Leadership in 12 Angry Men

1000 Words2 Pages

In the film 12 Angry Men, a group of twelve jurors are deciding the fate of a young boy accused of murdering his father. Throughout the juries dilleration, one man exhibits all of the qualities of leadership. This man is juror number 8 played by Henry Fonda. Fonda not only exhibits the the 10 qualities of a leader but he uses these qualities to lead the entire jury to a vote of not guilty (Fonda & Lumet, 1957).

Early on in the film Fonda shows the first quality of leadership vision. Vision can be defined as the leaders ability to know what is needed and how what is needed can be achieved (book). In the case of 12 Angry Men, Henry Fonda has a vision that he and the other jurors have the responsibility to consider the facts in the case and entertain the possibility that the young man may had not killed his father. An example of his vision can be found in his statement that “We're not convinced. We want to hear them again. We have as much time as it takes” (Fonda & Lumet, 1957). Here Fonda shows that there is no time limit to getting the verdict right which is a need associated with his vision.

The next quality of ability is also exhibited by Fonda throughout the film. By definition ability of a leader is their fortitude to know what is needed in the position as leader and that they are able to perform that role (book). A good example of Fonda displaying this quality is in his actions as a juror. As Fonda argues with and explains events to the other jurors he shows that he has the ability to lead the other in discussions. He is able to get his points across to the other which as we know eventually leads to the complete reversal of the groups initial guilty votes (Fonda & Lumet, 1957).

Next is the quality of enthusiasm...

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... and take the minority position of which he feels id the right course of action.

In summary this critique of the film based on qualities of a leader has given me even more perspective on what makes a leader. In the film Fonda did not lead by being the leader of the group. Instead he lead the others by using their own personalities to further his cause. He did not give orders like I typically think of a leader does. Leadership can be much more than being at the front and in fact a person can lead from a position of equal standing as Fonda did being just one of the twelve jurors.

Works Cited

Fonda, H. & Rose, R. (Producers), & Lumet, S. (Director). (1957). 12 Angry Men [Motion Picture]. United States: United Artists & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Manning, G., and Curtis, K. (2012). The Art of Leadership, 4th edition. Business And

Economics. Kindle Edition.

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