Video Case Exercise

Leadership and 12 Angry Men

Objectives 1. To demonstrate the relative effectiveness of various leadership techniques and influence tactics. 2. To give you practical experience with recognizing different styles of leadership tactics. Introduction To my thinking, no film captures the challenge and opportunities of leadership better than 12 Angry Men, especially the original 1 !" black#and#white movie, based on the play by $eginald $ose, directed by %ydney &umet, and starring 'enry (onda and a cavalcade of other stars) *artin +alsam, ,d +egley, &ee -. .obb, -ack /lugman, ,.0. *arshall, and a half#dozen more. 1s the story opens, all but one of the 2urors hastily fall in line to convict the defendant, a young 3uerto $ican, on charges of murdering his father. -uror 4o. 5, played by (onda, is the lone holdout. The 2ury6s deliberations take us through an astounding and seismic shift. 7ne by one, the other 11 2urors feel compelled to revisit and re#examine their initial 2udgment through the lens of their own character and the crucible of their own lives. The harder the life, the harder the re#examination. The movie is all about leadership through effective communication. 8ndeed, many organizations use it to facilitate discussion around these issues. 97ne shortcoming is the exclusively white male cast. 1t the time this movie was filmed, :.%. trial 2uries were commonly so selected.; <hen you watch the movie, notice that -uror 4o. 5 has no official authority beyond that of the other 2urors. 'e isn=t even the foreman. >et he persuades his peers to reconsider. That is a good reminder that leadership doesn=t require a title. Then observe that the strength of his argument arises not from overbearing, omniscient certitude but rather from intellectual humility. <hat he doesn6t know is every bit as important as what he does know. 'is earnest reservations, rather than his earnest presumption of guilt, give energy to his argument and cause the other 2urors to think more critically. 'is rhetorical technique consists largely of questions. <e term this approach ?inquiry#led dialogue.@ 8t comes to leaders as a counterintuitive but powerful tool.

&eadership and 12 Angry Men

Instructions As you watch it, pay special attention to Juror No. 8's ability to discern the behavioral signals of peopleAtheir often subtle but very real concerns, needs, orientation, and disposition. This is what we mean by empathy. $esearchers have hypothesizedAand found evidence to supportAa positive correlation between this cognitive ?sixth sense@ and effective leadership. 8n short, leaders who are more empathic are better able to reach the fulcrum of their followers6 2udgment. Questions for iscussion

1. <hat did you notice about the styles of communication among the 2urorsB <hich styles were most effectiveB &east effectiveB 2. 'ow would you describe -uror 4o. 5=s leadership styleB C. 8n addition to -uror 4o. 5, who showed leadership credibility and howB <ho didn6tB D. <ho showed respect, honor, and trust for othersB <ho didn6tB 'ow did it appear as visible behaviorB Eid it weaken or strengthen leadershipB <hat were its benefitsB 8ts costsB !. <ho showed empathyB 'ow did it appear as behaviorB Eid it weaken or strengthen leadershipB <hat were its benefitsB 8ts costsB F. 'ow would you describe the leadership of the nominal leader, the 2ury foreman 9-uror 4o. 1, played by *artin +alsam;B

&eadership and 12 Angry Men