Leadership if full of tensions of one kind or another; areas were we need to strike a healthy balance between two competing priorities. In many cases, if not in most cases, it’s a matter of both/and, not either /or. In today’s guest post, Eric Geiger unpacks five of these with us.
Guest Post by Eric Geiger
Jim Collins, leadership researcher and consultant, coined the phrase “genius of the ‘AND’” in his well-known book Built to Last as an exhortation for leaders to reject the “tyranny of the ‘OR.’” Collins showed through his writing how great leaders, in the organizations he studied, embraced “AND” across a myriad of dimensions at the same time: purpose AND profit, continuity AND change, freedom AND responsibility, discipline AND creativity, humility AND will, empirical analysis AND decisive action.
There are additional paradoxes that a Christian leader faces. Whether you lead in ministry or in the marketplace, you feel the tension of holding two truths at once. The temptation is to pick one side, but the art of leadership is learning to hold the “AND.” I have been spending a lot of time with Nehemiah recently, a leader who embraced the “AND.” God used Nehemiah to rebuild the broken wall in Jerusalem so that God’s people would no longer be in disgrace and could resettle in Jerusalem. Nehemiah embraced a series of paradoxes, and here are five paradoxes Christian leaders should also embrace.
1. Prayer and planning
Months after Nehemiah heard that the wall in Jerusalem was in ruins, the Persian king that Nehemiah served asked Nehemiah what was bothering him. Nehemiah prayed (Nehemiah 2:4) and then shared plans—specific plans he had been rehearsing in his mind for months, including how long he would be gone and the authority and resources he needed from the king. Nehemiah’s approach shatters the false dichotomy of prayer or planning—as if leaders must choose one or the other. Nehemiah was committed to prayer and planning, and both are on full display in the conversation with the king that altered his life and altered history.
Pray first. Then pray as you plan, but don’t disregard planning as if wise plans are unspiritual. God has given leaders their minds, and the Scripture presents an honorable view of wise planning (Proverbs 21:5 as an example).
2. Vision and execution
Nehemiah is often studied for his visionary leadership, as he cast a simple and clear and compelling vision for the people: “…Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace” (Nehemiah 2:17). But Nehemiah also coordinated with incredible skill dozens of groups of people along the wall (Nehemiah 3). He did not merely whiteboard a preferred future. He threw himself into the work, mobilized people, and executed the vision he shared.
A leader who wants to share vision, while being removed from the execution, will eventually lead with a vision that is disconnected from the people and the work because the leader is disconnected from the people and the work. A leader who wants to share vision but not be involved in the execution of the vision will also lose credibility.
3. People and task
Nehemiah cared deeply about the task of rebuilding the wall. The job was completed in only fifty-two days, so he was exceptionally gifted at setting clear objectives, removing obstacles, ignoring distractions, and getting the important stuff done. He also cared for the people. The whole reason he asked to be sent to Jerusalem, from a posh palace in Susa, was for the people. Nehemiah cared for the people. He listed them by name in Nehemiah 3 and knew them. When opposition came, and the people grew weary, Nehemiah addressed their fears, reorganized the work, and reminded them of the Lord who was fighting for them (Nehemiah 4:14).
Leaders must care for the people doing the work, not just the work the people are doing. This must be especially true for Christian leaders in both marketplace and ministry roles. Our roles are for the people. Leaders exist for people, not people for leaders.
4. Affirmation and accountability
Nehemiah served those he led by providing both affirmation and accountability, depending on what the person and the team needed. For example, Nehemiah affirmed Baruch son of Zabbai, who “diligently repaired another section” (Nehemiah 3:20). Not only was Baruch encouraged, but the whole community saw zeal celebrated and, as Plato believed, “whatever is celebrated in a country, is cultivated there.” Nehemiah, whose name means “God comforts,” also provided accountability because accountability is not the opposite of comfort or encouragement. In fact, failure to hold people accountable is a discomfort for the whole group. Nehemiah confronted the laziness and the pride in the nobles of Tekoa who “did not lift a finger to help their supervisors.” (Nehemiah 3:5). The Tekoite nobles exalted themselves and are now forever humbled in the most read book in the history of the world—the Bible.
Affirming people for who they are and what they are contributing is caring, kind, and empowering. Accountability is kind too, not only to the person but to the whole team. Nothing demotivates a team more than jerks and apathetic team members who are never challenged or removed from the team for their attitude or their lack of contribution to the mission of the team.
5. Restlessness and rest
In the final chapter of Nehemiah, we see Nehemiah’s restlessness as he returns to Jerusalem to find that the people are breaking every one of their commitments to God. Nehemiah rebukes them and insists on changes. We also see Nehemiah resting in God as he concludes the book by trusting God, saying, “Remember me, my God, with favor” (Nehemiah 13:31). With confidence, Nehemiah prayed that God would remember him because God always keeps His gracious promises to His own. He did not know how long the wall he rebuilt would last, but he rested in the God who lasts forever.
Restlessness is common among leaders, but not all restlessness is sacred. Nehemiah’s restlessness was sacred because his ambition was for God to receive glory and for the people to be cared for. His restlessness was also sacred because it intermingled with rest. Restlessness connected to selfish ambition is never sacred. Nor is restlessness without rest because the lack of rest reveals a lack of trust in the God who never sleeps or slumbers. Restlessness rooted in resting in God’s grace and provision can be sacred, and leaders can hold both at the same time.
Embrace the “AND”!
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