Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Mission

Mission Driven

Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 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.” – Nehemiah 2:4-5

A clearly defined mission is another lesson we can learn from Nehemiah. He was not just burdened by the pathetic state of things in his fatherland, he was also clear about what he needed to do to fix it. That was why when king Ahasuerus asked him what he wanted, he replied that he wanted to go and rebuild his ancestral city.

As easy as this may sound, it is not everyone in position of power who has an idea of what they are supposed to do. Some got there just because they wanted to taste power with no clear agenda and without knowing the intricacies of power beyond serving their own purposes. Some also got into positions of authority through coercion or crooked means. It is usually difficult for people like this to lead with a mission.

In the case of Nehemiah, however, he did not start out his leadership career by seeking power, or in pursuit of what he could do to further his own causes and that of his cronies. The burden he had for his people was his driving force which eventually conferred him with leadership. The burden also helped him to articulate in clear terms what he wanted to do to redress the pathetic state of affairs of the people and the cities of Judah.

If you must make a meaningful impact in your career as a leader, you need to have a lucid vision of what you are aiming to achieve and a well-defined agenda (mission) of all you intend to achieve when you get there. If you can get these basics right, then you are on the path to being a phenomenal leader.

You Will Succeed in Jesus Name!

Also read:

• Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Advocacy
• Lord, I Thank You
• Overcoming Being Bisexual and Bipolar