Partners for Impact

looking forward to the Positive Childhood Alliance Summit in Durham 18th-19th. Visit our booth

Expanding Leadership Awareness: The Johari Window in Coaching One of the most powerful shifts in leadership is the movement from self-protective patterns to a more open, adaptive, and purpose-driven approach. The Johari Window provides a simple yet profound way to help leaders expand their range—both in self-awareness and in how they relate to others. In coaching, we often work with leaders who are highly skilled but limited by unseen constraints—blind spots they can’t perceive, hidden strengths they don’t yet trust, or untapped potential buried beneath old assumptions. By expanding awareness across all four quadrants of the Johari Window, we help leaders step more fully into their impact. ??Opening the Window: Four Coaching Levers for Growth 1?? Expanding the Visible Spot (Open Area) A leader’s greatest impact comes from aligning their strengths with purpose and expressing them transparently. The more they bring their authentic self forward, the more trust and engagement they foster. Coaching here focuses on integrating self-awareness with action, ensuring that their leadership presence is both real and intentional. 2?? Illuminating Blind Spots Every leader has patterns they can’t see—ways of operating that may limit trust, stifle collaboration, or keep them stuck in reactive tendencies. By using feedback effectively, we help leaders recognize these blind spots and shift toward more courageous, inclusive leadership. This is a key part of the reactive-to-creative transition: moving from an externally driven need for control, approval, or self-protection toward leading with deeper awareness and intentionality. 3?? Revealing the Hidden Area Many leaders keep their deeper aspirations, values, or fears private—sometimes out of caution, sometimes out of habit. Yet, revealing more of what matters most allows for richer connection and influence. Coaching in this space often invites leaders to explore vulnerability as a leadership strength, building deeper relationships through authenticity. 4?? Expanding the Narrative (Unknown Area) The unknown area isn’t just about hidden skills or blind spots—it’s about the story a leader tells about themselves and what they believe is possible. Leaders often get stuck in a narrow, outdated version of their own story, shaped by past experiences or limiting assumptions. Coaching here is about helping them step into a bigger story—one that allows for growth, reinvention, and new ways of contributing. When leaders expand their narrative identity, they open themselves up to new challenges, unexpected opportunities, and a sense of meaning that goes beyond their current role. From Awareness to Impact As coaches, our role is to create a space where leaders can see more, share more, and become more. The leaders who make the biggest impact aren’t necessarily the ones who know the most—they’re the ones most willing to learn about themselves and others.

“Consultants” and “strategists” advised Democratic politicians to *not* name and challenge the racism and sexism that Trump used on voters during the 2024 election. Democrats largely did so. Trump’s bigotry won. Since the election, the same “consultants” and “strategists” have advised the same losing strategy. It is senseless: Not challenging racism and sexism when facing a president who draws his power from racism and sexism. We need an opposition that opposes the beating heart of Trumpism.