Leadership Lessons Learned

Despite numerous challenges, the walls of Jerusalem were completed in 52 days. Pretty amazing really! I love that the Bible says the people worked with all their heart – that God noticed and acknowledged it in His very own Word. This speaks highly of the people and also of Nehemiah’s ability to lead.

There are soooo many lessons we can learn from Nehemiah. I’m just going to brainstorm some that I gleaned from my self-study and from reading David L. McKenna’s book “Becoming Nehemiah – Leading with Significance.”

Character

Nehemiah was a man of great character. He demonstrated traits such as integrity, courage, confidence, self-sacrifice, loyalty, authenticity, and consistency. Character is key because it transfers into any leadership situation. Competencies, skills and experience don’t necessarily.

Nehemiah also had great compassion. He personally identified with the needs of the people. So often leaders are chosen based on vision, initiative, creativity or charisma, but unless these gifts are matched to the needs of the people, they can become what McKenna describes as “self-serving handicaps of personal ambition.”

Spiritual Maturity

Nehemiah demonstrated spiritual maturity in that he was fully devoted to God. He had confidence in the sovereignty of God. He prayed regularly in confession and worship, for wisdom, protection and guidance. He did not compromise his faith when faced with challenges. And his trust in the Lord was evident and a witness to others.

Leadership Traits

Nehemiah was a servant leader. He served the king as cupbearer, and excelled in menial tasks as he rose in responsibility and trust. He served his people as well. He felt their needs and responded, and was willing to do whatever he asked them to do.

Nehemiah also proved he could motivate, mobilize, and direct people, adapting his approach as needed. Mobilizing “employees” of the king would have been very different than mobilizing “volunteers” building the walls. If you’ve led both, you know what I’m talking about… With “volunteers” Nehemiah motivated people by their felt needs, mobilized them by their personal relationships, organized and energized them through manageable tasks, rewarded them by tangible results, and encouraged them by working the hardest of them all.

Nehemiah learned to serve under authority before leading others. That way, he knew the importance of authority – inherited and earned – and did not take it for granted. He also adapted well to new situations, challenges, and crisis, taking ownership of issue resolution.
Nehemiah succeeded, but he also failed. Leaders can (and should) learn from both.

Competencies and Practical Skills

Nehemiah also possessed the competencies and practical skills to get the work done. He observed, analyzed, planned, organized, and implemented in order to achieve measureable results. He was a quick learner who could see a broad field of vision, as well as attend to detail. Spiritual maturity is not a substitute for practical skills - Christian leaders need both.

There are so many rich lessons to learn from Nehemiah. Another important one is that he was just an ordinary man that God used to accomplish extraordinary things. Sometimes I forget that part.