PM, Know Thyself: Tap into the 'Johari Window' to Build a Self-Aware Team
Effective project management requires more than just making sure your teams are on task and on budget. The most successful teams develop group dynamics built on mutual trust, understanding, and respect. Studies show that when a team has a positive dynamic, its members are nearly twice as creative as an average group.
Anytime you encounter a situation that mimics a hurtful childhood experience you revert back to your childhood strategy of self-protection. Those interactions and your reactions to them cause blind spots in your interpersonal relationships. Using a communication tool called the Johari Window you will learn how to recognize these blind spots in yourself and others so that you can develop greater transparency which will foster understanding between individuals on your team.
The two main aims of this tool are to:
- Build trust amongst team members for more effective and transparent communication.
- Become more self-aware while welcoming feedback from others.
Understanding the Johari Window as a positive tool for self-awareness will encourage team members to extend and receive constructive feedback. The goal is have fewer blind spots and less hidden self to foster mutual trust in relationships and build healthier, edifying human relationships.
Session Outline
- Understanding the common challenges within teams
- Introduction to the Johari Window
- Public face - what is known to you and others
- Blind spots - what is unknown to you, but known to others
- Hidden Self - what is known to you, but unknown to others
- Unknown - what is unknown to you and others
- Self-reflection exercise
- How to use the Johari Window in a Team Context