Johari Windows

Johari Windows Summary.

The Johari Window is a technique used to help people better understand their relationship with self and others. Looking at the four panes in terms of rows and columns, the two columns represent self and the two rows represent the group. Column one is the things I know about myself, column two contains things I do not not know about myself. Row one contains things the group knows about me, row two contains things the group does not know about me.The intersection of the rows and columns are called panes. The information contained moves from one pane to another as a level of mutual trust and the exchange of feedback varies in the group. The first pane is called the Arena. The Arena contains thing that I know about myself and about what the group knows about me. It is an area that contains open information between others and me. The behavior is public and available to others. The Arena increases in size as the level of trust increases between individuals and the group. The second pane is called the Blind spot and contains information that I do not know about myself that the group may know. This information may be in the form of verbal cues, mannerism, the way I say things, or the style in which I relate to others. The third pane called the Façade or Hidden pane contains the things I know about myself but of which the group is unaware. I keep this information hidden for the group. My fear may be that if the group knew my feelings, perceptions, and opinions about the group or individuals, they might reject, attack, or hurt me in some way. I cannot find out how members will really react unless I test my fears and assumptions and reveal something of myself. If I do not take risks, I will never learn the reality or unreality of my assumptions. The last pane, called the Unknown pane, contains thing that I do not know about myself and things the group does not know about me. This pane may represent interpersonal dynamics such as early childhood memories, latent potentialities, and unrecognized resources. I think that Johari windows can be very helpful for a person to get to know himself or herself better. To move from pane to pane we must ask group members for feedback about ourselves and we must self-disclose to the group. In order to move from the second pane or the blind spot we must ask for feedback from others because there are something’s that we do not know about ourselves that others may know about us. This is very helpful to up us build better relationships with others in groups, if we are told about our flaws than we have the opportunity to change them and become more effective group members. To move out of the Hidden area or facade pane, we must self-disclose information to others in a group. This helps up build trust and rapport with people and therefore we can become more useful to others and ourselves. I will try to apply this technique to my live and in my relationships with others in groups.