Self Disclosure and Trust

Another means of gaining self-awareness is through self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is the process of sharing your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Self-disclosure involves risk and vulnerability. Mutual disclosure deepens trust in relationships and helps both people understand each other more. (Borchers, 1999)

There are many benefits of self-disclosure that include psychological relief, validation of perceptions of reality, reduction of stress and tension, improvement in communication, enhanced relationships, and improved productivity among team members. As beneficial as self-disclosure can be in the business world, it is often a difficult task. A useful way of viewing self-disclosure is the Johari Window. (Luft and Ingham) The Johari Window (shown in Table 1.1) is a way of showing how much information you know about yourself and how much others know about you.

Table 1.1 The Johari Window

	Known to Self	Unknown to Self
Known to Others	Open Pane known to self and others	Blind blind to self, seen by others
Unknown to Others	Hidden Pane open to self, hidden from others	Unknown Pane unknown to self and others

The Johari Window consists of four regions. The Open Region includes information such as physical appearance and occupation. The Blind Region includes information that others can see in you, but you cannot see in yourself. For example, others might think you exhibit strong leadership skills; however, you may not think you are a good leader. The Hidden Region contains information you wish to keep private, such as dreams or ambitions. The Unknown Region includes everything that you and others do not know about yourself. You may have hidden talents, for example, that you have not explored. Through self-disclosure, we open and close regions so that we may become more intimate with others.

The basic premise of the Johari Window is that our personal and professional relationships can be greatly improved through the understanding of ourselves. The more we share with others, the more high quality relationships we develop. The more you disclose, the more you trust. Trust is a multifaceted concept that captures one’s faith or belief in the integrity or reliability of another person or thing. (de Janasz, Dowd, Schneider, 2009) Trust is an essential component in developing business relationships with colleagues, customers, and business associates.

According to Schindler and Thomas (Schindler and Thomas, 1993), trust is composed of five elements.

• Integrity --  In short, you mean what you say and say what you mean. 
• Competence—You are aware of your strengths and limitations.
• Consistency – You use good judgment in handling situations and conformity with previous practice.
• Loyalty—You demonstrate faithfulness to one’s friends and ideals.
• Openness—You are not closed to new ideas.

Self-disclosure and trust are two mutually reinforcing skills that, when practiced with the appropriate personas at the right time and place, can serve to deepen and improve personal and professional relationships. There are fears and risks associated with disclosure, however; knowing what, when, and how to disclose can serve to mitigate the fears and risks. The mutually reinforcing nature of disclosure and trust forms the basis of healthy personal and professional relationships.

For example, an individual who practices the Muslim religion and prays at sunset each day should consider disclosing his religious practices. With a shared understanding, group meetings can be scheduled around time conflicts, which will provide for an open environment. An employee with child care responsibilities should disclose time conflicts so time can be adjusted as well, making for a less stressful working environment. Upon self-disclosure, individuals with similar issues may even find themselves sharing the responsibilities with others in similar situations.