Johari Window — A Model for Self-Awareness, Feedback, and Personal Growth

The Johari Window is a model for understanding self-awareness and improving relationships through feedback and sharing. It divides what we know about ourselves—and what others know about us—into four quadrants:

1. Open Self – Things you and others know about you.

2. Blind Spot – Things others see about you, but you don't.

3. Hidden Self – Things you know but choose not to share.

4. Unknown Self – Things about you that neither you nor others know.

Most people won't be aware of much that you know about yourself —through sharing or disclosure, you help others understand more about you. 

Conversely, some aspects of yourself are invisible to you, and only others can see them clearly—you need to receive feedback to learn about these. Over time, this process can lead to deeper self-awareness and personal growth.

Other aspects of yourself, especially when you are young, may remain buried in your unconscious mind and are thus unknown to you and others.

The size of each quadrant varies in different relationships. If you join a new team at work, your hidden self may be large since colleagues don't yet know much about you—there will be a lot you need to share with your colleagues to help them understand you better. In contrast, your oldest friends may know how you'll act before you do yourself.

The Johari Window is widely used in team development, personal reflection, and communication training. It helps build trust, improve feedback culture, and uncover hidden strengths or challenges.

Related Ideas to the Johari Window

Also see:

• The Learning Pit
• Give good feedback
• Feedback Fear
• Feedback Analysis
• A spectrum of feedback quality

Origins of the Johari Window

The model was created in 1955 by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, who developed it as part of a study on group dynamics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The name "Johari" comes from a combination of their first names—"Hi, Jo, Harry!". Today, the model is a well-known tool in psychology, leadership training, and self-improvement.

Nicola Rowledge shared the examples in the quadrants with me.