Leaders set before their people clear goals.

“Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” (2:17) Once Nehemiah completed his physical tour of the burned city walls of Jerusalem, he fully understood the weight and gravity of the situation. He also clearly knew what had to be done. When his God-given burden to rebuild met his passion God’s city, the conditions were right for him to reveal a clear, concise, and purposeful goal. He said, “let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.” He did not say “let’s fix a gate and we’ll look at the rest later.” Instead, he set before the people a clear goal: rebuild. The people now knew what was expected of them. The would be able to measure progress and success. They would be able to see the end in sight. This goal also had a clear purpose, “that we may no longer be a reproach.” This ensured “buy-in” on the part of the people.

Leaders understand the importance of goal-setting. In the same way that Nehemiah placed a clear goal before his people, leaders today should always keep a goal before his/her people. These goals should be clear, not ambiguous. They should be simple, not complicated. They should be attainable, not far-fetched. Goals, where thoughtfully placed before an organization can motivate, improve productivity, and increase loyalty and commitment. The opposite is also true. If there is no organizational goal-setting, the people are left to themselves to figure out the markers for vision, success, and growth.

Leaders investigate situations firsthand.

Upon arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah took three days to rest, plan, and to pray. One of the first activities afterwards was to survey the walls of Jerusalem for himself. “So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.  Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.  And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.  Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.  So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.” (2:11-15) He had heard the report on the condition of Jerusalem’s walls from a distance. It was this report that broke his heart and created within him a burden to act. In the middle of the night, he arose and began his own physical survey of the destruction. This “fact finding mission” was necessary for two reasons. First, seeing the damage with his own eyes would solidify Nehemiah’s resolve and fuel his passion to rebuild the walls of the city he so dearly loved. Second, seeing the damage with his own eyes allowed Nehemiah to calculate costs, manpower, and time needed to see the project through.

Regardless of the situation, whether it be related to personnel, finances, construction, etc., leaders have a responsibility to investigate to the point they have a comfortable and working knowledge of all matters at hand. This enables the leader, whether spiritual or secular, to remain connected to the organization he/she leads and make the appropriate decisions. This does not mean that leaders have to step in and fix everything for themselves. This is counterproductive. Dr. Al Mohler, in his new book, 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters, sums up this point succinctly. He writes,

Organizations change fast as the world changes around us. The effective leader deploys others within the organization to become specialists in the wide array of knowledge necessary to the total work. But that same leader has to make sure that he can at least hold an intelligent, helpful conversation with each of those leaders and managers about their work. The best leaders take this as an intellectual and organizational challenge that they grow to relish and appreciate. After all, our task is to deploy people so that each can do his or her job. In order to do this, we need to know what that job is, and that takes time and attention.