Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Needs Assessment

Needs Assessment

And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. – Nehemiah 2:13-15

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. In conducting a needs assessment, he demonstrated to us that having a burden for the people and a drive to serve are not enough, you must also know what you are getting into.

In addition to all his sterling principles which we have meditated on earlier, Nehemiah did not just jump into a do mode when he arrived at Jerusalem. Rather, he took time to survey the land to ascertain the state of disrepair the city was in so as to know the extent of the work he had to do.

It is easy for anyone, particularly those in leadership, to get into a fix it mode without really taking time to understand the nature or complexity of the problem they are trying to fix. Because it appears cool to be seen to be doing something many neglect or pay lip service to research, which is a critical element in resolving any problem with a measure of success. But not Nehemiah.

Before he started his operations, he first did an extensive survey of the land he was to rebuild. He went from one end of the city to another to get a firsthand assessment of what exactly he needed to do in certain areas of the land, and what the specific needs of the people in different parts of the land might be. This is called needs assessment. He did not assume that he understood the whole issues. And even though the reports he heard in faraway Persia was the catalyst that brought him to Jerusalem, he did not rely on that alone to determine what needed to be done. Rather, he conducted his own investigations in person for him to gather the intelligence he needed to embark on his mission efficiently.

This is another classic lesson in both life, work and leadership that we can imbibe from Nehemiah’s leadership playbook. If you must rule or lead effectively, you need to be committed to rigorous research and undertake needs assessment to know what kind of solution you need to deploy in addressing various issues you will come across in leadership. You cannot afford to lead by assumptions or apply treatment based on hearsays. A leader who knows her onion recourses to data to make informed decisions and formulate policies.

You Will Succeed in Jesus Name!

Also read:

• Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Discretion
• Just A Box of Crayons
• To Guard Against the Monsters in My Life, I Became a Monster Myself