Encyclopedia of Leadership

15.3

THE JOHARI WINDOW: WHAT YOU

DON’T KNOW CAN HURT YOU

Inspired by Phillip Hanson, Joe Luft, and Harry Ingham.

As human beings, we play very different roles with different people. This makes two bedrock

aspects of effective leadership very difficult—self-awareness and asking for feedback. The

JoHari window, so named after its founders, Joe Luft and Harry Ingham, illustrates aspects of

personality (interests, values, views), and is aimed at helping people think about how they

relate with others, and about their need to know themselves and be open to feedback from oth-

ers. The four panes of the window are:

➠ Knownor Openarea, characterized by a leader’s free and open communication with others.

➠ Facadeor Hiddenarea, the area where a leader feels vulnerable and hides from others.

➠ Blind Spot,the area where a leader doesn’t know how his or her behavior affects others,

but others know.

➠ Unknownarea, encompassing such indistinct or inexpressible areas as deep fears, early

childhood memories, latent potentials, and unrecognized resources.

The JoHari model can be used to describe a number of leadership stances, four of which are

illustrated here.

The Ideal Window.With a large Known/Open pane, these leaders are open, nonde-

fensive, self-aware, and willing to sharing information, thoughts, and feelings. This

can be overdone, however, and casual acquaintances may see too much sharing as

threatening or naive. [☛15.2 Emotional Intelligence]

The Interviewer.With a large Facade/Hidden pane, these leaders’ fears don’t allow for

testing views or information in public. A large Facade area causes leaders to ask ques-

tions but withhold their own views, interests, and needs, leaving others to wonder

where they are coming from. Without exposure and challenge, however, a leader’s

assumptions become outdated and, over time, limit his or her effectiveness. [☛15.6

Defenses]

SECTION 15 TOOLS FORTAKINGCARE OFYOURSELF 459

Leader knows Leader does not know

Others

know

Known/Open

Possibilities for

insight

Blind Spot

Others

do not

know

Façade/Hidden

Possibilities for

insight

Unknown

Unconscious

Possibilities for

insight