We saw in the last chapter that the first dynamic of effective leadership illustrated in the memoirs of Nehemiah is the relationship between the leader and God. Unless his or her relationship to God is right the leader will never be God’s choice for any situation, nor in the final analysis will the leader ever be effective. Still it is not only to a heavenly superior that leaders must relate. They must also relate to earthly ones, and for this reason the second dynamic for any true leader involves what we generally refer to as the role of middle management.
At the beginning of this story Nehemiah was in a middle management position, and the superior he reported to was Artaxerxes.
Middle management is a very important matter for two reasons: 1) most leaders are in middle management positions; and 2) middle management is not easy. It is difficult.
In the business world, if a middle manager is alert, visionary and innovative, he is frequently a threat to his boss—or his boss perceives this to be so. On the other hand, if he is merely an echo of his boss, he is of little value either to him or the organization.
How are middle managers to function? How can a person in this position be supportive and effective at the same time?
For anyone who is in this position, the second chapter of Nehemiah should be a great encouragement. For Nehemiah was in a middle management position. Later, when he had been appointed governor of Jerusalem, he was still technically in middle management since his ultimate superior remained King Artaxerxes. Judah was still part of the great Persian Empire. But at that point Nehemiah was far removed from the palace—Jerusalem was 1,500 miles from Susa—and he could function in most areas entirely on his own authority. In chapter 2, by contrast, Nehemiah was attending on the king. And there is nothing he could do—he could not even leave the city—without the king’s permission.
Moreover, not only was Nehemiah in a middle management position. He was in an extremely trying one. He had no rights. The kings of Persia were absolute rulers. Their word was law.
The Persian kings were impossible at best, and often cruel. They were almost always in danger of sudden assassination or revolt, and they were therefore usually suspicious of any wrong moves or apparent lack of loyalty by their subordinates. We see a trace of this in Nehemiah 2:2, where the king notices that Nehemiah is sad and asks about it. Nehemiah was not overcome with gratitude that a person as important and busy as Artaxerxes should take notice of and be concerned for him. Rather, as he tells us, he “was very much afraid.” He had a right to be. Persian rulers did not like subordinates to be gloomy in their presence.
