By Dave Holloman
This article examines a change campaign in crisis and the tactics leaders used to prevail. It is the story of a civil rights campaign under the leadership of Dr. King. Following this examination are lessons available to business leaders championing change within their own organizations.
A Case Study in Leadership Crisis — The Birmingham Change Campaign
It was in the spring of 1963 that Dr. King and his team were paralyzed to act. His organization was in Birmingham to obtain racial integration in downtown shopping areas. Support for the campaign he initiated had yet to emerge and the movement was stalled. Success in Birmingham, and King's career reputation as a national leader, were at risk. In this atmosphere of crisis, King called his leadership team together.
Eight years had passed since the groundbreaking integration success in Montgomery, Alabama. That campaign integrated city busing and raised King's profile onto the national stage. Since that time, his organization had searched for a new level of success that would elevate their objectives back into the national spotlight. Racial integration in the city of Birmingham was targeted for this goal. The strategy they employed to achieve this goal was straightforward: force local, intransigent economic leaders to negotiate racial integration through economic boycott, peaceful protest, and filling local jails beyond their capacity.
King's Challenges
Despite a clear strategy and months of detailed planning, King and his organization faced multiple obstacles. Their primary challenge was a shortage of volunteers willing to protest and risk jail time. Only a few hundred people had stepped forward to volunteer, compared with a plan that required thousands. Support from essential constituencies was also lacking.
• Established members of the local community favored a solution through the normal political process.
• Fearing economic reprisal, the African-American business community offered only tepid support.
• Federal government intervention was important to establish a path to negotiations. But with international concerns dominating the national agenda, the presidential administration had little incentive to act.
• National media attention was a source of leverage King used to encourage negotiation. King's power lessened in their absence.
These issues struck at the core of King's strategy and stood squarely between his current situation and success.
The Road to Revitalization
Dr. King first attempted to revitalize his campaign by making a very personal decision to protest and go to jail. King believed that a public display of personal sacrifice would catalyze support and mobilize badly needed volunteers. However, King left jail after nine days in solitary confinement with heightened morale in his organization, but little increase in the numbers of volunteers or the amount of press coverage.
King was then immediately faced with a controversial change in tactics. King and his leadership team debated a decision to involve the community's youth in peaceful protest. This was a tumultuous decision given the prospect of damaging criticism. Core constituency groups — local African-American leaders and the Kennedy Administration — strongly advised against their involvement. Yet the youth of Birmingham shared the passion for his objectives, were rigorously trained in peaceful engagement, and were not burdened with the threat of economic reprisal.
King's decision to involve them was the tipping point in his campaign. The peaceful demonstrations that followed were met with violent retribution by the local authorities. Becoming national front-page news, photographs of police dogs attacking teenagers placed King's objectives within the context of the conditions of the time.
These events evoked a nationwide outcry that sparked a reluctant White House to act. The local government, facing harsh criticism and filled jails, was left with limited choices beyond negotiation. They entered into negotiations that led to racial integration. King and his organization overcame their challenges and success came their way.
Lessons Learned for the Change Leader —
Several lessons emerge from this story that are instructive for today's business leaders.
Conflict Can Be Constructive — King effectively used conflict to bring reluctant parties into negotiation and catalyze progress. Resistance to business change is often manifested in prolonged decision-making and endless calls for consensus. These are the Achilles Heel of business change initiatives. Faced with the prospect of delays that compromise commitments and erode morale, the change leader may need to escalate a conflict to catalyze dialogue, decision, and action.
Public and Personal Sacrifice Have Limits — Change leaders believe strongly in their "personal" power. Yet this example demonstrates that public examples of personal sacrifice have limits. Personal sacrifice will help to bolster your own credibility and increase morale within the internal change organization. Rarely will it have any material effect on any person or group outside of the organization you control.
Dramatizing the Reality-to-Vision Gap is Vital — King's strategy focused on dramatizing present conditions in a way that built credibility for his cause. Present-day realities are often viewed as less important than a future vision. But the gap between the present situation and the intended change motivates action. Placing a future vision within the context of the present demonstrates the degree of progress required, which is essential.
Execution to Plan Supersedes Stakeholder Concerns and Desires — In the case of the Birmingham campaign, King's key constituencies demanded different tactics. He would have failed if he had catered to all of their demands. King knew that the trade-off between a supportive constituency and poor execution is no trade-off. Decision-making based solely on constituency concerns becomes a "stakeholder trap" that compromises progress.
After success in Birmingham, King went on to deliver the "I Have a Dream" speech and then received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in leading societal change. It was King's persistent application of these lessons that translated into his success and can help executives successfully lead today's change initiatives.
Dave Holloman is a Change Management Practice Leader at IBM Business Consulting Services and a former scholar intern at the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He can be contacted at Dave.Holloman@us.ibm.com.
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