1. HOW MUCH IS THAT ZUCCHINI IN THE WINDOW? THE JOHARI WINDOW AND THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION: TWO INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS MODELS BY JOSEPH LUFT RST & ASSOCIATES Facilitating organizational effectiveness Robert S. Travis Organizational Effectiveness Consultant RST & Associates 301.655.1073 rstravis@mindspring.com June, 2014

2. THE JOHARI WINDOW The Johari Window is a well-known model demonstrating awareness, especially of behavior and feelings, in interactions between people. It was developed in 1955 by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham (“Joe” and “Harry,” giving it the name “Johari”).RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

3. THE JOHARI WINDOW The model is drawn as a square, or “window,” divided into four quadrants. The whole square represents the true self, the person as he/she really is. The quadrants, or “panes” of the window, represent what is or is not known about the person, both by himself/herself and others. The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Self Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to OthersRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

4. THE JOHARI WINDOW The quadrants are defined as follows:  “Open” or “Arena”: What is known to the self and is known to others.  “Blind”: What is not known to the self and is known to others.  “Hidden” or “Façade”: What is known to the self and is not known to others.  “Unknown”: What is not known to the self and is not known to others. The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Self Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW NRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

5. THE JOHARI WINDOW Through interaction with others, the quadrants of the Johari Window can change shape and relative size. With open communication, more information goes into the Open quadrant, making it larger and the others smaller. This communication includes processes of observation, feedback, disclosure, and discovery. The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Self Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW N OPEN FEEDBACK SOLICITATION SELF-DISCOVERY OTHERS’ OBSERVATION SELF-DISCLOSURE SHARED DISCOVERYRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

6. THE JOHARI WINDOW As a model, the Johari Window is elegant in its simplicity. It succinctly demonstrates the value of openness, disclosure, and discovery in interpersonal relationships. It serves as the basis for a number of exercises and interventions aimed at improving group interactions and team cohesiveness. But, like every model, it isn’t perfect; it has its flaws. To put it another way, there are a few “cracks” in the window. The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Self Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW NRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

7. CRACKS IN THE WINDOW: A STORY A true story to demonstrate the “cracks” in the Johari Window: Years ago, a college student was working as a cashier in a drugstore on Long Island. One day, the actor Peter Boyle came into her store. Not sure if this really was him, or merely someone who looked like him, she asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Peter Boyle?”RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

8. CRACKS IN THE WINDOW: A STORY As he paid for his purchase, he answered, “Peter Boyle? Peter Boyle! No. Robert Redford. Not Peter Boyle!” It’s probably safe to assume he was joking—one can only hope he was! But, let’s imagine for a moment that he wasn’t.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

9. CRACKS IN THE WINDOW: A STORY In what quadrant of the Johari Window would we place the statement “I look like Robert Redford”? “I don’t look like Robert Redford” would go into the Blind quadrant. So would “I look like Peter Boyle.” “I think I look like Robert Redford” could go in the Hidden quadrant. That is, until he said something, which would move it into the Open quadrant. The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Self Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW NRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

10. CRACKS IN THE WINDOW: A STORY But, where to put the “fact,” as he sees it, that he looks like Robert Redford? Since the whole window represents the person as he/she really exists, false beliefs like this don’t really fit in any quadrant. The same is true of false beliefs others may have about the person. For example, if Peter Boyle had convinced the cashier that he did look like Robert Redford, her mistaken belief wouldn’t fit into any quadrant, either. Known to SelfRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person as He/She Really Exists Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW N ?

11. CRACKS IN THE WINDOW: A STORY Although beliefs like these are false, they are just as real as any true beliefs held by the person or by others. False beliefs like these “slip through the cracks” of the Johari Window. Known to SelfRST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person as He/She Really Exists Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW N ?

12. THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION In 1984, Joseph Luft (the “Joe” in “Johari”) developed a new model that is not as well known as the Johari Window. He called this model the Zucchini Connection. This model accounts for false beliefs, or what Luft calls “illusions,” which are missing from the Johari Window. It demonstrates that perception, whether true or not, is built into interpersonal relationships.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

13. THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION This model is drawn as a “zucchini” overlapped by two boxes. The zucchini represents the true self, the person as he/she really is. A box over the center of the zucchini represents the person’s self-image. A box over one end of the zucchini, and overlapping the center box, represents another’s image of the person.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person

14. THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION Note that the parts of the Johari Window are represented in the Zucchini Connection. The zucchini represents the true self, just as the whole square of the Johari Window does. The quadrants of the Johari Window are represented in the parts of the zucchini as it is divided by the two boxes.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person OPENBLINDHIDDE N UNKNOW N

15. THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION The parts of the boxes that don’t cover the zucchini provide the other dimension of this model. This is the dimension of false beliefs and impressions, or “illusions,” which are not included in the Johari Window. Note that these boxes overlap, indicating that some illusions are shared.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person ILLUSIONS IN THE SELF-IMAGE ILLUSIONS IN THE OTHER’S IMAGE SHARED ILLUSIONS ILLUSIONS IN THE OTHER’S IMAGE ILLUSIONS IN THE SELF-IMAGE SHARED ILLUSIONS

16. THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION Where the quadrants of the Johari Window can change shape and relative size, Luft designed the Zucchini Connection as a static model. The relative sizes of the sections of the boxes, or of the zucchini, do not indicate how much information is there. The model simply illustrates that images of a person, whether held by himself/herself, or by someone with whom the person is interacting, contain both correct and incorrect perceptions, while showing that some parts of the person remain unknown to both parties.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person

17. THE ZUCCHINI CONNECTION In 2004, Anne Brockbank and Ian McGill described another view of the Zucchini Connection. They pointed out that, in a group of more than two, there are multiple boxes overlapping the zucchini and each other. Each additional box represents the image a different group member has of the person. Each box is unique, containing its own set of true facts and false illusions, some of which are shared with the person and with other group members.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person

18. CONCLUSION The Johari Window is dynamic and elegant, and forms the basis of several team activities and group interventions. It demonstrates that we all have parts of ourselves that are known and unknown both to ourselves and to others.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Known to Self Not Known to Self The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW N

19. CONCLUSION The Zucchini Connection is static and more complex, and is not often used as the basis for group activities. It does, however, illustrate the presence of false beliefs, or “illusions,” in our perceptions of ourselves and in those others have of us.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person

20. CONCLUSION Both models are useful. They are presented here in the hope that the viewer will use either, or both, as appropriate, in the study of, and in working with, interpersonal relations.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS The Person’s Self-Image The Person as He/She Really Exists Another’s Image of the Person The Person as He/She Really Exists Known to Self Not Known to Self Known to Others Not Known to Others OPENBLIND HIDDE N UNKNOW N

21. REFERENCES Anonymous. (n. d.) Private communication: Story about the cahier’s encounter with Peter Boyle. Brockbank, A. & McGill, I. (2004). Chapter 9, Being a presenter. In The Action Learning Handbook: Powerful Techniques for Education, Professional Development, and Training (Rev. ed.). London, England: RoutledgeFalmer. Chapman, A. (n. d.). Johari Window—helpful for personal awareness and group relationships. Retrieved June 3, 2014 from http://www.businessballs.com/johariwindowmodel.htm Luft, J. (1984). Chapter 5, The Johari Window: A model of awareness in interpersonal relations. In Group Processes: An Introduction to Group Dynamics (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. Luft, J. (1984). Chapter 6, The Zucchini Connection: How people see one another. In Group Processes: An Introduction to Group Dynamics (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. Travis, R. S. (2009). The Zucchini Connection: Another perspective on the Johari Window concept with an additional dimension [PowerPoint presentation]. Arlington, VA: George Mason University School of Public Policy. With special thanks to Peter Boyle. And to Robert Redford.RST & ASSOCIATES FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS