Johari’s Window is a simple yet powerful framework for improving self-awareness, understanding how others perceive you, and building trust in teams. Developed by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in the 1950s, it divides personal knowledge into four quadrants:
Open Area – What you know about yourself and what others know about you.
Blind Spot – What others see in you, but you don’t recognise.
Hidden Area – What you know about yourself, but others don’t know.
Unknown Area – What neither you nor others know about you, often revealed through new experiences.
For emerging leaders, using Johari’s Window is about expanding the Open Area—sharing appropriately and seeking feedback—to improve communication, trust, and collaboration.
Effective leadership relies on self-awareness and the ability to understand others. Blind spots or hidden assumptions can erode trust, cause miscommunication, and limit team performance. By intentionally applying Johari’s Window:
Leaders identify areas where perceptions differ and adjust behaviours.
Team members feel heard, valued, and trusted.
Collaboration improves because people understand each other better.
For example, a team member may perceive a leader as unapproachable (a blind spot) even though the leader believes they are friendly and supportive. Awareness allows the leader to address this perception and adjust communication style.
Start by listing adjectives, behaviours, or qualities that describe yourself as a leader. Examples include: “supportive,” “decisive,” “analytical,” or “empathetic.”
Ask colleagues, peers, or team members to share traits they see in you. Compare their feedback with your self-assessment. This highlights your Blind Spots—qualities others see that you may not recognise.
Decide what personal insights or motivations to share with your team. This reduces the Hidden Area and encourages openness. For example, sharing why you prefer structured processes or how you approach decision-making can help your team understand your leadership style.
The Unknown Area often emerges through new experiences, challenges, or projects. Stay curious and open to learning, both from successes and failures. Encourage your team to reflect on situations where unexpected behaviours or strengths appear.
Start Small: Begin by asking one or two trusted colleagues for feedback rather than conducting a large survey.
Be Specific: Instead of general traits like “good communicator,” ask others for examples of behaviour.
Balance Sharing and Boundaries: Disclose enough to build trust but maintain professionalism.
Regular Check-ins: Make feedback and reflection a continuous process, not a one-off activity.
Imagine an emerging leader, Sarah, who is highly task-oriented. She believes her team sees her as organised and competent. During a feedback session using Johari’s Window, a colleague mentions that Sarah can seem unapproachable when deadlines loom—her Blind Spot. Sarah realises she can maintain her focus while adding a few minutes at the start of meetings to check in personally with team members.
By sharing this intention with the team, Sarah reduces her Hidden Area and encourages openness. Over time, trust improves, communication becomes more fluid, and team morale rises.
Ignoring Feedback: Leaders who dismiss feedback reinforce blind spots and erode trust.
Oversharing: Revealing too much personal information can be counterproductive; maintain professional boundaries.
Stagnation: Johari’s Window is most effective when revisited regularly. Self-awareness grows over time, not in a single session.
Emerging leaders can use Johari’s Window not only for self-reflection but also for team development:
Conduct team exercises where members give anonymous feedback about each other’s strengths.
Use it as a foundation for 1:1 coaching sessions.
Encourage team members to reflect on how perceptions differ and agree on communication adjustments.Johari’s Window equips emerging leaders with a practical framework to enhance self-awareness, reduce blind spots, and build stronger, trust-based relationships. By expanding the Open Area through feedback and sharing, leaders improve team performance, communication, and engagement in tangible ways.
Johari’s Window equips emerging leaders with a practical framework to enhance self-awareness, reduce blind spots, and build stronger, trust-based relationships. By expanding the Open Area through feedback and sharing, leaders improve team performance, communication, and engagement in tangible ways.