Five Key Ideas 12 Angry Men

1. A Different Kind of Leadership: Effective team leaders encourage everyone to participate on an equal basis.

2. The Decision-Making Environment: A work group entrusted with a decision cannot allow itself to avoid its responsibility, but must stay together and work through its differences. It can't quit but must work until there is a decision all can support. This is the essence of decision making when consensus is necessary.

3. An Assumption of Equality: "One person, one vote" is the operating rule for many effective teams in certain decision making conditions. Every idea is heard without judgment or comment, every idea has equal value.

4. The Nature of Conflict: When team members have a common goal and feel accountable to each other, conflict can safely be used to see and understand varying points of view.

5. Diversity and Inclusion: Quality decisions depend on tapping the diversity of experience present in a group.

1. In 12 Angry Men, the jurors who most strongly believed the suspect innocent were the architect, the old man, the immigrant watch-maker, and the man with the same background as the defendant. What tactics did they use to persuade the other jurors? Why were they successful?

• Disproved facts from the testimony.
• Drew from personal knowledge and experience to assess the validity of the case –ex. Disruptive sound of L-train as it passes by the apartments.
• Use momentum tactic to get others on-side by ‘calling for a vote.’
• Used intimidating body language –ex. When juror 10 makes biased argument, everyone leaves the table.
• Didn’t try to prove more than necessary –only had to show that they had doubts about the evidence, and therefore couldn’t convict.
• Focused on the evidence.
• Expose hidden agendas to test credibility.
• Be approachable to people who are undecided.
• Respect your adversary’s dignity and humanity.
• Dramatic self-presentation –ex. When architect ripped up tick-tack-toe sheet to keep group focused.
• Stay focused on the argument.

2. In 12 Angry Men, the jurors who most strongly believed the suspect guilty were the owner of the messenger service, the garage owner, the salesman, and the stockbroker. What tactics did they use to persuade the other jurors? Why were they unsuccessful?

• Used stereotypes and generalizations.
• Assumed that someone must be punished.
• Didn’t use specific arguments.
• Portrayed an "I don’t care attitude."
• Made decisions based on gut-reactions.
• Didn’t have the self confidence to admit they were wrong.
• Used bullying, threatening, and alienation tactics.
• Entered the decision process as a contest, not an evaluation of truth.
• Could not put personal agenda’s and biases aside:
  • Sales man had tickets to a baseball game that night
  • Garage owner was biased
  • Messenger Service man projected his own anger and disappointment for his son onto the case
    
    
     

-adapted from the film Twelve Angry Men: Teams That Don't Quit is narrated by Dr. Margaret Wheatley

adapted from the film Twelve Angry Men: Teams That Don't Quit is narrated by Dr. Margaret Wheatley