Summary

  • The Johari Window is a model that helps people understand the difference between how they see themselves and how others see them.
  • Self-awareness, feedback, and openness are key to personal growth and building strong team relationships.
  • Belbin Team Roles identify an individual’s natural working styles and strengths, showing how they contribute to a team.
  • By combining Belbin reports with the Johari Window, individuals can uncover blind spots and hidden strengths to improve communication and collaboration.
  • This process supports high-performing, trust-based teams where people can play to their strengths and reduce misunderstandings.

Understanding the Johari Window Model

How do I identify my strengths and weaknesses? How do I see myself as others see me? 

The Johari Window, created in the 1950s by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, is a simple but powerful tool to answer these questions. It helps us to understand:

  • What we know about ourselves
  • What others know about us
  • What neither we nor others realise yet

By using this model, teams and individuals can build self-awareness, improve communication, and work together more effectively.

The four quadrants of the Johari Window

The Johari Window consists of four quadrants:

  • Open area – things known to you and others, such as the strengths you use openly at work. 
  • Hidden area – things you know but keep private. When we disclose personal information or articulate how we like to work, this is known as ‘self-disclosure’. 
  • Blind area – things others notice about us, but that we're unaware of, such as strengths that we might underestimate. We need feedback from those around us in order to access this information.
  • Unknown area – information which is not yet available to ourselves or to others. This can sometimes be accessed by relational coaching.

The Johari Window suggests that we build trust through self-disclosure and learn through feedback.

 

Belbin Team Roles And Johari Window Diagram

But there's a catch...

Your self-view may not match how others see you.

That’s where Observer feedback comes in. Colleagues can complete a structured assessment of your behaviour in a work context. called an Observer Assessment. Once at least four Observer Assessments have been completed, your Belbin report can compare and contrast:

  • How you see yourself (Self-Perception Inventory)
  • How others see you (Observer responses)

Where there are differences, these may fall into the blind spot or hidden areas of the Johari Window.

Here's an example

In this example, taken from the Belbin Individual report, there are a pair of bars for each Team Role.

The bar on the left represents the individual's score for that Team Role strength, and the bar on the right shows how others in their team rated it.

Comparing Self And Observer Perceptions

In this case, the individual identifies their strengths as Implementer (IMP), Completer Finisher (CF) and Co-ordinator (CO), but their team sees more Teamworker (TW) behaviours.

  • Blind spot: They may not realise how strong their Teamworker behaviours are – a missed opportunity to use this strength more intentionally.

  • Hidden area: Others haven’t seen their Co-ordinator abilities yet – maybe they haven’t had a chance to show these skills at work.

By understanding this, people can:

  • Communicate hidden strengths better to the team.
  • Work on developing overlooked strengths that others have noticed but that they haven't recognised.

This feedback helps people grow in confidence, clarify their role, and align personal aspirations with team expectations.

Why does this matter for teams?

Lots of personality and similar measures look at individuals in isolation, rather than in a team setting.

They also rely purely on self-reporting and don't include feedback from the team. This can limit opportunities for growth and development, and can leave difficult issues unaddressed.

The Belbin approach:

  • Clarifies team members’ strengths and working styles
  • Opens up honest conversations
  • Builds trust and psychological safety
  • Ensures everyone plays to their strengths, leading to better team performance

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