As we grow into adults, we learn to keep secrets about ourselves.  We become uncomfortable letting other people know when they have some sort of fault. Yet we all know that our closest friends are those who allow themselves to be vulnerable around us, and who we feel will tell us when we seem to be heading down a wrong path.  Think about how powerful and meaningful those relationships are in your life.  Now, imagine knowing a model that could help you build more meaningful relationships in your personal life and your professional life.

Recently I was introduced to the concept of the Johari Window.  This concept, devised by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955, is a tool to help people better understand interpersonal relationships and communication.

The Window is a square with four quadrants.  The top left represents things known to you and known to others, or your “open space”.  The top right represents things known to others, but not to you: your “blind spot”.  The bottom left represents things known to you but not known to others, or your “hidden space”.  And the bottom left is not known to anyone: “the unknown”.

Now here’s the secret: by expanding your open space, thereby shrinking your hidden space, you build trust.  And by creating a safe space, you allow for people to share things with you about your blind spot, giving you valuable feedback about yourself. Think about this for a minute as it pertains to your most trusted advisors and friends.  I would guess that your open space is much greater with those people than it is with others.  Now think about how you might apply this context in a business setting.

Naturally, you need to be careful about which parts of your hidden space you want to expose, but having open and transparent communications with your customers helps build their trust, and allows them to feel comfortable giving you feedback about you or your company’s performance.  With that type of information about your brand, you can make adjustments to improve products or performance more quickly than most — and you’re more likely to hear about negative comments first before customers use social media tools or word-of-mouth to bash your brand.

So take a new look at the way you communicate with your internal and external audiences and examine how large your upper left-hand window is.  Is there a way you can expand the square to improve communications with your most valued audiences?  If not, what are trying to hide, and why?