The best leaders are the ones who have the most self-awareness.
I learned this timeless lesson in a coaching training I got seven years ago. Until that point, I had one size fits all approach to all the individuals in my team. But that coaching training taught me this: To manage a business, you have to manage people. To manage people, you have to manage relationships. To manage relationships, you have to manage yourself.
Becoming a good leader starts with managing yourself first, and the Johari Window model is a valuable tool to do that.
4 Areas Of The Johari Window Model
Each area contains information about your self-awareness and how others see you.
- Area #1: Open Area: What is known by you about yourself and is also known by others. The area where all communications occur. The larger it is, the more influential the relations will be.
- Area #2: Blind Area: Area: What is unknown by you about yourself but others know. Get more feedback to understand this area better so you can minimise it.
- Area #3: Hidden Area: What you know about yourself that others do not know. Show this more so that it increases Open Area.
- Area #4: Unknown Area: What is unknown by you about yourself and is also unknown by others. Keep the communication open. It will decrease this area in time.
Emre Guney 