Johari Window

To better understand people and teams and their relationship with themselves and others.

Steps
7
Last edited
Jul 7, 2025
Created by
Nova

About this process

The Johari window is a technique that helps people and teams better understand their relationship with themselves and other people. The Johari Window was created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955, and is used primarily in self-help groups and corporate settings as a heuristic exercise.

The process in detail

7 steps
  1. 1

    Who are we evaluating?

  2. 2

    Invite the person you are evaluating as a Participant/Guest

  3. 3

    Choose 10 adjectives that best describe the individual/describe you

  4. 4

    Add the responses to the board or download the excel file.

  5. 5

    Thank all participants/team members for their answers (optional)

  6. 6

    Preparing a meeting

  7. 7

    Follow up meeting

Read the full text
1. Who are we evaluating?

Write down the subject of this evaluation. You should be evaluating one person in this session. Add a new "goals and instructions" section and provide information about the objetive of this session.

Example: Maria Smith from the Marketing Department

Write a note
3. Choose 10 adjectives that best describe the individual/describe you

Choose 8-10 adjectives that best describe the individual/ or describe you. Select them.

Choose one or more
  • Able
  • Demanding
  • Open
  • Influential
  • Sensible
  • Accepting
  • Dependable
  • Organized
  • Sentimental
  • Adventurous
  • Innovative
  • Patient
  • Shy
  • Silly
  • Aggresive
  • Assertive
  • Dominating
  • Intelligent
  • Powerful
  • Spiritual
  • Autocratic
  • Empathetic
  • Introverted
  • Private
  • Spontaneous
  • Autonomous
  • Energetic
  • Intuitive
  • Systematic
  • Bold
  • Caring
  • Flexible
  • Relaxed
  • Tense
  • Cheerful
  • Friendly
  • Logical
  • Reliable
  • Thorough
  • Giving
  • Risk taker
  • Modest
  • Wise
  • Honest
  • Self-aware
4. Add the responses to the board or download the excel file.

Add the adjectives that best describe the person who participated on the board using a different sticky note color or using the text notes.

Johari Window — A tool that helps increase self-awareness through feedback and self-discovery. It consists of four quadrants:

•Open Area: This includes all the adjectives or traits that both you and others agree on. In a Johari Window exercise, this means both you and your peers have selected the same descriptors for you — confirming mutual understanding. These are traits visible to everyone.
•Blind Area: This is where others have selected adjectives or traits that you did not select for yourself. It reveals what others see in you that you may not be aware of — often behaviors, habits, or impressions you're blind to but that shape how people experience you.
•Hidden Area: Here you place all the descriptors you selected about yourself that others did not select. This reflects aspects you believe are true or important about yourself that others don’t recognize. It helps uncover misalignments — such as when you think you're seen as assertive, but others don't perceive you that way. It often points to intentions not clearly communicated through actions.
•Unknown Area: Characteristics unknown to both you and others. These might emerge in new situations, through deep reflection, or as a result of life experiences.

How it helps: The Johari Window enables you to better understand how others perceive you, increase transparency, uncover blind spots, and align your actions with your intentions — leading to stronger, more authentic relationships and leadership presence. It creates a structured way to surface feedback, reduce misunderstandings, and develop more accurate self-perception.

Work on the whiteboardSelf-perception
5. Thank all participants/team members for their answers (optional)

Send an email as their participation is no longer needed.

Email sample:

Thank you for taking the time to take part in the Johari Window for (Employee name) on (date).

The session will remain open for a few more days but you will not be able to participate or edit your answers and we are already working with the current results.

We want to help our employees to improve their communication skills, reinforce their team efforts and empower each individual to grow by understanding how everyone perceives other team members.

Please let me know if I can provide any additional information.

Thank you again,

(Name)

6. Preparing a meeting

Once all the adjectives are distributed, the team lead and the individual/participant can meet and discuss further. Add here the meeting time and details like location or skype invite. Some good questions for self-development are: What were the biggest surprises to you regarding your Blind Spot? *Which adjectives may be helpful to you since you know others' perceptions? Why do you think people have that perception about you? What Hidden adjectives would you like to show more often to team members or people? What would be the first step to move in this direction? Feel free to add additional questions.

Write a note
7. Follow up meeting

Open the board and discuss the results together.

Work on the whiteboardSelf-perception
Self-perception
  • Johari Window
  • unknown by self
  • Known by self
  • Johari Window — A tool that helps increase self-awareness through feedback and self-discovery. It consists of four quadrants: Open Area: This includes all the adjectives or traits that both you and others agree on. In a Johari Window exercise, this means both you and your peers have selected the same descriptors for you — confirming mutual understanding. These are traits visible to everyone. Blind Area: This is where others have selected adjectives or traits that you did not select for yourself. It reveals what others see in you that you may not be aware of — often behaviors, habits, or impressions you're blind to but that shape how people experience you. Hidden Area: Here you place all the descriptors you selected about yourself that others did not select. This reflects aspects you believe are true or important about yourself that others don’t recognize. It helps uncover misalignments — such as when you think you're seen as assertive, but others don't perceive you that way. It often points to intentions not clearly communicated through actions. Unknown Area: Characteristics unknown to both you and others. These might emerge in new situations, through deep reflection, or as a result of life experiences. How it helps: The Johari Window enables you to better understand how others perceive you, increase transparency, uncover blind spots, and align your actions with your intentions — leading to stronger, more authentic relationships and leadership presence. It creates a structured way to surface feedback, reduce misunderstandings, and develop more accurate self-perception.
  • Johari Window Adjectives
  • Tenacious
  • Demanding
  • Impulsive
  • 1 vote
  • Introverted
  • Persuasive
  • Reliable
  • Clever
  • 2 votes
  • Dependable
  • Intuitive
  • Independent
  • Tense
  • Religious
  • Complex
  • Powerful
  • 3 votes
  • Influential
  • Thorough
  • Private
  • Dignified
  • Kind
  • Compliant
  • Responsive
  • Open Area
  • Blind Area
  • known by others
  • 4 votes
  • Ingenious
  • Trustworthy
  • Proud
  • Diplomatic
  • Knowledgeable
  • Risk Taker
  • Confident
  • Known by self and others
  • Unknown by self
  • 5 votes
  • Innovative
  • Warm
  • Dominating
  • Courageous
  • Quiet
  • Listener
  • Searching
  • Able
  • Inspirational
  • Wise
  • Critical
  • Reflective
  • Empathetic
  • Logical
  • Self Aware
  • Accepting
  • Energetic
  • Intelligence
  • Witty
  • Loving
  • Decisive
  • Relaxed
  • Self Conscious
  • Adventurous
  • Even-tempered
  • Loyal
  • Spiritual
  • Self Contained
  • Bold
  • Happy
  • Observant
  • Aggressive
  • Extroverted
  • Spontaneous
  • Mature
  • Helpful
  • Sensible
  • Calm
  • Open
  • Assertive
  • Flexible
  • Systematic
  • Modest
  • Caring
  • Humorous
  • Sentimental
  • Organized
  • Hidden Area
  • Unknown area
  • unknown by others
  • Talkative
  • Autocratic
  • Friendly
  • Idealistic
  • Motivator
  • Cheerful
  • Patient
  • Shy
  • Unknown by others
  • Self-discovery
  • Autonomous
  • Silly
  • Giving
  • Nervous
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Created byNova·Official process
Last edited Jul 7, 2025·7 steps