The Johari Window A New Vision for Self- and Team Development By Drew Carey, ACC, BCC Career Management Coaching | Executive Coaching ©2015 rset | Slr Found condi Sees | Assen 60: focusedoaeQuadrant 1, the Open Self: These are the traits, characteristics, experiences, beliefs that you know about yourself and others around you know it too. This is the sweet spot of “getting it all out in the ‘open’ so true communication and dialogue can occur. Only in this place can lasting change happen. In this arena, there are authentic, open lines of communication at play. Here, misunderstandings, slights, hurt feelings, offenses are far less likely to happen. Quadrant 2, the Blind Self: inthis pane, others know things about you that you do not know about yourself, or for which you do nat accept responsibility. You may stridently deny these aspects of ‘yourself when they are pointed out to you. ‘This is the “bull in the china shop” pane. Imagine yourself walking through life, blindfolded and flailing your arms about as you walk through a store filled with delicate, precious merchandise. If you aren't getting angry with others, you are defensive and have a tendency to withdraw from the group feeling misunderstood Quadrant 3, the Hidden Self: In this way of being in the world, you know things about yourself that you do not want others to know about you. You keep this Information locked securely away from prying eyes. This is often referred to in psychological terms as the Shadow self. These may include fears, secrets, sensitivities, doubts, experiences, and your history. Often, this is the Fraud or Imposter Syndrome that gets played out in workplaces, especially at the beginning of someone's career. “What if others find out | don’t really know what | am doing? What if people discover | am just a big fraud?" Its a fear of being called out as the emperor wha walks the streets with no clothes. This may cause the pperson to lash out in anger or frustration when someone gets too close to the truth, (Others may describe you as aloof, anti- social, hard to get to know, introverted. Ironically, we believe we are keeping this side of ourselves hidden, but others can sense something is not “quite right” about us. We may be seen as cagey or hiding something, and we are! Those who report to us may clam up around us; those we work with may inherently not trust us; and ‘our bosses may not see our full potential and pass us over for promotions or raises because “they can’t {uite put their finger on it but he or she is not a good fit here.” Quadrant 4, the Unknown self: Itis worth noting that this area can represent both very positive ‘elements that the person does not know about him or herself and others do not know it either, as well ‘as more negative ones. This could include hidden talents or untapped skills that a perceptive manager could bring out ina person, This could also include dormant biases and feelings that may only present themselves when a person is under extreme stress. An undiagnosed illness could fall into this area. Someone with fibromyalgia may spend years questioning a lack of energy and various pain symptoms. They may be labeled as lazy, unmotivated, having a lack of ambition. A bipolar condition that fs unknown and untreated can take a significant toll on a person and their team.The solution to increase the Open area of ourselves and our teams is to balance out systematic feedback on the part of the team and management to a member of the team, along with the person disclosing more of their hidden self to the team. It should go without saying but the feedback must be gentle and respectful of the person receiving it. The disclosure must be authentic and given freely for the purpose of improving the team. Feedback Disclosure Looking back at your percentages on the previous page, how would you like to change those through coaching, if at all? 1. % 2. % 3. % 4. % = 100%After reading these descriptions, how would you adjust your own Johari window? Is it more like Number 1 below, you are an open book, with a few hidden or unknown areas? Or are you more like Number 2, much less open, with many parts of your personality remaining unknown to you. Are you more Number 3, more closed-off, private, not allowing others to see the “real you”? Or are you more like Number 4, unaware of many parts of your personality? What percentage of each quadrant do you currently embody? 1. % 2. % 3. % 4. % = 100%TC TT a CoC Cy CEST What are those aspects of yourself that you are comfortable sharing with others? Why are these okay to share and not other aspects? What is one additional piece of information about yourself you could commit to sharing with others? What would have to happen to achieve this?TSC Ta Core tl eS Quadrant 2 is known as the Blind Self. What are your blind spots? What have others told you that might be considered a blind spot for you? How might you solicit feedback from others (current and former co-workers, trusted friends, family members) to reveal more of your blind spots to yourself? Who will you become as you integrate this information into your daily professional and personal life?Pre-Assessment Reflection Questions How has your Hidden self (those aspects of yourself that you do not wish reveal to others) served you? How has it held you back professionally or personally? What might be the advantage to you to disclose more of yourself to others? What is one aspect of yourself currently hidden from others that you could safely reveal today?Pre-Assessment Reflection Questions How does having an unknown self serve us and others? Please list 5 ways you could employ to discover more of your unknown self. What could be the effect of having more of this knowledge available to you on your personal and professional lives?Assessment Now that you better understand the concept of the Johari Window, it’s time to put it into practice. You will review the following list of adjectives and decide which 6 describe you the best. Then, share this same list with friends, family members. and/or current and former co-workers. Ask them to pick the top 6 adjectives they feel best describe you, then return their list to you. You may print out this list which can be found in the back of this workbook.Example Now that you better understand the concept of the Johari Window, it’s time to put it into practice. You will review the following list of adjectives and decide which 6 describe you the best. Then, share this same list with friends, family members and/or current and former co-workers. Ask them to pick the top 6 adjectives they feel best describe you, then return their list to So, I described myself as caring, cheerful, kind, passive, relaxed and responsible. My co-worker described me as anxious, demanding, kind, temperamental, tense and pretending. Ouch! Let’s map this out on the next page using the Johari Window. . . \ ~~Quadrant 1 The Open Self Adjectives that both people chose. Kind Quadrant 3 The Hidden Self Adjectives on the list chosen ONLY by me (the participant/ client) but not others. assive Quadrant 2 The Blind Self Adjectives on the list that others chose but not me (the participant/client) nKiOUS, demandin Temperamentel and pretending Quadrant 4 The Unknown Self Any adjectives not chosen by the client or his peers are placed in this uadrant. ressive, aabitious, annoying, - -Johari Window Adjective List Cent: Please review the felowing lst of acjectives and choose up 106 that best describe ou. Ten share this same ist with ‘yout family friends an co-workers (current and former) and ask them to consider thelr relationship wth you in whatever context they know you andto chonse the top 6 adjectives that best describe you. Have them return tis sheet to you to compare your answors with theirs. 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Quadrant 1 ‘Quadrant 2 The Open Self ‘The Blind Self Adjectives on the list that and others chose. others chose but not you. Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4 The Hidden Self The Unknown Self Any adjectives not chosen chosen ONLY by you but by you or others are not others. placed in this quadrant. Thinking about these adjectives and where they fall in your Johari window, sit for a while with the questions on the next few pages and write down the thoughts that come to you.