Page 16 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. In my study of Nehemiah and leadership, I have found that
“Successful leaders relentlessly ask questions and have an incurable desire to pick the brains of the people they
54
meet.” Nehemiah had probably rehearsed the questions that he was about to ask because he wanted to make
the most of his time. “The future belongs to the curious. The ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke
55
at it, question it, and turn it inside out.”

John Maxwell schedules learning lunches once a month with prominent leaders, which he calls learning
lunches. He comes to these meetings with a series of questions, and he almost always asks the following
questions.

• What is the greatest lesson you have learned? By asking this question, I seek their wisdom.
• What are you learning now? This question allows me to benefit from their passion.
• How has failure shaped your life? This question gives insight into their attitude.
• Who do you know whom I should know? This allows me to engage their network.
• What have you read that I should read? This question directs my personal growth.
• What have you done that I should do? This helps me seek new experiences.
• How can I add value to you? This shows my gratitude and desire to add value to them.

Because I believe in the value of asking great questions, I am going to expound on this subject a bit more in
Appendix III. Please see it for further learning lessons on this subject.

There is no doubt that Nehemiah was aware of Ezra’s attempt to rebuild Jerusalem, described in Ezra 4.
However, opposition to this building project brought the work to a halt. Because the city's walls were not
rebuilt, Nehemiah’s brother described the remnant in Jerusalem as being in great trouble and disgrace.
Nehemiah realized that as long as the walls remained broken down and the gates were burned down, the
people would remain insecure, and the Lord’s name would be disgraced. This need compelled Nehemiah to
begin to look up to dependence. Nehemiah began to realize this truth. If you don’t see it, before you see it, you
won’t see it. However, “to get started right in his task of rebuilding, his first step was to make an honest
evaluation of the condition of Jerusalem.” By nature of the Christian faith, it calls for an optimistic view of the
56
future. But superficial optimism would not carry this project to completion, and an honest evaluation of the
condition needed to be made.

Before we look at the second point, we must always ask ourselves this question. How can we make life
applications of the ancient text in our lives today? Radical individualism has crippled the church in the West
because we tend to look only at our wants, our desires, and our needs. David Platt wrote in Radical, “We were
settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is
actually about abandoning ourselves.” Nehemiah was a radical follower of our Lord who refused to allow the
57
comforts of the palace to prevent him from the mission of God. We will discuss this in more depth in Chapter
Two. However, until we get to the point where we look beyond ourselves and care enough to ask, we will never
understand what it means to be on a mission with God. God is at work in the world, and He daily invites us to
join Him in His activities. But we will never discover where God is at work if we focus on our wants, our desires,
and our needs. When we lose our will to His will, we begin to ask. When we begin to ask, this allows God to
move us onto His agenda, and at that time, we find life! Matthew 6:33 teaches us that seeking God’s will must
become first and foremost. When this occurs, we really find life, according to Mark 8:35. For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:35, HCSB)

Before I move on, I must give you one more leadership quality that I find buried very deep in this verse. I
questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. Nehemiah asked great
questions, but he was also a great listener. This will become evident when we get to chapter two, and I begin to
unfold how he prayed and planned. He put together an elaborate reconstruction plan because he listened
14