How Much is that Zucchini in the Window?

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

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”).
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FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

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 Others
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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.
Really Exists
Known
to Self
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
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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.
Really Exists
Known
to Self
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
OPEN
FEEDBACK SOLICITATION
SELF-DISCOVERY
OTHERS’OBSERVATION
SELF-DISCLOSURE
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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.
Really Exists
Known
to Self
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
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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?”
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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.
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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.
Really Exists
Known
to Self
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
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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 Self
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Really Exists
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
?

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 Self
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Really Exists
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
?

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.
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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.
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The Person’s Self-Image
Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person

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.
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Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person
OPEN
BLIND
HIDDEN
UNKNOWN

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.
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Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person
ILLUSIONS IN
THE SELF-IMAGE
ILLUSIONS IN
THE OTHER’S IMAGE
SHARED ILLUSIONSILLUSIONS IN THE
OTHER’S IMAGE
ILLUSIONS IN THE
SELF-IMAGE
SHARED ILLUSIONS

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.
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Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person

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.
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Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person

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.
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Known
to Self
Not Known
to Self
Really Exists
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN

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.
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Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person

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.
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Really Exists
Another’s Image
of the Person
Really Exists
Known
to Self
Not Known
to Self
Known
to Others
Not Known
to Others
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN

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.
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How Much is that Zucchini in the Window?

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