Leadership: Focus on a Few Goals

Nehemiah 2:17. “Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’"

Goals help leaders focus their vision. Goals lay out what the leader specifically wants to accomplish. Vision inspires people; goals tell them exactly where they are headed. A lack of focus generally means resources get spread too thin among multiple competing priorities, and nothing significant gets done. So focus.

Nehemiah lived in exile when he heard a report that the people remaining in Jerusalem were “in great trouble and disgrace.” The wall was in ruins, but as we learn from Nehemiah’s prayer, there were even bigger issues, as he acknowledged the wickedness and disobedience of God’s people, and recognized God’s judgment on Israel. We might say that Nehemiah’s vision was the restoration of a right relationship between God and his people.

Nehemiah was able to take that vision and develop a very specific goal: rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. As we read later in the book, the people of Jerusalem worked together to accomplish this goal and in so doing their hearts were softened and they yearned to be restored to God. There is a beautiful picture in chapter 8 where Ezra reads the book of the law, and the people weep.

So take your big, bold, exciting vision and focus on some specific goals whose attainment helps to realize your vision.