SELF DEVELOPMENT THROUGH JOHARI WINDOW

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Joseph Luft and Harry Ingam were the two social scientists who created 'Johari Window. I actively practiced this to grow myself as an individual. There are four windows in the system.                                                       
         
                                                      
                

Block A is the portion you show to others about yourself Viz your physical appearance, behavior, attitude, likes and dislikes that you want others to know or others get to know by interacting with you. It is an open area in your relationship with others. Block C is the area that one hides from others. It may be on criminal or social background, family weaknesses, temper related, financial status and things that one considers very personal though others want to peep deep.  

Block B is the area where others talk behind the back about you. Proud, egoist, arrogant, too nice, and naive or any other comment people pass about you in your absence. Almost all these are not within your knowledge and you are actually in need of a strong feedback to know them. Block D interestingly is the blank area that neither you nor others know. You may tend to be a loner, you get violent, don't like picnics, hate children or any other behavioral pattern or attitude that is the outcome of some strong emotional hit taken as a child that only a psychologist or behavioral scientist can uncork.

The behavior of all humans is contained in these four blocks. As a student on the end of teenage when this was taught all boys and girls were desperate to know what is hidden in block B. There was feedback frenzy as each tried to highlight weaknesses of others and people competed to get feedback and went in search of friends who offered friendly feedback.


People who were taught this subject gave feedback with a vested interest. The feed backs were used to hit the ego of the egotist, force the timid to be all the more submissive and also with an attitude that "I can help you all to know you" rather than actually helping.

There was also bargaining to extract what is hidden in block C. You tell me more of your block C and I will tell you more of block B about you were the bargain points. There were also bargains to mutually exchange the blocks of B and C. You tell me what is hidden in your block C I will tell mine and I will give you honest feedback of block B if you are honest with me were the discussions where learning was less and the knowledge of the subject was used for dominating attempts rather than learning.

After a week the professor was aghast as to how to make the students learn, as many practical sessions ended up with more noise and arguments. None of the students bothered to discuss or ask questions on block D which is very much part of the lesson and unwinding that part is very much part of the learning on knowing self. Since knowing self was just a part of the huge topic of  Organizational Behavior he chose to move on but made the practical lesson of Johari Window optional and held extra sessions in a group of five for those who really wanted to practice. 

Instead of oral discussions he handed over papers to the five students and asked them to fill up the blocks of A B and C of other four students. The contents were somewhat meaningful and he opened the discussion thereafter on the basic structure of giving feedback.
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What learning students had, I will write in the next blog.
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