Chapter 17 Nehemiah

1. Case Studies in Biblical Leaders

2. Management vs. Leadership
 Effective Leaders must know how to
manage
 But not all manager are leaders
What’s the difference between a
manager and a leader?

3. Allan Murray, in
, offers the following
observations about the difference between
leadership and managing:
Leadership and management must go hand
in hand. They are not the same thing. But
they are necessarily linked, and
complementary. Any effort to separate the
two is likely to cause more problems than it
solves.

4. Allan Murray –
Still, much ink has been spent
delineating the differences. The
manager’s job is to plan, organize and
coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire
and motivate. In his 1989 book “On
Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis
composed a list of the differences:

5. Warren Bennis–
 The manager administers; the leader
innovates.
 The manager is a copy; the leader is an
original.
 The manager maintains; the leader
develops.
 The manager focuses on systems and
structure; the leader focuses on people.
 The manager relies on control; the leader
inspires trust.

6. Warren Bennis –
 The manager has a short-range view; the leader
has a long-range perspective.
 The manager asks how and when; the leader
asks what and why.
 The manager has his or her eye always on the
bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.

7. Warren Bennis –
 The manager imitates; the leader originates.
 The manager accepts the status quo; the leader
challenges it.
 The manager is the classic good soldier; the
leader is his or her own person.
 The manager does things right; the leader does
the right thing.

8. Allan Murray, however, believes that the sharp
line of distinction between manager and leader
in contemporary times is much more
permeable than Bennis believes.
People look to their managers, not just to
assign them a task, but to define for them a
purpose. And managers must organize
workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but
to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire
results.

9. In The Good Book on Leadership, the authors
argue for something they refer to as a
“managerial leader.” They believe that
Nehemiah modeled the principles of
managerial leadership in effective project
management when he led the remnant of
Jews to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52
days.

10. Managerial leadership is focused on
accomplishing the task. This type of leader is
successful at attempting great tasks because
the leader has the ability to break projects
down into manageable sizes, which motivates
followers rather than discouraging them with
the magnitude of the task.

11. Several management books have used the
example of Nehemiah and his success.
The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem began
when Nehemiah heard about the conditions of
the city.
“So it was, when I heard these words, tht I sat
down and wept, and mourned for many days; I
fasted and prayed before the God of heaven”
(Neh. 1:4).

13. Nehemiah then leveraged his relationship with
Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Nehemiah was the
cupbearer for the king, he tasted the wine before
the king to insure that was not poisoned.
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you
request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king,
and if your servant has found favor in your
sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the
city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild
it.”

14. The king granted Nehemiah’s request. When he
arrived in Jerusalem he surveyed the situation
and began, through prayer, to formulate a plan
to rebuild the walls.
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three
days. 12 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. (Neh. 2:11-12)

15. The next day Nehemiah began to share his
dream with others:
 First, he identified the problem: “You see
the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem
lies waste, and is gates are burned with
fire” (Neh. 2:17).
 Second, he proposed a specific project that
would address that problem: “Come and
let us build the wall of Jerusalem . . . That
we may no longer be a reproach” (2:17).

16. The next day Nehemiah began to share his
dream with others (cont.):
 Third, he encouraged the people by
identifying resources already available to
accomplish the project: “And I told them
of the hand of my God which had been
good upon me, and also of the king’s
words that he had spoken to me” (2:18).

17. The next day Nehemiah began to share his
dream with others (cont.):
 Fourth, they began to engage in the
project by dividing it into manageable
tasks (Neh. 3:1-32).
 Fifth, he monitored the progress, making
adjustments as necessary, for example
responding to external threats from those
that did not want to see him succeed (Neh.
4:8-9).

18. The next day Nehemiah began to share his
dream with others (cont.):
 Sixth, he made additional adjustments in
response to internal threats, namely,
attitudes of some people involved in the
project (Neh. 5:7, 12).
 Seventh, he stuck to it until it was
completed: “So the wall was finished on
the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two
days” (Neh. 6:15).

20.  Finally, he turned leadership over to other
responsible leaders in a public celebration:
1 Then it was, when the wall was built and I had
hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers,
and the Levites had been appointed, 2 that I gave the
charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and
Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a
faithful man and feared God more than many.
3 And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of
Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while
they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors;
and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in
front of his own house.” (7:1-3)

21. The first function is planning, which involves
seven steps:
1) Estimating the future–anticipating the likely future
2) Establishing objectives–organizational goals/targets
3) Developing policies—answers to recurring questions
4) Prioritizing a sequence of activities
5) Standardizing methods of work
6) Scheduling – establishing a time factor
7) Budgeting to ensure the task is completed

22. The second function is the grouping of people
and work so the work can be accomplished with
excellence. Involves three activities:
1) Developing the organizational structures –grouping
and relating people work of the people in the
project.
2) Delegating by assigning work to others and
transferring the authority they need to get the work
done.
3) Establishing interpersonal human relationships,
which helps people better relate to one another.

23. The third function is leading. This tends to
involve five activities:
1) Decision making
2) Communicating
3) Motivating
4) Selecting the right people
5) Developing people

24. The final function controlling. This work
ensures that the results conform to the plan.
Involves four activities:
1) Establishing performance standards
2) Performance measuring
3) Performance evaluating
4) Performance correcting