Seven Traits of a Great Leader (2/2)

5. Leaders inspire people to do what they should do because they want to do it! (Neh 2:18B) I believe I stole this little saying (above) from someone like John Maxwell, although I can't remember - but it's true nevertheless, and Nehemiah was certainly a man who demonstrated this kind of leadership. After Nehemiah cast his vision, which included the full report, the people responded, "Let us start rebuilding!" The people responded in the affirmative because they "wanted" to do what they "should" do! Too often, vision casters try to guilt and bribe people to jump on their bandwagons! These tactics usually don't get people motivated to act, and (if they do) people who are motivated by guilt or bribery normally won't stick in there and finish the job. Nehemiah was the kind of leader who expected people to see his heart and join his cause because it was the right thing to do, and so he didn't find it necessary to guilt them or bribe them. Moreover, Nehemiah knew that God played the biggest role in motivating people to act according to His will, and so any efforts to guilt or bribe people would have only underminded God's divine plan. Let's stop placing people through guilt trips and/or bribing them with false hopes and rewards, and let's share our hearts with those we lead and trust God to produce good and solid motivation within them! That's what Nehemiah did!
6. Leaders will experience opposition! (Neh 2:19) Nehemiah, as with anyone who takes a stand and follows after God, faced opposition from the the very early stages of his missionary endeavor and all throughout! Those who think they are leading (in a godly fashion) and who do not occasionally have to weather opposition are actually not leading at all, because opposition is inevitable! How we respond and react to opposition is of paramount importance if we, like Nehemiah, are going to lead successfully! This leads us the next and final point:
7. Leaders know it is God (not themselves) who supplies the power to overcome opposition! (Neh 2:20) Nehemiah was no fool; he knew that God was the author, maintainer, and finisher of this whole rebuilding project that God was using him to head-up. Therefore, when opposition began to show its ugly head, Nehemiah immediately invoked the authority of God and declared that success would come from Him! Notice that Nehemiah didn't make the battle a personal one; he knew the opposition was a matter that wasn't so much about him as it was about God and His plans. Often times, leaders will make a mission and endeavor about them instead of God, and so opposition brings those leaders to get a big head and seek to defend themselves and their pride, ultimately hindering or crushing the mission altogether. Nehemiah wasn't about to let that happen! Instead, he proclaimed who was really in charge of the mission! This reminds me of David when he was ridiculed by Goliath; like Nehemiah, he didn't retaliate on a personal level, but instead he proclaimed that success would come from God rather than himself! Let us be like Nehemiah and David, and let us remember and proclaim who is the force behind the mission's success, lest we allow the opposition to get a foothold as we make the mission about ourselves!