This post completes the 10 part series on Leadership Lessons from the book Nehemiah.

Leaders do not argue with their opponents.

Proponents and opponents: those for and against something. Every leader has both in the circle of influence. Nehemiah was no different. He had received word of the condition of Jerusalem’s walls and his heart was broken. He had prayed, sensing a God-given mission, and approached the king for assistance. He made the long trip to Jerusalem, surveyed the situation first-hand, and gave a reasonable and attainable goal to the people. When Sanballat and Tobiah approached Nehemiah, sounding like children on the playground, a choice had to be made. Does he move forward with his plans or does he come down off the wall and argue with them about the legitimacy of his work? Does he make wise use of his time and strength by carrying out the work or does he waste time, energy, and strength arguing whether it could or could not be accomplished? Nehemiah chose in that pivotal and critical moment to not argue. As the work continued and his opponent’s displeasure became louder, he later made his decision known, loud and clear. He said, “So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” [Nehemiah 6:3]

There is a difference between casting and defending a vision before those you lead and arguing with them about the legitimacy of that vision. There is a difference between answering legitimate questions from the organization and arguing with them about it. The difference : the opponent’s spirit. Nehemiah opponents were not genuinely concerned with his vision. They were not there to understand better the work at hand. They were not there to investigate how they might be involved. Instead, their spirit was one that simply wanted to see the work stopped and the Israelites embarrassed. Period. Leaders must decide where they will spend their precious time, strength, and energy. Will they spend it helping their opponents who genuinely want to better understand their vision and decision? Or, will they spend it arguing with an opponent who only wishes to see the work stop or fail? Nehemiah answers this question for us. Leaders lead confidently and choose not to argue, instead, inform and encourage. Ed Stetzer sums this matter up perfectly. He said, “You do not have to show up to every argument you are invited to.”

Leaders display self-confidence when facing opposition.

 As Nehemiah begins his work on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, there was opposition to the work. This opposition came in the form of two individuals who belonged to a people who had been enemies of Israel for generations. As these two stood by snickering and laughing at Nehemiah’s people, he confidently reminds them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah knew deep down in his heart that the commission he had been given by God was not up for vote. He knew that committee approval was not needed. He knew, as the late Dr. Adrian Rogers had said, “You never lead by caravan”. His self-confidence in the face of opposition was the direct result of his confidence in God.

Leaders today, whether in spiritual or secular circles, must understand that opposition is eventual. That being true, what matters then is how the leader deals with it. Nehemiah confidently stood and declared He was following the plan God had laid out for him. No doubt. A leader must display a high level of self-confidence. If not, all of his/her decisions will be questioned, whether by those who don’t agree, and even the leader himself. People within an organization will appreciate and respect a leader who displays confidence in a decision made. For them, there is a sense of confidence and ease when their leadership confidently hold to their convictions, regardless of opposition.

Leaders are not discouraged by opposition.

God gives leaders burdens and visions for what He would have them to do. The leaders in turn communicate to the people how the burden and vision are to be carried out in the form of clear goals. Detractors will be there to argue, disapprove, and challenge the burden, vision, and goal. Nehemiah watched this scenario play itself out before his very eyes. Just as soon as he and the people began to build, Sanballat and Tobiah, enemies of the people of Israel, came on the scene ridicule and make fun of the Israelites with the hope of discouraging them. In the face of their laughter, Nehemiah stands firm and, in essence says that “You have no voice here, God has given this task to us and He will reward us. Leave us alone”.

Leaders today will always face a certain amount of opposition. It is not possible to lead an organization that has people with different opinions, desires, tastes, and expectations and expect everyone to be happy with the direction of that organization. This is true whether the organization is secular or spiritual. Leaders must be clear on the mission that God has given them and lead appropriately. It is certainty of the God-given mission that enables the leader to handle the opposition that comes their way.

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.