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12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men narrates the story of a 12-man jury deliberating the guilt or innocence of

an eighteen-year-old charged with the murder of his abusive father. If the jury finds the

defendant guilty, they will face the death penalty. Due to conflict, controversy, and dispute, the

jury members reasonably questioned their principles and morality. The film examines various

methods for attaining an agreement and the difficulties the jurors face when doing so due to their

distinct personalities. After various recounts and extensive discussion, the jury ultimately decides

that the defendant was not guilty. In 12 Angry Men, justice was served due to Mr. Davis’s

leadership qualities, which included being an emergent leader, reaffirming the jury’s identity,

being empathetic, having a high emotional quotient, and reiterating the jury’s goal.

The movie illustrated the distinction between designated and emergent leadership. The

jury's foreman, Juror 1, was the chosen leader whose role was to keep the jury organized and

help it attain its goals through voting (12 Angry Men). Despite this title, he lacked the leadership

skills to ensure the jury effectively met its objective. When met with challenging jurors, Juror 1

says, "Do not tell me to calm down; if you want to take the chair, take the chair"(12 Angry Men).

Instead of using his leadership skills to ensure the group is organized, he threatens to leave them

to coordinate the session themselves. After Juror 8 says he wants to say what he feels about the

case, juror 1 says, "Boy, I do not care what you do"(12 Angry Men). As such, this shows that he

did not care for conflicting opinions and only wanted juror 8 to vote guilty so the session could
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end faster and everyone could attend to their business. Juror 8 was the emergent leader in the

film, as despite not being officially elected, his interaction with the group led to the attainment of

the group's goal. He was the only one who voted not guilty and was willing to engage with every

group member's points while posing questions that led the other men to change their minds (12

Angry Men). As such, leadership skills are vital as they ensure the group can meet its objective

seamlessly.

Mr. Davis also reaffirmed the group’s identity to foster togetherness. When dealing with

the jury, he frequently used the pronouns "we" and "our." For instance, he says, "I am not trying

to change your mind. We are talking about somebody's life here. We can't decide in five minutes,

supposing we are wrong"(12 Angry Men). Juror 8 also attentively listens to and engages with

every juror's opinions, even when he disagrees with some of them. Instead of being biased, he is

objective in his analysis of the evidence as he considers the possibility that the witnesses could

be wrong and that the defendant's lawyer may have overlooked some gaps in the evidence (12

Angry Men). When one of the jurors claimed the defendant was guilty because he used a unique

knife in the killing, juror 8 listened intently to his claims and showed them that he found a

similar knife two blocks from where the child lived. He asked them what they thought if

someone was not sharing their opinion. Juror 8 says, "I want you eleven men to vote by secret

written ballot," as he wanted each member to voice their opinion without being coerced by the

other people's votes and without the fear of opposing the predominant guilty vote (12 Angry

Men). As such, this suggestion helped the group avoid groupthink, which would have resulted in

unchallenged and poor-quality decisions (Ferguson 267). Therefore, Mr. Davis's leadership skills

ensured that groupthink was avoided and empowered each jury member to voice their opinions.
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Moreover, for everyone on the jury to agree on the verdict, Juror 8 used empathy and

emotional intelligence. He used empathy to imagine himself in the boy's situation, as evidenced

by his statement, "I kept putting myself in the kid's place. I would have asked for another lawyer

I think"(12 Angry Men) He thought that the defendant's lawyer overlooked some gaps in the

evidence despite the boy's life depending on every piece of evidence that the lawyer could find.

Additionally, Juror 8 explains to the jury that the boy's predisposition to violence is not because

he is capable of murder but due to his rough upbringing as his mother died when he was none,

his father was abusive, and he grew up in a rough neighborhood (12 Angry Men). His empathy

enabled him to avoid being part of and challenging the groupthink in the jury Juror 8 was also

emotionally intelligent, meaning he could recognize his emotions and that of the jurors

(Ferguson 267). He critiques one of the jurors by claiming, "Ever since you walked into this

room, you have been acting like a self-appointed public avenger," after realizing his emotions

would not change because he had no interest in the case's facts and was only interested in the

boy's execution (12 Angry Men). Thus, empathy and emotional intelligence were crucial in the

group's attainment of its objective.

Throughout the movie, Mr. Davis continually brings up the group objective to sustain

their focus and help them remember their goals. He is, therefore, a great leader as leaders are

supposed to build team spirit and motivate the group to attain its goals and objectives (Newman

and Ford 2). Without this reminder, the group can begin other discussions and forget its purpose.

For instance, various jury members in the film were distractions as one began doodling, and the

other gave personal narratives. During the discussion, he interrupted a game between two jurors

and said, "This isn't a game," as he crumpled the paper they were playing on (12 Angry Men).

Additionally, Mr. Davis motivates the group and helps it attain its objective by critically
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analyzing the evidence with them (12 Angry Men). By engaging with their opinions and the facts

of the case, he guides them towards the common goal, enabling them to work in unison to reach

a unanimous decision.

The significance of leadership skills is underpinned in the film through emergent leaders,

empathy, emotional intelligence, reinforcing group identity, and motivating the group to attain its

purpose. These aspects worked together to enhance cohesion in the group, improving its

efficiency and eliminating groupthink. The film also shows how conflict can be handled through

attentive listening and communication, exemplified by Juror 8, Mr. Davis. He used collective

phrases and attentive listening to ensure the group was unified and each member's opinion was

considered. His empathy and emotional intelligence enabled him to guide the group in the

objective analysis of the evidence and in addressing their emotions as the discussion progressed.

Throughout the film, he reminded the group of its purpose even when he received minimal

support. Eventually, the jury voted not guilty as there was reasonable doubt which would not

have been uncovered were it not for Juror 8's exemplary leadership skills.
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Works Cited

12 Angry Men. Directed by Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose, Orion-Nova Productions, 1957

Ferguson, Caroline L. “One Bad Apple May Spoil the Bunch: Title VII Mixed-Motives Claims

and Groupthink.” Harv. L. & Pol’y Rev., vol. 16, 2021, pp. 245–73.

[Link]/HOL/LandingPage?handle=[Link]/harlpolrv16&div=11&id=&page

=.

Newman, Sean A., and Robert C. Ford. “Five Steps to Leading Your Team in the Virtual

COVID-19 Workplace.” Organizational Dynamics, vol. 50, no. 1, Elsevier BV, Jan.

2021, p. 100802. [Link]