari-window-model-guide/?wickedsource=google&wickedid=CjwKCAjwuqiiBhBtEiwATgvixJwhEYjOsA7G8InQiJsjpbSVKnwumkD36sOSWiGKywrPJpjPH7BaOhoCClQQAvD_BwE&wv=3&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_blog_performance&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuqiiBhBtEiwATgvixJwhEYjOsA7G8InQiJsjpbSVKnwumkD36sOSWiGKywrPJpjPH7BaOhoCClQQAvD_BwE 9th January 2023