The first principle to understanding how leadership works starts with yourself. I know this sounds basic, but you would be surprised how many people don’t consider this. In their head, they figure they are the most senior person, or the most experienced, or the alpha-dominant figure in the group…and that means they lead. But it doesn’t work like that. You will get nowhere if you don’t know who you are. Well, you’ll get somewhere…but you’ll get there alone. The rest of your team will be looking for someone else to follow.
Now, on that personal journey of discovering who you are, you also must uncover the answer to this most basic question…Why do you want to be in a position where, you are responsible not only for yourself, but for others as well? (I’ll explain in later segments why this cannot be because you think it brings prestige, or something to put on a resume.)
So, I hope you join me on this journey of discovering what true leadership looks like through the converging paths of Nehemiah, the Old Testament hero who led the rebuilding of Jerusalem; and because we are celebrating our nation’s 250thbirthday, some of the early historical figures who shaped our country…the good, bad, and ugly.
In this first one, let’s look at those two ideas more closely…finding who you are, and why it is you want to lead. Prepare for liftoff in 3…2…1
The Bible describes Nehemiah as the cupbearer to the king. I don’t know whether you appreciate what duties the cupbearer had in the king’s court, but he was a responsibility-laden individual who could not afford to make a mistake. You see, the cupbearer was the guy who made sure the king stayed healthy by eating and drinking every offering before the king partook. Most of us are in vocations where we are allowed to have moments where we don’t get it right. In Nehemiah’s case, that was not so. If he failed at tasting anything before being presented to the king, he could well lose his life. This was important because there was not a shortage of people who might want a king dead. Now, I must confess, there is absolutely no way I could do this job. The cook would bring out some fresh lobster, and I would be like, “Nope, I don’t eat that.” Then some brussels sprouts, “Not going to happen.” Liver. Me shaking my head. Tomato soup…Walking away. Curry…Laughing. Asparagus. “Next.” Then the wine would show up. Sample this red wine. “Negative ghost rider.” How about some white wine. “Put it back in the cellar”. We’d play this game for a thousand other dishes, and the answer would be the same…“That’s a big no, bro.” But Nehemiah did not have that luxury. What the king wanted to eat or drink, must go through Nehemiah first, figuratively, and literally.
One December day Nehemiah is going about his business as the cupbearer, when he hears that his fellow Israelites are in distress, and that Jerusalem lay in waste, walls crumbling, gates burned, homes and buildings destroyed. And his reaction is the same as yours if you were in his shoes. He was sad. So, he wept and mourned…for days. Actually, the Bible says many days. How many I don’t know. But I do know that four months later, he was still saddened by the tragic news, and worried that his emotions might show on his face. If he thought that he could hide the tear-soaked eyes from the king, he was wrong. The king immediately recognized that something was wrong with his faithful cupbearer. The king knows it is not allergy season, so there must be another reason Nehemiah’s eyes are blood-shot red.
Nehemiah had a choice to make right then. Lie, and tell the king that it was just a bad case of heartburn. Or tell the truth and hope for the best. And this is the first indication of who Nehemiah was – a truth teller. A real leader doesn’t lie to make things “convenient”. You’ve heard the expression that sometimes the truth is inconvenient. Not so. The truth is the truth. (And, by the way, there is also no “my truth” or “your truth”. There is the truth…and that is all.) The convenient or inconvenient aspect is purely a human deception we attach to it. Leaders are not focused on attaching some version of relativity to the truth, because as I said, the truth is the truth. So Nehemiah, although afraid at what the king might do to him, tells the ruler why he is sad. The king’s response tells of the great deal of respect he has for his cupbearer. He didn’t admonish Nehemiah and tell him to go back to taste-testing Whoppers and Big Macs (which is the kind of food I would want to eat as a cupbearer). No, the king asks, “What do you request?” The next thing Nehemiah does is pray. This serves to remind us of what Godly leaders do when confronted with an other-worldly-sized problem…pray.
Nehemiah knows himself. He knows he has what it takes to get this job done. He even knows the approximate timeframe it’s going to take…and he hasn’t even laid eyes on the project yet. That is someone who understands his abilities and what he is made of. Nehemiah also knows his “why”. He has compassion on those living in the ravaged city of Jerusalem, and wants to, once again, provide protection for them, by rebuilding the city walls. There are several enemies, as we will see in future segments, who want to continue to see Jerusalem lay in ruins. But Nehemiah is going to step up when no one else would. He will become the needed leader in a culture of uncertainty. There will be ups and downs, valleys and mountaintops. But it is the story of leadership, raw and unedited. Stay tuned…
Before I go though, in June 1775, George Washington sat before 47 other men. A different other-worldly-sized problem lay at hand. How to unite a bunch of farmers, teachers, blacksmiths, silversmiths, and other tradesmen, from 13 colonies, into a fighting force to repel a professional British army. Not many men could accomplish the task at hand. But the 47 seemed to be in agreement that the man of the hour was George Washington. He is a flawed man. He is a slaveholder. He is overly concerned with his personal reputation. He often, especially early on, fails to deploy the winning strategy. And yet, no one else seemed to be up to the challenge. Before accepting the role of commander, Washington knows that it is wrought with troubles and challenges, both internally and externally. It will take a considerably longer time to see his army gain victory over the British, than it took Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, but both will happen. Nehemiah will lead his people in their difficult work, and Washington will do the same, for that is what a leader does.
Faith, Leadership, and History 