What is it to expand your range and why does it matter?

In Leadership training and Coaching we talk a lot about expanding our range.  In this blog I'm going to explore, what's important about that? what does it give us? and why does it matter?


How big is your range as a human being?
How do you measure it?
You might of heard of the Johari Window, this is a simple model to think of how to expand your range.  See below.....

Joharis Window

The Johari Window was developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram, with the idea that through disclosure and feedback, individuals can learn more about themselves and build trust between themselves and others, improving their relationships and ability to work well together.

In a supportive environment, using the Johari Window can be a good way to get feedback from others to enhance your understanding of yourself and how other people perceive you.

The Johari Window model is a four quadrant grid that looks like this

 Each of these quadrants would contain personal information about you. The smaller the unknown quadrant, the higher your level of personal awareness.

The Open Area is the information about your feelings or motivation or capabilities that you know about and others also know about.

The Blind Area represents your blind spots. To open up this area, you need to obtain feedback. This feedback will relate to both your strengths and weaknesses from other people’s perspectives.

The Hidden Area represents the things you know about yourself  which others do not know. Some of this information, you may keep to yourself, some you may wish to share especially if you want to persuade someone that you have capabilities they are not aware of.

The Unknown Area is the area that is both unknown to you and to others. It may be a skill or a quality you and others we quite unaware you had - it emerges as your experiences increase and may be something you discover yourself or something you discover about yourself with others.

- See more at: http://www.mystepto.com/article.php?section=know-your-capabilities&subsection=assessing-yourself&article=joharis-window#sthash.tfxfuMXh.dpuf

Joharis Window

The Johari Window was developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram, with the idea that through disclosure and feedback, individuals can learn more about themselves and build trust between themselves and others, improving their relationships and ability to work well together.

In a supportive environment, using the Johari Window can be a good way to get feedback from others to enhance your understanding of yourself and how other people perceive you.

The Johari Window model is a four quadrant grid that looks like this

 Each of these quadrants would contain personal information about you. The smaller the unknown quadrant, the higher your level of personal awareness.

The Open Area is the information about your feelings or motivation or capabilities that you know about and others also know about.

The Blind Area represents your blind spots. To open up this area, you need to obtain feedback. This feedback will relate to both your strengths and weaknesses from other people’s perspectives.

The Hidden Area represents the things you know about yourself  which others do not know. Some of this information, you may keep to yourself, some you may wish to share especially if you want to persuade someone that you have capabilities they are not aware of.

The Unknown Area is the area that is both unknown to you and to others. It may be a skill or a quality you and others we quite unaware you had - it emerges as your experiences increase and may be something you discover yourself or something you discover about yourself with others.

- See more at: http://www.mystepto.com/article.php?section=know-your-capabilities&subsection=assessing-yourself&article=joharis-window#sthash.tfxfuMXh.dpuf

 So as an explanation we will start with the simple top left hand section first.  The known to self and others.  The more you ask for feedback (or feed forward as I like to call it). Questions like where do I excel and what could I do to have more impact? the more you will expand the pane that is unknown to self.  The second way to expand that section is to disclose more of 'who you are' to others, and you can do that by being more vulnerable or just knowing and living by your Values.  Energetically, you will evoke the field around you and it will be clear to people 'who you are' and 'what you stand for'. I've talked before in my blogs about having conscious intentional impact and this would be a place to check in with people.  This is what I intended, am I having this impact? 

So, what does all of this have to do with range?
I'm coming to that, the next thing I want to address is how do you expand the bottom right hand box, which is unknown to self and unknown to other.  Well by doing the former, that will help, of course.  However, the best way to become aware of that area is to expose yourself to new experiences, go and spend some time as a volunteer, or take a sabbatical and travel the world, do things that are the opposite of the things you think you enjoy and notice the impact on you and your energy when you do.  So, if you like to be warm and dry, put yourself in a situation where you are wet and cold, see which version of yourself shows up then, are you still resourceful when you are wet and cold or do you turn into scarey-eyed bread knife monster???  (I am of course, referring to your Gremlin when I say that).

I'm serious, how can you ever know what your true capacity is until you get outside your comfort zone and see what happens when you are stretched.  Of course, you could get a Coach or go on a Leadership training programme and it can be easier than that too. 

I remember when I volunteered for the Olympics and Paralympics, I basically didn't have a clue what I was doing, having never worked at a major sporting event before.  Yet, I'd loved sport all my life and I worked with people all my life, so how hard would it be to bring the two of them together.  I walked 100's of miles in those 4 weeks, worked every day bar 3, was exhausted and totally and completely fulfilled. I loved every minute of it, even when people shouted at me (and that happened a few times) and I learned from it and didn't take it personally.

So, what does this have to do with range?
Well, the more access you have to your full emotional range, the more you can experience life, and the more people you can interact with.  When people first start to become aware of their values they can take a perspective on them which is one of 'my values are right and yours are wrong, because yours are different than mine'.  The reality is of course, that no values are wrong, they are just different.  So, how do you take a stand for your values when people around you do not share the same values?  The more you can do that, in different circumstances the more you can increase your range.
How do you keep hold of yourself on the 'inside' when you are surrounded by chaos?  Or don't you?

The key to expanding your range is being willing to get outside your comfort zone to explore the zone of your unleashed potential, and to keep hold of yourself in the process. 

How are you expanding your range? What is your impact? What do you want your impact to be?
Enjoy the exploration.
Rx