Joharis Window - 4 territories of awareness
Joharis Window is a very simple picture, that helps a group to understand the idea of giving feedback and sharing on a deeper level. Joharis window therefore help us to build community and the muscles we need to engage in real authentic dialogue with each other.
The Johari Window is a psychological model developed by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, that talks about the relationship and mutual understanding between group members.
Johari´s Window is made up of four quadrants that explain the overall relationship of an individual with him/herself and with other group members. These are as follows:
Open
Blind
Hidden
Unkown
Open: My Arena.
This quadrant shows the behavior, motives, attitudes, knowledge skills of an individual that he is aware of and is willing to share with others. “My Arena” is what a person is identified with, and what others knows and sees too, as well what the person expect others to see.
Blind: My Blindspot.
The blindspot shows the state of an individual known to others but not known to him/herself. This is often the behaviour that is deeply unconscious to us, and that might be hard for others to reveal to us.
Hidden: My Facade.
This quadrant of the Johari window shows the state of an individual known to him/herself but not known to the others. This is generally seen in the individuals who are introvert and do not like to share their private lives with anyone. The individual keeps his feelings, ideas or thoughts to himself and do not disclose it in front of the others.
Unknown: My hidden potential.
The unknown self is the mysterious state of an individual neither known to him, nor others know about it. This is where a lot of our potential for change and transformation lies. The processes that helps us to engage with this part are deep dialogue and other personal transformative processes.
The ultimate idea with this model, is for group members to see the meaning in enlarging thir “Arena” quadrant with the intent to establish a fruitful relationship with oneself (more consciousness) as well as with the others in the group (more sharing)
Experience
In Dialogue processes, it is crucial to transcend the “False Unity” (read more about this concept in our blog: “the dialogue spiral”) and Joharis Window is one of the concept that helps the group open up and take a risk to share more about themselves. The voicing and speaking will go from being characterised as polite, nice talking, were we want to say and be what we think other might want to hear and see to accept us. To a more honest, direct and exposing way of talking. To cross the false Unity and to train the muscle of community we also need to learn to engage in real feedback, and dare to mirror the other member of the group. This can be really difficult, but Joharis window can help us to see the great gift in other peoples honest mirroring. And when we see the point of feedback, it is much easier to engage with it with true interest, care and courage. (read more about feedback here)
Written by Sidsel Andersen
Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash