Johari Window Model Examples

Johari Window Model is a tool of cognitive psychology used by organizations to increase team-building and self-awareness among employees. The term “Johari” is a combination of the first names of American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham who developed the model while discussing ‘group dynamics’ at the University of California in 1955.

What is Johari Window?

Johari Window has four quadrants: open, blind, hidden, and unknown. With these quadrants, Johari Window helps to explain and improve self-awareness and self-communication.

Open

The open area reflects the things/attributes of the person’s self that he/she is aware of and is known to others also.

Blind

The blind area is that part of the person’s self that the person is not aware of but known to others.

Hidden

The hidden area has the information that the person knows himself/herself but doesn’t reveal to others.

Unknown

This window has the things that neither the person knows himself/herself nor others know.

Objective

The main objective of the Johari Window model is to move information from the unknown and hidden quadrants to the open and blind quadrants.

Johari Window Examples

1. Joining of a New Employee

When a new employee joins a team in an organization, the following things are noticed in quadrants of the Johari Window:

Open Window

When a new member joins a team in an organization, the other members are mostly aware of the following things about the new joiner:

• Qualification of the new joiner

• Age of the new joiner

• Gender of the new joiner

• Work experience of the new joiner

These are the things that both the new joiner and others are aware of.

Blind Window

When a new member joins a team in an organization, he/she is not aware of the following things:

• Nature of the work

• How things are done at the workplace

• Behaviour/attitude of other members

• Relationships between team members

These are the things that other members of the team are aware of, but the new joiner is not aware of.

Hidden Window

When a new member joins a team in an organization, he/she is aware of the following things but others are not:

• The new joiners’ skill of working under pressure

• His/her tricks and strategies from the previous workplace

• Any other specific skill of the new joiner

These are the things that only the new joiner is aware of as he/she doesn’t reveal these to others.

Unknown Window

When a new member joins a team in an organization, neither he/she is aware of the following things nor others are aware of:

• Common interest between the new joiner and other team members

• Potential conflicts between the new joiner and other team members

2. Established Employee

In the case of an established employee, the following things are noticed in quadrants of the Johari Window:

Open Window

An established employee has the following things in the open area:

• Experience

• Proven results

• Any specific project handled by the employee, showing his/her skills

• Can be good/bad for the organization

• Behavioral aspects of the employee

Blind Window

The Blind window for an established employee has the following things, which the employee is not aware of:

• Any bad habit that the employee is not aware of, for example, saying offensive things or being sarcastic at most of the times

• Improvement/deterioration in work during his/her stay in the organization

Hidden Window

In this window, the employee knows the following things, which others are not aware of:

• The employee’s intention about switching the job

• Any skill that the employee is good at but hasn’t got the chance to show that

• Can handle a specific project with his/her skills

• Any experience from the previous job that the employee hasn’t shared yet

Unknown Window

Under this window, the following things remain unknown to both the established employee and other members:

• The employee effectively handles a specific project with his/her skills when given the project

• The employee gives better results when promoted to a leadership role

• The employee is found not suitable when given a specific project

3. Feedback

The feedback given by the management to the employee has the following impacts on the quadrants of the Johari Window:

Open Window

The feedback given to both new and established employees always increases the open area as the person becomes aware of the things that he/she didn’t know earlier. With this new self-awareness, the person may be encouraged to do their next assignment even better.

Blind Window

The feedback given to both new and established employees always decreases the blind spot because the feedback enables the employee to know the things of which he/she was not aware.

Hidden Window

The feedback mostly decreases the hidden area as the person may reveal his/her skills to deliver better results.

Unknown Area

The feedback mostly decreases the unknown area as both the employee and the organization get to know some more things about each other with the feedback.

4. Teambuilding Event

Teambuilding events organized by the management have the following impacts on the quadrants of the Johari Window:

Open Window

Teambuilding events always increase the open area as both the employee and other members of the organization get to know each other more.

Blind Window

These events always decrease the blind area because they enable the employee to know things about the other members and the organization that he/she didn’t know earlier.

Hidden Window

Teambuilding events mostly reduce the hidden area as it gives the person a chance to open up and share his/her thoughts with other members.

Unknown Window

These events mostly reduce the unknown area as they provide an opportunity for both the employee and the organization to know some more things about each other.

5. Promotion

When an established employee is promoted to a new role, the following things are noticed in the quadrants of the Johari Window:

Open Window

Promotions in jobs always increase the open area as both the employee and the organization get to know more about each other with this.

Blind Window

When an employee is promoted, it always reduces the blind spot as the employee becomes aware of new things and responsibilities that he/she wasn’t aware of earlier.

Hidden Window

Promotions always reduce the hidden window as the employee tries to exhibit his/her hidden skills to excel in the new role given to him/her.

Unknown Window

Promotions always reduce the unknown area as the new role discovers the hidden potential/skills in the employee, while the employee gets to know new things about the work culture in the organization