Issue #84, June 20, 2012
So far Nehemiah’s leadership has been mostly thinking, dreaming and talking. All of this was necessary but the vision was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s vision was developed and communicated to the people with one objective, to motivate them to work on the wall. Walls are built of stones that need to be wrestled into place with hard work. The story confirms, “So they began this good work” (Nehemiah 2:18). Chapter 3 provides the details of who did the work and the way it was accomplished. From this chapter we can learn from Nehemiah how servant leaders make the vision work.
Visions work when each person does their part.
The people of Jerusalem had walked past the piles of stones for months and saw the need for building the wall but it was a massive task. Nehemiah’s plan was to build the wall in sections and when the work was divided into parts in this way it suddenly looked achievable to everyone. Chapter three is filled with accounts of what each person or group accomplished, some completed as much as 500 yards (see 3:13). Great leaders, like Nehemiah, not only see the end result, but are able to see the parts that are necessary to accomplish the whole. They can look at the individuals in the group and see what part God has given them to accomplish. They energize the group by communicating the big picture, but they divide the tasks into manageable parts to get people to work.
Visions work when each person uses their gift.
While there doesn’t seem to be a lot of variety in the skills needed to build a wall, Nehemiah found ways to assign tasks in a way that encouraged people to use their own gifts, passions and interests. No less than six times chapter three mentions that someone was building the wall in front of, or beside, or opposite his own house or living quarters. Why is this mentioned? People naturally work best when they have a personal interest at stake and have passion for what they are doing. Effective leaders identify the passions and gifts of those they lead and align the work with the worker as much as possible. Servant leaders recognize that people are not robots for mass production. They understand that each one was created uniquely by God for a special task with special gifts and interests. The role of the servant leader is not just to get the work done but to help each person find the right place for their unique gifts to be expressed. This is not encouraging selfishness but simply recognizing that people will work best when they have a reason to be motivated. They lead in ways that allow individuals to express their own uniqueness in skills, gifts and personality.
Visions work when each person builds the team.
In nearly every section of the wall Nehemiah mentions a group of people working together, not individuals. In many cases these teams were family units or people from the same locations. Teams of people worked together to build the wall. The role of Nehemiah was to find ways to group people together in teams, give them a specific assignment, encourage them in their work and ensure that all the smaller teams were working together to accomplish the overall vision. Like all servant leaders, he realized that teamwork will make the dream work. He recognized that God’s plan is for each person to be a part of the team and together accomplish much more than any individual alone can achieve. His message was to them and to us, “Together, we can do this!”
Every vision requires a lot of work. But Nehemiah’s example shows us how the work can be transformed from an inevitable burden to an exciting step each person can take to see the vision become reality. One brick at a time the work was done and the wall was built. Let’s go to work!
For further reflection and discussion:
- How well do you do as a leader in seeing the ‘parts’ needed to make the vision a reality? Are you stronger at communicating the big picture or the parts? What changes do you need to make to be more balanced in this area?
- Think about the people you lead. What are the unique gifts and abilities of each member of the team? How well is their work aligned with their passion? What motivates each person? Do your incentives to them reflect their individual personalities? (Your incentives may be money, but just as often may be other things that you offer them which are highly motivating to them. Time off, public praise, a written note of encouragement, are just a few of the ways people are motivated.)
- Reflect on the teams you lead. Are they put together in ways that encourage synergy? Are they working effectively as a group? Does each team recognize their contribution to the whole? What changes need to be made for your teams to work more effectively together?