I was intrigued recently at John Maxwell’s comments in the Maxwell Leadership Bible. He looked at Nehemiah’s response and action after the successful rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem, and from this biblical passage in the Old Testament Maxwell drew some interesting leadership insight.

Many of us set goals and have projects for our ministries and organizations that stretch us and often exhaust us. If we are not careful, we can let down our guard, enjoy the success of the project or event, and fail to lead properly. What was it that Nehemiah did that Maxwell caught?

Nehemiah didn’t let down his guard.

If you read the beginning of Nehemiah 7 you see that the massive work of rebuilding the wall and hanging the gates had been finished in spite of opposition and ridicule. It would have been easy to celebrate and relax. Not Nehemiah.

This amazing man of God quickly set specific instructions about watching and guarding the gate to the city of Jerusalem. He recognized the importance of looking at the next step in being not just successful, but diligent and obedient to the Lord.

Leadership guru John Maxwell says that leaders have to be willing to change their leadership style and stay on task even after a successful project or event.

“Two emotions usually follow a great achievement: first, a sigh of relief and celebration; and second, a sense of . . . now what? How we handle achievement tells us a lot about our character.”

Maxwell sees Nehemiah as a great example of how a leader needs to change with the times. He illustrates this by detailing the differences in how a person leads when situations change. He calls these two styles seasons.

Two Types of Leadership Seasons

1. Catalyst: Gets it going
2. Designer: Thinks it up
3. Motivator: Encourages
4. Entrepreneur: Relies on self

1. Consolidator: Keeps it going

2. Developer: Follows it up

3. Manager: Organizes

4. Executive: Relies on others

If a leader, especially after a great success or achievement, doesn’t move from one season to the next, the ministry may suffer. Nehemiah knew they couldn’t just celebrate the achievement of rebuilding the wall and gates. They needed to be diligent and have a plan for protecting the city and the people. He kept the success going by following up, organizing, and putting other people in his plan.

You may not feel you have an enemy ready to storm the gates, but we know that Satan is always roaming, looking for a weak place in our lives and our ministries to exploit and to defeat us. Be sure that you as a ministry leader and a spiritual leader adjust your plans and your style to ensure Satan doesn’t get a foothold for destruction.