There are several qualities of leadership. Hansen and Bathurst (2011:256) insist that leadership is about decision-making, which requires more than pure rationality. The study of leadership involves understanding the social processes that construct organisations. Marques (2017:17) argues that leadership begins with self-leading and should be purpose-driven to render competence to achieve the most desired goals. Purpose-driven leadership involves firstly, making decisions that have long-term consequences. Secondly, respect must be maintained by acknowledging and appreciating other people’s values. Thirdly, morality can be enhanced by being in touch with one’s moral values. Fourthly, having a vision and communicating its vision; and fifthly, understanding, which implies changing the strategy when it no longer serves the real purpose and developing new paths to attain responsible goals.

According to De Vries and Balazs (2011:390–391), leaders and followers should understand their strengths and weaknesses. Also, they should be sensitive and be good listeners who are capable of making sound judgements. Moreover, leaders need to develop followers to become future leaders; in that way, leaders will impact the lives of followers since the test of a leader relates to performance by their successors. Leaders are to give followers an opportunity to learn and allow them offer constructive feedback, accommodate their emotional needs and allow them to be creative within organisations. Olanisebe and Olaniyi (2011:9) maintain that nation-building is an initiative that requires people’s concerted effort. For leaders to deal with nation-building successfully, they must possess certain qualities. Some of the qualities of leadership include: integrity, honesty, commitment and competence. Nehemiah demonstrated patriotism and displayed serious and deep concern after he heard the news that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins. He then took an initiative with other Jews in Persia to go to the land of Judah and engage in the rebuilding process (Olanisebe & Olaniyi 2011:10).

Leadership qualities are vital for a leader to exercise the leadership role. Different leaders possess various leadership qualities. However, there are certain leadership qualities that define a true leader who can drive followers towards a shared vision to be able to accomplish the task at hand. Some leaders are in leadership positions, but their leadership style does not yield the intended results because of a lack of collaboration with followers. Leadership is what people do as they express their deepest feelings and thoughts, when they do their work with passion and integrity, bearing in mind that everything matters as they do their work (Ndebele 2007:2).

Leaders demonstrate supervision that involves many responsibilities with more tasks which the leader cannot handle alone. Therefore, for leaders to be successful, they must use time wisely and demonstrate interpersonal skills to accommodate followers. The leader does this by empowering and delegating responsibility to followers and giving authority to followers to perform and accomplish specific tasks that they may not usually perform (Stokes 2008:23). Furthermore, effective leaders seek opportunities to improve their leadership skills that make them effective in counselling, coaching and mentoring followers. When leaders use these skills, they can interact with followers to improve their job performance and increase two-way communication. Interaction between a leader and followers results in opportunities to discuss specific follower concerns and job performance to make recommendations for improvement.

Good communication between leaders and followers is an opportunity to use interpersonal skills to develop followers to increase organisational effectiveness and relationships between leaders and followers (Stokes 2008:24).

Antonakis (2011:273) states that there are two paths to leadership. These paths are the actuality path and the ascription path. He argues that the actuality path explains why traits might contribute to the effectiveness of a leader through technical and social skills. On the other hand, the ascription path explains the trait that allows leaders to emerge, although the emergence of a leader does not guarantee its effectiveness. By this, Antonakis means that individuals appear as leaders through the ascription path. However, they become effective if (1) they possess fundamental traits that anticipate effectiveness or (2) people select them based on a particular trait as individuals.

Furthermore, Antonakis (2011:281) argues that there are valuable traits in practising leadership that are advantageous in selecting individuals who are most likely to demonstrate leadership and effectiveness in leadership positions. Therefore, the use of valid leadership trait models has significant, economic and ethical implications.

Gabriel (2011:403) argues that leading is imagining, willing, inspiring and driving. He reiterates that without imagination there is no leadership since imagination means envisaging new possibilities, products, ideas, methods and alliances. Consequently, leaders are people who dream and who draw on their unconscious wishes to imagine things that may seem unrealistic, impossible or absurd to others. Meanwhile, leaders do not just dream since dreaming is not just enough. Leading requires a determined person with a burning desire to realise a vision. Therefore, being willing to dream means having a strong dream with motivation towards fulfilling it. Hence, visualising and willingness are significant in leadership, and they need to be implemented.

A leader is someone who dreams and yields vision. By so doing, a leader demonstrates belief in oneself and communicates the vision to other people intending to believe in them to drive the shared vision towards a common goal. A leader acts as a change agent by bringing change to the status quo. A leader gives direction, guides and facilitates the process. This means that a leader not only dreams of what needs to be done, but also works alongside people to accomplish the intended results. Vision is a crucial element in leadership because it helps leaders to stay focussed on the project at hand. It is worthwhile for leaders to communicate the vision and be versatile by creating a room for improvement when needed. Leaders are people entrusted with decision-making. As they do, they collaborate with followers to ensure that decisions made are for a common goal. Leaders make sound judgements on behalf of other people as they lead them. They appreciate people by identifying their potential, giving people opportunities to learn and being aware of the needs of subordinates. Leaders lead, among others, through integrity, honesty, commitment and competence.

Leaders make wise use of time. They possess a skill of time management. This means they are sensitive to time as they lead particular projects and ensure they complete projects within a stipulated time. Leaders empower people through effective coaching and mentorship. They embrace communication as a tool for the success of projects. They are self-confident, influential and effective people who ensure followers perform to their ability.

The background³ around Nehemiah is that the Jews had been in exile in Babylon and ended up under the Persian rule, during which Nehemiah became a cupbearer to the Persian King. While in Persia, Nehemiah received news that the walls of Jerusalem were in ruins. When Nehemiah heard of the situation, he requested the King to permit him to go and rebuild the walls. This was a time when he exercised leadership qualities to ensure that the work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem had to begin. Nehemiah and other Jews worked together under his leadership until the work was complete.

Nehemiah put his trust in God in the mission he had to accomplish. When faced with opposition from his adversaries, Nehemiah prayed to God for intervention against the threat of his enemies (Neh 4:9). His trust in God demonstrates that he did not do things alone. Though he knew that he could do some things, he noticed that he could not carry out such a mammoth task without involving God. Also, Nehemiah removed fear from the people by pointing them to God as an encouragement. He reminded them about the greatness of God and that they should put their trust in him. Nehemiah trusted in God and allayed people’s fears.

It is crucial to consider planning as an essential aspect when initiating any project. Nehemiah had to prepare for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. After hearing the news about the walls lying in ruins with the gates burnt, Nehemiah had a vision to address the situation. He pondered on how to see the success of what he had as a vision. Among other things, he sought permission from the King of Persia to go to Jerusalem safely. Through that, Nehemiah could think ahead and prepare for the future to ensure that the direction he had to take was well planned. Planning assisted Nehemiah in identifying issues for the rebuilding project and identifying relevant resources to ensure the smooth running of the project. Nehemiah went through a careful planning process because he wanted to realise the success of the project he had to undertake. His proper planning for the project, enabled him to take a very short time to complete the project. The planning process was a crucial phase for Nehemiah.

Nehemiah had integrity which helped him to make decisions of a high standard and to be able to face challenges without fear to achieve the desired goal. Integrity enabled him to understand his call. As a result, he was patient and hopeful for completing the project at hand. He was an accountable leader and had the capacity to organise the efficient rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Also, he ensured that parties involved in the rebuilding process had clear roles and responsibilities for the smooth running of the project. Nehemiah made impartial decisions through integrity and rebuked officials and workers alike (Neh 5:7).

The task of the rebuilding of the walls was huge. Consequently, Nehemiah delegated some duties and responsibilities to others and provided them with necessary resources for specific tasks. As part of the delegation, Nehemiah appointed doorkeepers, singers and the Levites, and ordered them to do their jobs. Nehemiah’s handing over the supervision of the wall to Hanani and Hananiah (Neh 7:1–73) was an indication of delegation of responsibility for the work to run well. Meanwhile, Nehemiah did not just delegate; he identified potential in people and wanted to empower them to do more with their talents and skills. Nehemiah did not only distribute the responsibility, but he worked alongside people as they continued their tasks, and supervised the rebuilding project to ensure that everything was in order. Nehemiah led by example. He knew what to do, how to do it, and who to do it. He analysed the situation in Jerusalem and identified people to do the job.

Nehemiah had a vision as a leader and communicated it to other people so that they could embrace it. Nehemiah set an example through vision that leaders should have vision because they cannot lead well without vision. After he conceived the vision and shared it with people, he organised people so that they could all drive it until it was realised. He successfully mobilised people so that the project could be completed (Neh 3:1–6:16) despite the hindrance caused by his adversaries. He did not leave the people to do the work alone. Instead, he devoted himself to the work of the wall together with his men (Neh 4:16) and was always with them to give direction. Nehemiah had courage and perseverance and could resist opposition inflicted by his adversaries.

As a leader, Nehemiah employed some strategies to accomplish the leadership task of rebuilding the walls. He was a man of prayer and sought counsel from God through prayer. This demonstrates that Nehemiah did not rely on his strength alone but regarded prayer as a crucial element while engaging people to do the work. Faced with the enormous task of rebuilding the walls, Nehemiah had a vision of how he would go about with the project. The vision assisted him in determining the direction he had to take concerning the sad news in Jerusalem. Nehemiah shared the vision with other people by communicating it to them. People embraced his vision and ran with it by committing themselves to it.

The sad news that Nehemiah received from Jerusalem about the walls, which lay in ruins with the gates burnt, was a priority for Nehemiah to ensure the restoration of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a strategic leader in the manner in which he approached the task of rebuilding the walls. Through the vision, he formulated a strategic plan to address the situation in Jerusalem. He took the situation in Jerusalem as a priority over everything else and hence sought permission from the King of Persia to allow him to go and change the state of affairs in Jerusalem. Since Nehemiah was in a position of power in Persia, he could leverage his power to facilitate the rebuilding of the walls through securing resources. Also, people listened to him as he shared his vision and supported him by committing to be part of the rebuilding project as he proposed. Nehemiah could look forward to the impact his vison would have on the people. As a result, his vision was beyond the rebuilding of the walls since he wanted to restore the glory which city used to have. Among others, his vision included carrying out the reforms of the social and economic life of the people. Therefore, he adapted to the situation to pursue his vision, which was intended to bring something different to Jerusalem’s state of affairs at the time.

Looking at the definitions of a leader, Nehemiah demonstrated the qualities and skills of a leader. When he first heard the news that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins and gates were burnt, Nehemiah prioritised that situation over everything else. He decided to leave his position of being a cupbearer and sought means to address the situation in Jerusalem so that he could correct it. In that way, Nehemiah became a visionary leader and acted as a change agent who wanted to make a difference in how things were in Jerusalem. He had a vision to address the situation and communicate it with other people who committed themselves to rebuilding with him. Nehemiah worked with people to realise the successful completion of the project and coached and mentored people during the process. He resisted opposition and directed the people to continue despite opposition inflicted by his enemies. Nehemiah applied his leadership attributes and skills to ensure that the rebuilding project was a success through time management.