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We all have blind spots. Things that others see in us but that we don't recognize. And we also have hidden areas: things we know about ourselves but never share. The Johari Window is the tool that makes all of this visible in a single coaching session.
Created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, the Johari Window is a model of self-awareness and interpersonal communication that has become a fundamental tool for coaches, consultants, and team facilitators. What makes it so powerful is its visual simplicity: four quadrants that reveal the dynamics between what we know, what we hide, and what we ignore about ourselves.
The Johari Window turns self-awareness into something visual, concrete, and actionable in a single session.
The 4 quadrants of the Johari Window
Open Area
Known by me + Known by others. It's what both you and others know about you. Your recognized skills, your way of communicating, your visible achievements. The larger this area, the more authentic and effective your communication.
Blind Area
Unknown by me + Known by others. They are blind spots. Behaviors, habits, or attitudes that others notice but that you don't recognize. It could be your tone of voice when giving instructions, your tendency to interrupt, or the way you react under pressure.
Hidden Area
Known by me + Unknown by others. What you know about yourself but don't share. Fears, insecurities, past experiences, opinions you keep to yourself. Maintaining a large hidden area creates emotional distance and limits trust.
Unknown Area
Unknown by me + Unknown by others. Unexplored territory. Latent talents, unprocessed traumas, capabilities that have never been tested. This area shrinks with new experiences, deep reflection, and honest feedback.
The goal of coaching with the Johari Window is simple: expand the open area. This is achieved in two ways: reducing the blind area (receiving feedback) and reducing the hidden area (sharing with others).
Step-by-step exercise for your coaching session
This exercise works for both individual and group sessions. The version I present here is for individual sessions, but at the end I'll explain how to adapt it for teams.
Step 1: Preparation — Adjective List
Present a list of 50-60 adjectives describing personal qualities: honest, kind, tenacious, creative, impatient, reserved, energetic, cautious, etc. Your client selects the 10 that they believe best describe them. In parallel, ask 3-5 people close to your client to select 10 adjectives from the same list to describe them.
Step 2: Building the window
Classify the adjectives into the four quadrants. Those chosen by your client AND also others go to the open area. Those chosen by others but NOT your client go to the blind area. Those chosen by your client but NOT others go to the hidden area. Those chosen by no one represent the unknown area.
Step 3: Exploring the blind area
This is where real coaching begins. Take each adjective from the blind area and ask: "Three people who know you well said you are [adjective]. What does it bring up for you to hear that? In what situations do you think they see that in you?" Powerful Questions are your best ally in this phase. It's not about convincing your client. It's about opening reflection.
Step 4: Exploring the hidden area
With care and respect, explore: "There are qualities you chose but that people close to you don't seem to see. Why do you think they don't show outward?" This reveals patterns of self-protection, fear of judgment, or simply contexts where your client doesn't allow themselves to be authentic.
Step 5: Open area expansion plan
Define concrete actions. To reduce the blind area: establish a regular feedback system. To reduce the hidden area: identify a safe context where your client can share more of themselves. To explore the unknown area: commit to a new experience that takes them out of their comfort zone.
The Johari Window doesn't just reveal what your client doesn't see. It reveals what they choose not to show. And the difference between the two is where transformation happens.
How to expand the open area: Strategies for coaches
Expanding the open area is the goal, but it requires work on the two adjacent areas:
Reducing the blind area: The culture of feedback
Your client needs to learn to ask for and receive feedback constructively. This is not natural for most people. Your roles as a coach here are:
- Normalize feedback as a growth tool, not as criticism.
- Teach your client to ask for specific feedback, not generic.
- Help them process difficult feedback without reactivity.
- Create a safe space where feedback is received with curiosity.
Reducing the hidden area: The practice of vulnerability
Sharing more of yourself requires trust and courage. Your client is not going to open their hidden area overnight. The process is gradual:
- Identify which hidden areas are limiting their relationships or their performance.
- Consciously choose what to share and with whom.
- Start with small disclosures in safe contexts.
- Observe how relationships deepen when authenticity increases.
360 Feedback as a perfect complement
If the Johari Window reveals the existence of blind spots, 360 Feedback details them with precision. They are tools that work in synergy.
The ideal sequence in a coaching process is:
- Johari Window: Your client discovers that they have blind spots and hidden areas.
- 360 Feedback: They receive structured feedback from multiple sources that details those blind spots.
- Powerful Questions: You deepen each finding to generate awareness and commitment to change.
This combination of three tools creates a self-awareness process that is difficult to replicate with any other methodology. Your client moves from "I think I know myself" to "I have concrete data on how others see me and how I see myself".
Powerful Questions are the catalyst in each phase. Without the right questions, the Johari Window and 360 Feedback data are just information. With the right questions, they become levers for transformation.
The interactive Johari Window in CoachPro Tools
Applying the Johari Window with paper and pencil works, but it has limitations. Classifying adjectives manually, building the chart, keeping records for future sessions... all of that consumes time you could be using for coaching.
CoachPro Tools includes the Johari Window in interactive version. Your client selects their adjectives, you integrate the responses from people close to them, and the tool automatically generates the window with the four populated quadrants. Visual, instant, and professional.
It also includes 360 Feedback and a complete bank of Powerful Questions categorized by objective. Everything you need to execute the complete self-awareness process we describe in this article.
Take your client's self-awareness to the next level
Johari Window, 360 Feedback, and interactive Powerful Questions. Everything in one place, ready for your next session.
Discover CoachPro Tools →Conclusion
The Johari Window is much more than a theoretical model. It's a practical tool that produces visible results in a single session. Your client leaves knowing things about themselves that they didn't know when they came in. And that's exactly what should happen in every coaching session.
Combined with 360 Feedback to get external data and Powerful Questions to deepen each discovery, you have a complete self-awareness system that sets your coaching practice apart from any other.
Blind spots don't disappear on their own. You need a process, the right tools, and a coach who knows how to guide the exploration. Make sure you have all of that.
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