1.

The Johari Window is built on two key principles:

(1.) That you build trust with people when you disclose information about yourself
(2.) Using feedback, you can learn a great deal more about yourself, therefore
coming to terms with issues and increasing your self awareness and
effectiveness as an individual.

By explaining the idea of the Johari Window, you can help team members to understand the
value of self-disclosure, and encourage them to both give, and accept, constructive feedback.
Done sensitively, this can help people build better, more trusting relationships with one
another, solve issues, and work more effectively as a team.

Johari Window Explained

The model is based on a four grid format, whereby each quadrant represents a current state of
play.

The Four Quadrants:

1. Unknown Area: what is unknown by the person about him/herself and is also unknown by
others
2. Hidden Area: what the person knows about him/herself that others do not know
 3. Blind Area: what is unknown by the person about him/herself but which others know. This
can normally include things like anxiety, fear, incompetence, unworthiness and so on,
whereby it is difficult for people to face up to, but others can easily see them clearly in
you.
4. The Open area: what is known by the person about him/herself and is also known by
others. This normally includes your behaviour, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and ‘general
knowledge’ history.
The Goal of The Johari Window:

So, we have digressed what the Johari window is and the theory behind it, but what is the
actual use of the model? How do we apply it? The ultimate goal is to enlarge the open area, so
people can learn about you and you about yourself. By doing this, trust and deep relationships
can be built, as the more you know about each other, the more productive, cooperative and
indeed effective people will be when working together.

This process of opening up and increasing the open area of your window, is called self-
disclosure and is more of a learning process, following down a two-way communication
journey.

Notice I said at the start, that there are two key principles of the Johari Window:

(1.)You build trust and insight by telling people about you

(2.)Secondly, you build more trust and insight through soliciting feedback from others.
By following these two principles, and sharing information, you effectively increase your open
area on the diagram, as the more you discuss yourself, the more the hidden area retreats. Also
too, the more you gain feedback, the more your open area also expands and your blind area
gets smaller.

Done well, the process of give and take, sharing, and open communication builds trust within
the group.

2. What is a Group?

Groups are a fundamental part of social life. As we will see they can be very small – just
two people – or very large. They can be highly rewarding to their members and to
society as a whole, but there are also significant problems and dangers with them. All
this makes them an essential focus for research, exploration and action. In this piece I
want to examine some of the key definitions of groups that have appeared, review
central ways of categorizing groups, explore important dimensions of groups, and look
briefly at the group in time.
 A group is a collection of individuals who have relations to one another that make them
interdependent to some significant degree. As so defined, the term group refers to a
class of social entities having in common the property of interdependence among their
constituent members. Dorwin Cartwright and Alvin Zander(1968: 46)

3. Group formation

Tuckman and Jensen's stages in group formation

Tuckman and Jensen draw on the movement known as group dynamics, which is
concerned with why groups behave in particular ways. This offers various suggestions
for how groups are formed and how they develop over time. The formation of some
groups can be represented as a spiral; other groups form with sudden movements
forward and then have periods with no change. Whatever variant of formation each
group exhibits, they suggest that all groups pass through six sequential stages of
development. These stages may be longer or shorter for each group, or for individual
members of the group, but all groups will need to experience them. They are forming,
storming, norming, performing, mourning and retiring.

The terms are pretty self explanatory. When a group is forming, participants can feel
anxious not knowing how the group will work or what exactly will be required of them.
Storming, as the word suggests, is when things may get stormy. Conflict can emerge,
individual differences are expressed and the leader's role may be challenged. The value
and the feasibility of the task may also be challenged. After the storm comes the calm of
norming, where the group starts to function harmoniously and where participants co-
operate and mutual support develops. This enables the performing stage to occur
where the work really takes off and the group accepts a structure and method for
achieving the common task. When the group retires or adjourns, much learning happens
through informal chat and feedback about the group performance. Tuckman and Jenson
recognise that when groups dismantle themselves and the loose ends are all tied up,
participants often go through a stage of mourning or grieving.

A Forming
· What was the task?
· Did you all share the same expectations of the task?
· Did you all have the same attitude to working in a group?
· Did you feel any anxiety at the outset of the activity?
In this stage, most team members are positive and polite. Some are anxious, as they
haven't fully understood what work the team will do. Others are simply excited about
the task ahead.
As leader, you play a dominant role at this stage, because team members' roles and
responsibilities aren't clear.
This stage can last for some time, as people start to work together, and as they make an
effort to get to know their new colleagues.

B Storming
· Was there any conflict in the group?
· Did you all agree on the means of carrying out the task?
· Did you have a leader and was his/her authority challenged?
· Did any group members withdraw from the group?

Next, the team moves into the storming phase, where people start to push against the
boundaries established in the forming stage. This is the stage where many teams fail.
Storming often starts where there is a conflict between team members' natural working
styles. People may work in different ways for all sorts of reasons but, if differing working
styles cause unforeseen problems, they may become frustrated.

C Norming
· Did you move on to agree methods of working?
· Did you have a common goal?
· Did you cooperate with each other?
· Did you work out how to proceed at all? (If not, you were probably still storming.)

Gradually, the team moves into the norming stage. This is when people start to resolve
their differences, appreciate colleagues' strengths, and respect your authority as a
leader.
Now that your team members know one another better, they may socialize together,
and they are able to ask one another for help and provide constructive feedback. People
develop a stronger commitment to the team goal, and you start to see good progress
towards it.

D Performing
· Did everyone take on a functional role to achieve the task?
· Did you work constructively and efficiently?
· Did the group's activity focus on fulfilling the task?
· Did you experience a sense of achievement?
The team reaches the performing stage, when hard work leads, without friction, to the
achievement of the team's goal. The structures and processes that you have set up
support this well.
As leader, you can delegate much of your work, and you can concentrate on developing
team members.

E Retiring/Adjourning
· Did you stop abruptly and all go your separate ways or did you finish the task and then
go off together and socialize?
· Did you talk about the group and your experience of it?
· What sort of issues did you discuss or think about after the group activity?
· Was it more or less acceptable to give and receive feedback in a relaxed atmosphere
when adjourning?

Many teams will reach this stage eventually. For example, project teams exist for only a
fixed period, and even permanent teams may be disbanded through organizational
restructuring.
Team members who like routine, or who have developed close working relationships
with colleagues, may find this stage difficult, particularly if their future now looks
uncertain.

F Mourning/Grieving
· Have you experienced the mourning stage following the completion of a show or
project?
· Have you ever felt empty or sad when a group activity has finished
· Why might some people feel the mourning stage more acutely than others?
· How do you deal with your own feelings after the project or show?