Another lesson we can from Nehemiah as part of his people mobilization strategy was patronage. Nehemiah was able to elicit the kind of cooperation he enjoyed from his compatriots because of the patronage he had.
Mobilization: A Sense of Collectiveness Then I said to them, “…Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach…” So they said,… Mobilization: A Sense of Collectiveness Then I said to them, “…Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach…” So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work. – Nehemiah 2:17-18 Another sub-lesson we learn from Nehemiah in his mobilizing acts as a leader was the sense of belongingness and collective he fostered while rallying the people to work. He directly invited them as partners in progress in the rebuilding project he was to commence by saying, “Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach” [Nehemiah 2:17]. His use of the words “let us” and “we” created a sense of collectiveness in the mind of his audience. It helped them to see the work to be done from a collective perspective, instead of a personal agenda, for their own collective good. Therefore, no matter how long it was going to take and what it was going to cost them in terms of time, efforts and other resources, the people were willing to put in
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From Nehemiah we also learn the lesson of mobilization as a requisite of great leadership. Just as we have seen in our previous meditations on Nehemiah’s playbook, leadership skills are concentric and interrelated,
Needs assessment is another model of leadership we can learn from Nehemiah. He was an organized and meticulous person, and this translated into how he conducted his leadership.
Discretion is another lesson to be learned from Nehemiah’s leadership example. He was not given to blabbing. He kept his intentions close to his heart and did not announce his mission to anyone in Jerusalem when he got there.
Foresight is yet another leadership attribute we can learn from the playbook of Nehemiah. He ticked all the boxes befitting a great leader in that he was not just burdened by the plight of his people,
