Nehemah Leadership Analysis

Nehemiah is viewed as one of the great Bible leaders of the Old Testament. Upon learning of the distress of his people Nehemiah sets out to serve his people. The prophet first articulated the vision to rebuild the walls, the people confirmed the vision and committed themselves and their gifts to the vision. Accomplishing the vision was a not an easy task. Nehemiah and the people persevered, despite obstacles and opposition, he led the people to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem in 52 days. The book of Nehemiah provides an example of a servant leader motivated by, God and the pursuit of excellence in leadership and management and a passionate focus upon achieving desirable results. The prophet Nehemiah provides used leadership styles …show more content…
Collaborative leadership is the intentional and skillful management of relationships that enables others to succeed individually while accomplishing a collective outcome. A collaborative leader tries to involve everyone while fostering trust and teamwork among the body. Collaborative leadership is a process and can be employed in almost any situation it is often practiced in community coalitions and initiatives.
David Chrislip and Carl E. Larson, equate collaborative leadership not only with servant leadership, but with transformational and facilitative leadership as well. They identify four characteristics of the collaborative leader which can be identified with Nehemiah’s leadership of the city wall restoration project.
The first characteristic of a collaborative leader is the ability to inspire commitment and action. The collaborative leader helps people develop the vision and passion to start and maintain the work. Nehemiah was a visionary leader, he was able to see what needed to be done and had the vision to see the task through. He understood the equivalence between rebuilding the city walls and rebuilding the lives of the people. His vision motivated the people, as well as himself, to overcome large hurdles. The work to be done was plenty and the people were tired and weary, the enemies discouraged them, but Nehemiah’s organization and encouragement shifted their attention to God who can deliver …show more content…
The collaborative leader facilitates problem solving by modeling and teaching a process, and by helping others bring their experience and ideas to bear. Nehemiah was mentally and emotionally strong. During the course of the undertaking they faced obstacles from their enemies both verbally and physically. This could have diverted their attention or even led to abandoning the construction, they did not flinch as they would not be deterred as they knew the Lord was on their side. When they felt the pressure of their enemies, they kept going and took steps to protect the work they had done with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. Nehemiah learnt that the people are going hungry in the city, he acted quickly and approached the problem directly. His actions resulted in the officials’ repentance and reinstatement of the peoples earnings.
Chrislip and Larson includes building broad-based involvement in the list of characteristics of collaborative leaders. The collaborative leader invites everyone concerned into an inclusive process. Nehemiah was a very organized leader and delegated each job which speaks to his efficiency as a leader. Nehemiah knew the significance of leading by example, he worked with the people to help build the walls and defend the city. In his position as governor Nehemiah received a large food allowance each month. He recognized how hard the people