The Power of Unsatisfied Leaders

Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jews who had survived, the exiles, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 2:2-4

An unsatisfied leader identifies a problem, feels the burden, and offers a solution. Influential leaders are unsatisfied leaders!

Nehemiah was an unsatisfied leader. He found out that the wall of Jerusalem was in ruins and that the survivors of the exile were in great trouble and disgrace. (Neh. 1:1-3) Nehemiah felt the burden! His dissatisfaction with that reality drove him to repair what was broken. (Neh. 1:4) Once he knew the situation, he couldn’t rest until it was resolved. (Neh. 1:5-10) The entire book of Nehemiah tells this beautiful story of rebuilding the wall and a nation. (Neh. 2-13)

The lack of leaders like Nehemiah is a common pattern in organizations—whether for-profit or nonprofit, faith-based or market-driven. The opposite of Nehemiah’s leadership is power grabbing. Instead of feeling the burden and finding solutions that build up society, leaders are driven by influence and power. Why do organizations look for leaders driven by performance over character? Because they want influence and power too. That explains why we have so many “arrogant leaders” in high-level positions today.

A Christ-centered leader is an unsatisfied leader. He wants to offer a solution to the problems he sees. A solution that will bring glory to the NAME that is above every name, as we see in the story of Nehemiah.

Have you ever worked with an unsatisfied leader? What did you learn from him?