May The "Johari" Be With You!

I love to learn. It keeps my mind sharp. Words on the page of a book intermix with my thoughts in my head to create an imagination full of possibilities and opportunities. I enjoy that as I feel inspired and refreshed everytime.

Currently I am pursuing my MBA and began classes a week ago. My organizational behavior class has been great so far. In fact, I look forward to my readings and the discussions within our online forums every time. The reason I enrolled in the class was to learn more about management, organizations, and corporate leadership. Boy, did I underestimate what I would take away from this course!

Hey! Get this... Have you ever really considered how much you know about someone? Whether it is your husband or wife, best friend, child, co-worker or a stranger... it doesn't matter... I can tell you this...you don't know as much as you think. Funnily enough, they don't know themselves as well as they may think either. Take a look at this...

Source: McShane & Von Glinow. (2010). Organizational Behavior. 5th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin

The Johari Window, named after two dudes Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram, tells us an interesting story. Let me explain. Everyone knows the "open area" of an individual. It is what we show to everyone when we interact with them, and we are aware of this ourselves. But, there are two quadrants that are hidden (or blind) which conceals information or characteristics from others, or ourselves in the case of the blind section. There is even an unknown quadrant that is buried deep within someone, so much so, that the person themselves is not aware of it. Kinda scary...

So Welly, what's your point?

As people, we usually are quick to jump to a conclusion about others we meet. For example, you may meet someone who is sleeping on the side of the street, wearing dirty raggedly clothes, unshaven and smelling of alcohol. Almost immediately, you begin to make assumptions. You may think that he has no money, he is an alcoholic, has no job, lazy, doesn't care about his looks, and the list could go on and on. Before you know it, you have already labeled this person and boxed him into a corner.  All of these ideas and assumptions begin with 1/4 of the picture - which is the "open area" in the Johari Window. Perhaps, he is unaware of some of his issues and characteristics - this would be a part his "blind area". If you stop to think about it... you have based your label or opinion on, at best, one half of what there is to known or learn about someone. There's a lot of missing information in that equation! You know nothing about the hidden area, which he keeps to himself. Perhaps he is simply traveling through the area, trying to experience life differently from what he is used to, a life of luxury and riches. Who knows! You don't! Only he does. Don't forget about the "unknown area".

Time to consciously stop making snap judgments on people we meet. Take a moment and make an effort to really get to know the person. Simply by getting to know someone, you may even help them learn more about themselves by sharing some of their "blind" spots with them. This sharing will likely lead them to open up some of there "hidden" treasures to you. Before you know it, you will begin to know the real person standing in front of you. Awesome. Imagine all the people out there who you may truly not know. Time to make the effort to really get to know them. Break them out of the prison you created out of your assumptions and bias judgments. You may find some diamonds in the rough, so to speak.

With that, Welly out and... May the "Johari" be with you!