Construction Follows Connection: Nehemiah pt. 1

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The story of Nehemiah is a classic case study in leadership. He saw a need, captured a vision, planned a course, and mobilized others to join him. In Nehemiah’s example of leadership, we see three characteristics that all leaders should consider: A leader must be burdened by something before a vision is created, the better the planning the easier the motivation, and empowering others creates a larger leadership capacity.

Internalization of the Burden Deepens the Ownership of the Vision.

Nehemiah hears the walls that surrounded Jerusalem lay in ruin and other nations mock God as the city lies in disgrace. He is burdened by this news and begins to weep and pray for God to keep His covenant and soften the hearts of those that hold them in captivity. Day and night he prayed. God provided for Nehemiah a vision to rebuild the wall. The people’s problem became his problem and burden to bear. Through his time in prayer God enabled him to see the work God had planned for him.

Be Prepared. Chart the Course.

Nehemiah had a good sense of intuition and foresight. Successful planning helps to ensure projects are completed the most effective, efficient and sustainable ways possible. After a period of time, Nehemiah approached the king and expressed to him his sorrow. Nehemiah was able to determine how long the wall would take to rebuild when the king asked. He was prepared. The king granted his requests because he earned favor and was trustworthy. He was able to see the problem and determine a solution that included letters from the king providing safe passage and the materials and resources he needed to rebuild the wall.  When he arrived in Jerusalem, he surveyed the damaged wall and began planning the project. After a few days, Nehemiah shared the vision to the people and described the spiritual ramifications of the project. He encouraged them by sharing past successes mentioning how God had been faithful and provided favor from King Artaxerxes. He organized the people into their family groups and had them work on the city gates. He also knew that the Jews had many enemies and wanted to continue to see the city in ruin so he developed a strategy to defend and build, “those who were building the wall did their work with one hand and held his weapon with the other” (Nehemiah 4:17).

Just like Nehemiah, leaders need to develop the intuition and foresight of things they are tasked with. It is important for leaders to know what obstacles may arise during a project and anticipate many different outcomes so less distractors hinder the project. Leaders need to know how long tasks should take for someone to complete. Most of the time this is learned by actually having done the task themselves. Leaders have to see farther than others by looking at the organization at a different elevation. A leader’s job is to elevate their perspective so they can equip others for work on the ground. They see more than others because they focus on the details and piece together things that others can’t see. They see things before others see them because they look at the organization as a whole, and not just individual incidents.

Construction Follows Connection and Develops Others to Carry On

Nehemiah is fully aware that he needs to connect with the hearts of these volunteers before they will use their hands to build. He takes time to appeal to their honor, dignity, heritage and responsibility of being God’s chosen people. He won their hearts before he won their hands, because he connected with them emotionally, spiritually and physically. They were willing to sacrifice their time and energy for a unified cause. We see Nehemiah using the influence God gave him to mobilize the Jews to rebuild the wall, but we also see the symbolism of the rebuilding of a relationship between God and His people. He is an effective communicator, helpful in assisting others, quick to solve problems, teaches others to lead, works with credibility and integrity, and takes responsibility when things go wrong. Leadership development does not happen overnight, it is an ongoing process that consist of leading one’s self, others and the organization.

We see many lessons in leadership and project management within the pages of Nehemiah. Before Nehemiah did anything he turned to fasting and prayer. At each step in the process he prayed and sought God for direction. As the Jews saw the walls get larger, their hope grew. With this hope they continued to build and the wall became a reminder that God had not abandoned them, but was calling them back to Him to restore their lives. What we realize from Nehemiah’s example in leadership is we must replicate ourselves in others by giving them opportunities, anticipate, prepare for many outcomes, and take initiative to fulfill a need that presents itself.