What it shows
The Johari window (Luft and Ingham 1955, as cited in Luft 1982): what is known or not known to yourself, crossed with what is known or not known to others. That gives four quadrants: open (arena), blind (blind spot), hidden (facade) and unknown.
Each quadrant has a short meaning taken from Luft’s (1982) definitions, from the reprint of his 1961 article, and one running example: a new member of a project team.
How to read it
Open, top left: known to her and to others. Her name, her role and the skills she lists.
Blind, top right: others notice that she interrupts in meetings; she hasn’t noticed.
Hidden, bottom left: she is anxious about giving her first presentation, and keeps it to herself.
Unknown, bottom right: a knack for settling disputes that nobody has seen yet.
The four quadrants
- Open (arena): known to the person and to others.
- Blind (blind spot): others see it; the person is unaware of it.
- Hidden (facade): the person knows it but does not reveal it.
- Unknown: neither the person nor others are aware of it.
Ways to use it in teaching
In a team-building or group-work session, students place one fact about themselves in the open and hidden quadrants.
For peer feedback training, discuss how a comment from others can move something out of the blind quadrant.
In professional programs, use it to frame a supervision conversation about self-awareness.
Sources
- Johari window. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window
- Luft, J. (1982). The Johari window: A graphic model of awareness in interpersonal relations. In NTL reading book for human relations training. NTL Institute.
