Discover how the Johari window model sparks self-discovery

Human beings have been trying to understand their emotions, motivations, and reactions since before Socrates told his students to “know one’s self” in the 5th-century BCE. But the Greek philosopher helped popularize the concept that, to find purpose and live your best life, you need to look inward and discover your true self. 

Since then, people have been developing tools to help people explore their whole selves. The Johari window model is one of them, and it can help you assess your self-esteem against the perceptions of others and identify personality traits you want to work on.

What’s self-awareness, and why is it important?

Self-awareness is the ability to see yourself objectively and understand your feelings and emotions for what they are. When you’re self-aware, you have the power to identify your thoughts and understand how your behavior affects others. 

Most people like to think they’re self-aware. But in reality, only 10–15% have cultivated this skill. Truly seeing yourself is harder than it seems because everyone has internal biases and insecurities that cloud their vision. 

At a personal level, developing self-awareness lets you better align your actions to your personal values, helping you feel more confident and reduce inner conflict. And at work, your ability to evaluate your internal environment gives you the chance to truly assess your strengths and weaknesses, removing bias to make better decisions and learn from your mistakes.

What is the Johari window model?

The Johari window model is a tool for developing self-awareness. It uses a chart with four quadrants — like the panes of a window — to organize different traits, improve your understanding of yourself, and clarify how others think of you. 

American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham created this model in 1955 while researching team dynamics at the University of California Los Angeles. The idea sprung from two key concepts:

1. Building trust between people requires disclosing information about yourself

2. You can learn more about yourself and confront personal issues when you receive honest feedback from others

These two ideas — about recognition, communication, and feedback — helped them develop the Johari window model (combining their names, Joseph and Harry) as one that offers a holistic view of the self. Instead of exclusively looking internally, it’s about assessing your sense of self alongside other people’s views of you, giving participants a comprehensive experience.

How to use the Johari window model

The Johari window model requires a group setting, which makes it a great option for small teams who want to know themselves and each other better.

First, you’ll receive a list of the Johari attributes: 

Independently, each person chooses the adjectives that they feel best describe their personality. This can be as many as they think apply. Then, everyone chooses the attributes that describe other people on the team. 

Once everyone completes their lists, you’ll compare results by plotting those attributes onto a 2x2 grid. Each square or quadrant forms the panes of the Johari window:

1. Open Area: Enter attributes that both you and your colleagues choose.

2. Blind Area: Enter attributes from only the group.

3. Hidden Area: Enter attributes only you choose.

4. Unknown Area: Enter attributes that nobody chose, but you might consider developing as you increase your level of self-awareness.

Here’s an example: 

What does each quadrant mean?

Each quadrant represents information about you: your emotional skills, personal values, and motivations. Where this information appears in the quadrants lets you visualize what aspects of your personality you’re open about and which you hide from others. 

Quadrant 1: Open Area

This section of the grid houses attributes that both you and the group chose. It represents the parts of your personality that you’re aware of and openly share — your strengths and social skills. With further discussion and professional development, your goal is to have as many attributes as you can in Q1.

Quadrant 2: Blind Area

Also known as the blind spot, this quadrant illustrates aspects of your personality that share without consciously realizing it. The attributes could reveal positive or negative aspects about yourself that you haven’t come to terms with or simply haven’t acknowledged. 

No one works well in the dark. Your goal with Q2 is to develop self-awareness so you can recognize your blind spots and reduce the contents of this box. 

Quadrant 3: Hidden Area

Everybody has things they keep to themselves, especially in professional relationships. Q3 represents those things you’re aware of but don’t share or express with the people around you.

While it’s perfectly natural not to be an open book, your teammates may not feel they can rely on you without transparency at work. Shrinking the size of Q3 may require vulnerability, but you’ll reap the benefits of having working relationships based on trust and honesty. 

Quadrant 4: Unknown Area

This is the area of hidden talents and untapped potential — the attributes you might not have yet, but can in the future. Recognizing these traits will require introspection, exposure to new ideas, and maybe even career coaching.

Attempting to shrink the size of Q4 in relation to the other quadrants is challenging. It requires extensive self-reflection and feedback. But you can’t explore new experiences, skills, and perspectives without leaving your comfort zone.

Why should you use the Johari window model?

The Johari model helps you identify strengths and weaknesses for both individuals and teams, helping everyone get to know each other and build personalized, optimal workspaces. 

For individuals, Johari is a tool of self-discovery, developing both internal and external awareness. The goal is to align how you see yourself and how others perceive you. By soliciting feedback, you become aware of the contrast between those groups of attributes, which lets you target your self-development activities for as much growth as possible. 

A Johari exercise is also an opportunity to identify and develop soft skills like communication or time management. Maybe the window shows you that you aren’t as independent as you previously thought, or that you could work on your patience.

As of 2023, more and more employers are focusing their hiring decisions on skills, and developing more can add valuable transferable skills to your resume. 

On the team development side, the Johari model helps you better understand group members and build stronger relationships. Because you’ll learn the best ways to approach each other, you can have more effective, open communications. Everyone will learn what each person wants to work on, and you can give and accept ideal feedback that helps them grow. 

How to successfully administer the Johari window model 

Administering the Johari window model the right way can be a fun and informative team bonding activity. Here’s how to approach it to return the best results:

1. Become familiar with personal characteristics

Take some time to evaluate the list of adjectives before making your selection. You can trust your gut but also spend at least a few minutes reflecting on past actions and decisions. Choose the attributes that best describe you, not the ones you hope others will use.

2. Define your goal

Think about what changes you want to make that will increase the size of your Open Area (Q1). If you’re an introvert who doesn’t often talk about themselves, maybe you want to share more to decrease your Hidden Area (Q3).

And if you think some of your team members’ feedback might surprise you, continue working on your self-awareness to shrink your Blind Area (Q2).

3. Collect feedback

Starting a conversation is an important part of the Johari window model. Whether the request is to your team, a mentor, or a personal coach, it’s brave to ask for constructive feedback about your behavior. You may learn something new about yourself, which can be exciting and empowering. And as important as feedback solicitation is, committing to acting on it is equally essential.

Remember, if you deliver feedback that a recipient could consider less-than-flattering, always offer it with sensitivity and tact. This process is meant to build each other up and provide opportunities for improvement — not search for ways to criticize.

4. Use common sense

Expanding your Open Area (Q1) requires self-disclosure. You’ll have to open up to your colleagues, but use some discernment. You don’t want to overshare. The information you disclose should help the team function better, so limit it to constructive details. Always respect the privacy of your relationships and those of your coworkers. 

5. Remember, change happens

Don’t be surprised if, over time, your quadrants change size. Elements from your Blind Area (Q3) might eventually become Open Area (Q1), and Unknown Area (Q4) attributes might rise up in the ranks.

Relationships grow and develop, as will your skills, making it a good idea to revisit the model occasionally to see if there are new areas to work on. 

3 Johari window model examples

When the Johari model’s outcome shows a disconnect between self-perception and how others see you, it usually means either the Hidden Area (Q2) or Blind Area (Q3) has too many attributes. Here’s how to correct each of the three factors that could cause this disconnect: 

1. You don't know who you are

When you’re struggling with self-awareness, you’ll likely find that your Hidden Area (Q2) and Blind Area (Q3) are too large. Sharing more of yourself with coworkers and getting to know yourself through feedback, introspection, or coaching can increase the size of your Open Area (Q1). Here’s an example:

Aran had been leading his team for less than a year. After completing the model, he was surprised to discover his team members considered him “intelligent” and “confident,” compared to his Hidden Area (Q2), which included “introverted” and “quiet.”

Through feedback, Aran determined he was suffering from imposter syndrome, which caused him to minimize his contributions to the team. 

2. People don't know who you really are

Perhaps you're a new employee and aren’t ready to get vulnerable with your team, or maybe you just shy away from sharing information with your coworkers. Both situations could result in a larger Hidden Area (Q2). Bringing your quadrants into better alignment may only require a simple conversation or two. Here’s a scenario where this happens:

Mathilda has been with her employer for six months, and this is her first project with the development team. Because she’s new to the organization, her Open Area (Q1) is considerably smaller than everyone else.

To help break the ice, the team asks her questions about herself, previous experiences, and education, and her Open Area (Q1) eventually grows. The team learns that Mathilda’s strength is negotiation, so they put her in charge of any requests for additional resources.

3. Your behaviors don't match how you want others to perceive you

Sometimes, despite your best intentions, your behavior doesn’t match your self-identity. This result occurs when your Blind Area (Q3) is too large, and you don’t acknowledge how your actions affect others.

This issue has the potential to affect your workplace relationships and create tension, so it’s important to discuss and fix. Here’s a situation that fits:

The Blind Area of Harpreet’s Johari window model referenced the attribute “tense,” while the Hidden Area included the word “relaxed.” After discussing the result with the group, she learned that she tended to sigh loudly, which members of the group interpreted as a release of tension.

Thanks to her colleagues’ feedback, Harpreet decided to investigate other means of reducing stress. 

A view of yourself

The Johari window model is a valuable tool to better understand your personality both at work and as an individual. Because it relies on feedback and communication, the process helps ground your perception in the experience of others, offering clarity and insight into your sense of self. 

And because self-discovery is ongoing, you can complete the exercise over and over again. Use each new result to fuel continuous learning about who you are, and become your best self in the process.