14/06/2022
For good reason, self-awareness it seems to be the latest management buzzword. When we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident and creative. We make better decisions, form stronger bonds, and communicate more effectively.
The Johari Window is a visual diagram that models our self-awareness and shows how the process of giving and receiving feedback can affect awareness as we learn what others see, and let them know what we see.
The four areas or window ‘panes’ represent areas of our self-awareness. These areas are interdependent and mutually exclusive: reductions or enlargements of one cause corresponding enlargements or reductions in another. The window panes are:
📌Arena: open to ourselves and others
📌Blind spot: open to others but closed to ourselves
📌Facade: known to ourselves but hidden from others
📌Unknown: unknown to self and others, and linked to our unconscious.
The Johari Window illustrates how self and group awareness shift as we disclose more information about ourselves and what we see, and learn more about how others see us.
Leaders who focus on increasing internal and external self-awareness, seek honest feedback from loving critics, and ask what instead of why can learn to see themselves more clearly — and reap the many benefits that increased self-awareness brings.
