Exploring the Johari Window through neuroscience
Self-awareness forms through attention, interaction and reflection, and evolves as the brain encounters new input, processes feedback and updates internal models. In leadership, two important things also live inside that mental ecosystem; namely, how you see yourself and how others experience you.
The Johari Window is a valuable framework for understanding this, which is why I often bring it into assessment debriefs. It has four quadrants: Open, Blind, Hidden and Unknown, with each reflecting a different lens on identity, including what’s visible, internal, private or still forming. This provides a useful way to understand how the brain scans, sorts, stores and surfaces information about the self.
Pixar’s Win or Lose captures the Johari Window beautifully. It has eight episodes, each following a softball game from a different character’s point of view. The Johari Window does the same: it shows how identity shifts under different lights.
1. The open area: What’s known and shared
These are the traits and behaviours that you and others know. There’s a direct connection between your internal awareness and what you express outwardly.
In the brain, this alignment involves the prefrontal cortex, which handles regulation, planning and intentional decision-making. When your values, language and presence line up, communication flows more cleanly and relationships stabilise.
In Win or Lose, this is the coach prepping the team. He’s visible, vocal and aligned with what the group expects. But that clarity doesn’t appear on its own. It takes reflection and experience to strengthen this area. And as it expands, so does your capacity for grounded, coherent leadership.
2. The blind area: What others notice first
These are the behaviours that others see before you do, like tone or body language.
The reticular activating system (RAS) helps manage what you pay attention to, often tuning in to familiar patterns and tuning out what feels less relevant. When new feedback challenges those patterns, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) picks up on the mismatch, prompting the brain to notice, reflect and adjust.
One Win or Lose episode follows a father who believes he’s encouraging, but his child experiences his energy as pressure. That disconnect between intent and impact, which he notices later, reflects how the brain filters unexpected signals.
It’s in the subtle adjustment that self-awareness deepens.
3. The hidden area: What you hold back
This space holds known experiences that you choose not to share, like some thoughts, early memories and feelings.
The limbic system monitors safety here, while the amygdala evaluates whether the social and emotional environment feels secure enough for personal information to be revealed. When there’s trust, expression feels safer. When trust is absent, the mind maintains its privacy.
The quiet player in Win or Lose seems withdrawn, but carries deep internal conflict about fitting in. Only by seeing her story do we understand that her restraint isn’t confusion but caution.
In leadership, revealing just enough of what matters can shift dynamics significantly. This quadrant grows when the mind learns when and how to share.
4. The unknown area: What hasn’t emerged
This is the space of yet-to-be-discovered strengths, responses or beliefs. Neither you nor others can name what’s here until something reveals it.
Neuroplasticity underpins this quadrant. The brain forms new pathways in response to challenge, novelty and meaningful reflection. A new role, an unfamiliar team or a question you haven’t considered can all activate this quadrant.
In Win or Lose, the umpire’s story introduces elements no one expected: his past, his reasoning and his emotional investment. The team never saw that part of him, and neither did he, until the moment called it up.
This unknown area functions as potential and doesn’t require uncovering, but instead responds to readiness. You can explore this area through curiosity, consistent reflection and the right pace.
Reframing self-perception through a neural lens
The Johari Window shows how identity shifts through relationships and reflection. Each quadrant points to a different neural process and opens the door to a more flexible, neuro-aligned approach to growth.
Win or Lose conveys how no single view tells the whole story. Self-awareness works the same way and sharpens through shared perspectives. The more you engage with these shifts, the more your thinking, communication and leadership become more aligned.
In a nutshell: Awareness builds when reflection is steady and safe. The brain learns through experience and grows between what you plan and how you respond.
About the author
I’m Dorothée Oung, Executive Coach and Neuroleadership Expert. I work with senior leaders and executive teams to apply neuroscience in practical, results-driven ways. My goal is to guide emerging and established Neuroleaders through deliberate, evidence-based practices that elevate how they lead, think and show up in the world.
