12 Angry Men - a Study in Leadership and Group Dynamics

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Juror #7 (The Salesman):[pic 1]

Seven was a salesman who did not show any care or concern for the case in any way. His focus seemed to revolve around the baseball tickets he had in his pocket. He is very emotional, easily offended and carefree. He can be termed as volatile follower, one who can be issued commands and convinced to follow, but need to be handled carefully.

Juror #8 (The Architect):

Eight was a quiet and thoughtful man. He evolves naturally from a self doubting man to a strong and confident leader. He seemed to be the first man to look at the bigger picture, and kept reminding his colleagues of the consequences of their decision. He showed considerable strength in standing alone against all his colleagues at the start. As the story progressed, he grew confident and began believing in the path he had taken. If we were to analyse his leadership traits in a Blake-Mouton model, we can say that Eight (Davis) moved from Grid 1,9 to Grid 9,9. He showed a high level of compassion but agreed to vote guilty if all 11 voted guilty in the second ballot. However, as the plot progressed, he began to show high level of concern for the ultimate decision.

Juror #9 (The Retiree):

Nine was a retired old man, who was the first to support #8 in his decision. He had a quiet nature, was timid but insightful. He was also very observant and noticed things about the case that others missed. While talking about the old man, he seemed to almost describe himself, revealing an element of self-doubt. He was a clear follower though; however, he was one who followed with emotional intelligence rather than rational intelligence.

Juror #10 (The Garage Owner):

Ten seemed to be the most aggressive character in the film. He voiced strong opinions, was close minded and socially biased. He seemed to want to influence others, however, he only suceeded in antagonising them through his loudmouthed insistence. He can be termed as a blocker-type follower. Such personalities are usually obstacles to a leader when trying to reach an objective.

Juror #11 (The Watchmaker):

Eleven was a careful and analytical man. He was well mannered and soft-spoken. He also showed a rare trait of willing to consider the opinions of the others and analyse it from their viewpoint. In his own words, he does not wish to take sides, but just wanted to raise questions. He can be termed as a group observer, one whose contributions will add value to a discussion but may not resolve the problem at hand.

Juror #12 (The Advertising Executive):

Twelve was a highly indecisive man who, similar to Seven, portrayed traits of indifference and non-concern for the consequences of his vote. He was also the only one to vote ‘not guilty’, switch sides and then switch back in the end. He was very influenced by the arguments made by both Eight (not guilty) and Three (guilty). He can be termed as a conformist, one who agrees with the majority of the opinions.

GROUP DYNAMIC:

The entire group of people showcased a cross section of personalities. Characters like 3,7,10 and 12 were very extroverted and show continuous activity. By contrast, 2,4,6 and 11 were more introverted and preferred to let the other members talk.

Jurors no. 1,2 and 3 are the types who tended to get lost in the specific details of the case and made their decisions on this. However, Jurors no 4,8 and 11 are intuitive and logical who are more concerned with the bigger picture. No.s 4 & 11 based their decisions on rational thinking and are unconvinced and annoyed with the emotional outbursts from people like 7 & 10.

Overall, the movie is a great study in contrasting personalities and the establishment of roles within a group dynamic.