Leadership lessons from Twelve Angry Men – lesson 8

Lesson n°8 puts the spotlight on another juror; it is not only juror n°8 that shows leadership during the film – but that could be the subject of another series of posts.

Juror n°11 is one of the quieter members of the jury and not prone to emotional outbursts; however, he makes a plea for “collectiveness” in the decision-making process finishing his short speech with, “this is one of the reasons we are strong, we should not make this a personal thing”

The lesson, “leadership is about we”, is at the heart of collective decisions.

It should not be individuals simply “defending” their point of view, often with diatribe as their only arguments; it shouldn’t be a debate with winners and losers and it shouldn’t be a discussion with agreements to differ.

Leadership is about we and the only communication process that leads to we, is dialogue.

As Jim Kouzes said, “Leadership is about relationships, and strong relationships are built on mutual understanding. You can get to that mutual understanding only through conversation and dialogue”