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The Johari Window for High Performance

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If you really want to excel, you have to know yourself- you have to know what you’re good at, and you have to know what you’re not good at.
Auglaize Provico

In order to retrieve your full potential and set the path for high-performance you have to know yourself and be self-aware. The Johari Window as a tool for group performance can also offer highly interesting insights about your own personality and possibilities for growth.

What is the Johari Window?

The Johari Window is a technique and framework created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955 to enhance the understanding of personal relationships in general which is primarily used as a heuristic exercise in self help groups as well as corporate coaching to illustrate relationships in terms of awareness.

You as well as your team members or cohort pick a number of adjectives from a list that describe your personality best:

  1. able
  2. accepting
  3. adaptable
  4. bold
  5. brave
  6. calm
  7. caring
  8. cheerful
  9. clever
  10. complex
  11. confident
  12. dependable
  13. dignified
  14. empathetic
  15. energetic
  16. extroverted
  17. friendly
  18. giving
  19. happy
  20. helpful
  21. idealistic
  22. independent
  23. ingenious
  24. intelligent
  25. introverted
  26. kind
  27. knowledgeable
  28. logical
  29. loving
  30. mature
  31. modest
  32. nervous
  33. observant
  34. organized
  35. patient
  36. powerful
  37. proud
  38. quiet
  39. reflective
  40. relaxed
  41. religious
  42. responsive
  43. searching
  44. self-assertive
  45. self-conscious
  46. sensible
  47. sentimental
  48. shy
  49. silly
  50. spontaneous
  51. sympathetic
  52. tense
  53. trustworthy
  54. warm
  55. wise
  56. witty

In a second step these adjectives get inserted in a grid of four cells.

Joahri Window for High Performance Coaching

Quadrant I known as “the area” is your behavior and motivation as it is known to yourself as well as to others, whereas Quadrant II also called as the “blind area” refers to things others can see clearly about you- but you are unaware of.

Quadrant III as “the hidden area” represents things you know about yourself but do not want to reveal to others.

Quadrant IV is “the big unknown”. Neither you nor others are aware of these behaviors or motives – but we can assume their existence.

The benefits of the Johari Window model for high-performance

The amalgamation of the four quadrants help people to differentiate between their self-image and their public image and therefore to adjust their communication style with team members and subordinates in order to be efficient.

But furthermore the gained insights help people to be more self-aware and enhance their personality.

If you know your strenghts, and weaknesses , your vision and your purpose you have a large first quadrant (area) and a high amount of self-awareness.
You are presumed more authentic and trustworthy by others and hence you are more successful.

You are less stressed, more productive and make better decisions.

How to use to Johari Window for high-performance coaching

Interpersonal learning is a process of changing the size of the described quadrants in terms of an increasing first quadrant to a natural state of balance.

When you ask and receive feedback you decrease your blind spots and increase the knowledge about yourself.Therefore you have more information about your personality available to work with.

When you share yourself with others and expose yourself to them, you decrease your hidden areas and increase the open areas as well as creating more commonality to others.

On the other hand you can decrease the unknown information about yourself by doing things you haven’t done before as well as by using untapped skills, talents and possessed resources through exploring your vision and paying attention to energy enhancing activities in your life.

A change in any quadrant will therefore affect all other quadrants.

The more information you have available about yourself, the better are your decisions and your path in life.

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world.
Cervantes, Don Quixote

Resources and further reading material:

  • Luft, Joseph. “The Johari Window: A Graphic Model of Awareness in Interpersonal Relations.” Group Processes. Mayfield Publishing Company, 1984. p. 57-84.
  • Luft, J. (1984), Group Dynamics, 3rd ed. Palo Alto, California: Mayfield Publishing, pp. 11- 20,
  • https://kevan.org/johari