A Johari window is a psychological tool created by

Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955. It’s a simple and

useful tool for understanding and training:
● self-awareness
● personal development
● improving communications
● interpersonal relationships
● group dynamics
● team development; and
● inter group relationships
It is one of the few tools out there that has an emphasis on
“soft skills” such as behaviour, empathy, co-operation, inter
group development and interpersonal development. It’s a
great model to use because of its simplicity and also because it
can be applied in a variety of situations and environments.

In this example we are going to talk about how the Johari

window works with an individual within a team. In this instance
there are two factors at work within the Johari window. The first
factor is what you know about yourself. The second factor
relates to what other people know about you.

The model works using four area quadrants. Anything you know
about yourself and are willing to share is part of your open
area. Individuals can build trust between themselves by
disclosing information to others and learning about others from
the information they in turn disclose about themselves.

Any aspect that you do not know about yourself, but others
within the group have become aware of, is in your blind area.
With the help of feedback from others you can become aware
of some of your positive and negative traits as perceived by
others and overcome some of the personal issues that may be
inhibiting your personal or group dynamics within the team.

There are also aspects about yourself that you are aware of but
might not want others to know, this quadrant is known as your
hidden area. This leaves just one area and is the area that is
unknown to you or anyone else – the unknown area.

The balance between the four quadrants can change. You

might want to tell someone an aspect of your life that you had
previously kept hidden. For example, maybe you are not
comfortable contributing ideas in large groups. This would
increase your open area and decrease your hidden area.

It is also possible to increase your open area by asking for

feedback from people. When feedback is given honestly to you
it can reduce the size of your blind area. Maybe you interrupt
people before they have finished making their point which can
cause frustration. Alternatively people may always want to talk
to you because you are a good listener. Sometimes you don’t
realise these aspects of your character until it is pointed out.

By working with others it is possible for you to discover aspects

that neither of you may never have appreciated before.

Email- Etiquette
The average world employees spend about a quarter of the workweek

combing through the hundreds of emails we all send and receive every

day.

But despite the fact that we're glued to our reply buttons, career coach

Barbara Pachter says plenty of professionals still don't know how to use

email appropriately.

In fact, because of the sheer volume of messages we're reading and writing

each day, we may be more prone to making embarrassing errors--and

those mistakes can have serious professional consequences.

1. Include a clear, direct subject line.

Examples of a good subject line include "Meeting date changed," "Quick

question about your presentation," or "Suggestions for the proposal."

"People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line,"

2. Use a professional email address.

If you work for a company, you should use your company email address.

But if you use a personal email account--whether you are self-employed or

just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences--you

should be careful when choosing that address. You should always have an

email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly

who is sending the email. Never use email addresses (perhaps remnants of
your grade-school days) that are not appropriate for use in the workplace,

such as "babygirl@..." or "beerlover@..." -- no matter how much you love

a cold brew.

3. Think twice before hitting Reply All.

No one wants to read emails from 20 people that have nothing to do with

them. Ignoring the emails can be difficult, with many people getting

notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up

messages on their computer screens. Refrain from hitting Reply All unless

you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email.

4. Include a signature block.

Provide your reader with some information about you, "Generally, this

would state your full name, title, the company name, and your contact

information, including a phone number. You also can add a little publicity

for yourself, but don't go overboard with any sayings or artwork."

Use the same font, type size, and color as the rest of the email.

5. Use professional salutations.

Don't use laid-back, colloquial expressions like "Hey you guys," "Yo," or

"Hi folks."

"The relaxed nature of our writings should not affect the salutation in an

email," she says. "Hey is a very informal salutation and generally it should
not be used in the workplace. And Yo is not okay either.

Use Hi or Hello instead."

6. Use exclamation points sparingly.

If you choose to use an exclamation point, use only one to convey

excitement.

"People sometimes get carried away and put a number of exclamation

points at the end of their sentences. The result can appear too emotional or

immature," she writes. "Exclamation points should be used sparingly in

writing."

7. Be cautious with humor.

Humor can easily get lost in translation without the right tone or facial

expressions. In a professional exchange, it's better to leave humor out of

emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think

is funny might not be funny to someone else.

"Something perceived as funny when spoken may come across very

differently when written. When in doubt, leave it out."

8. Know that people from different cultures speak and write

differently.
Miscommunication can easily occur because of cultural differences,

especially in the writing form when we can't see one another's body
language. Tailor your message to the receiver's cultural background or

how well you know them.

9. Reply to your emails--even if the email wasn't intended for

you.
It's difficult to reply to every email message ever sent to you, but you

should try to. This includes when the email was accidentally sent to

you, especially if the sender is expecting a reply. A reply isn't necessary

but serves as good email etiquette, especially if this person works in the

same company or industry as you.

Here's an example reply: "I know you're very busy, but I don't think you

meant to send this email to me. And I wanted to let you know so you can

send it to the correct person."

10. Proofread every message.

Your mistakes won't go unnoticed by the recipients of your email. "And,

depending upon the recipient, you may be judged for making them,"

Pachter says.

Don't rely on spell-checkers. Read and reread your email a few times,

preferably aloud, before sending it off.

"One supervisor intended to write 'Sorry for the inconvenience,'" Pachter

says. "But he relied on his spell-check and ended up writing 'Sorry for the

incontinence.'"

11. Add the email address last.

"You don't want to send an email accidentally before you have finished

writing and proofing the message," Pachter says. "Even when you are

replying to a message, it's a good precaution to delete the recipient's

address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be

sent."

12. Double-check that you've selected the correct recipient.

Pachter says to pay careful attention when typing a name from your

address book on the email's "To" line. "It's easy to select the wrong name,

which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the

email by mistake."

13. Keep your fonts classic.

Purple Comic Sans has a time and a place (maybe?), but for business

correspondence, keep your fonts, colors, and sizes classic.

The cardinal rule: Your emails should be easy for other people to read.
"Generally, it is best to use 10- or 12-point type and an easy-to-read font

such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman," Pachter advises. As for

color, black is the safest choice.

14. Keep tabs on your tone.

Just as jokes get lost in translation, tone is easy to misconstrue without the

context you'd get from vocal cues and facial expressions. Accordingly, it's

easy to come off as more abrupt that you might have intended --you meant

"straightforward," they read "angry and curt."

To avoid misunderstandings, Pachter recommends you read your message

out loud before hitting send. "If it sounds harsh to you, it will sound harsh

to the reader," she says.

For best results, avoid using unequivocally negative words ("failure,"

"wrong," "neglected"), and always say "please" and "thank you."

15. Nothing is confidential--so write accordingly.

Always remember what former CIA chief General David Petraeus

apparently forgot, warns Pachter: Every electronic message leaves a trail.

"A basic guideline is to assume that others will see what you write," she

says, "so don't write anything you wouldn't want everyone to see." A more

liberal interpretation: Don't write anything that would be ruinous to you or

hurtful to others. After all, email is dangerously easy to forward, and it's

better to be safe than sorry.