Do We Have Servant Leadership in Washington Or Are We Serving Leaders in Washington?

I recently read an article that talked about the different traits of servant-leadership. They include, listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Our leaders in Washington need to do some reading on servant-leadership with all the free time they have from not reading the massive legislative pieces they are rushing through.

Servant-leaders listen. Rather than listening to the American people express their concern over HR3200, many in Washington brush them off as organized unruly mobs.

Servant leaders are empathetic. While they claim to be empathetic, many of our leaders in Washington refuse to empathize with the unborn, the poor who are held back by government programs, and the individuals and companies paying high taxes to fund their pet projects.

Servant-leaders promote healing. Many of our leaders in Washington promote racial and class divisions every chance they get in order to further their political aspirations.

Servant-leaders persuade. If I was a Congressman with a bill that I believe whole heartedly in, I would hold as many town hall meetings as I could, be informed of the bill that I believed so passionately in, and would do everything I could to show the American people just how good it is. Many of our leaders in Washington are refusing to even hold town hall meetings or are stacking them with paid supporters.

Servant leaders conceptualize. I wonder if our leaders in Washington actually think about the bad consequences of their good intentions. For example, the cash for clunkers program forced dealers to destroy perfectly good used cars, reducing the supply and thus driving up the price for the poor who cannot afford a new car.

Servant leaders demonstrate foresight. Most of our leaders in Washington lacked the foresight to see how forcing banks to provide mortgages to people who couldn’t afford it would negatively affect the housing market and the economy as a whole (or if they did see it, they didn’t care, which is worse).

Servant leaders are stewards. We are trillions of dollars in debt with trillion dollar deficits over the next ten years. Need I say more?

Servant leaders are committed to the growth of people (the world’s smallest minority is the individual). Our leaders in Washington are committed to growing government, not people.

Finally, servant leaders build community. The family is the fundamental building block of communities and society. Our leaders in Washington tear down and destroy the family. For example, most government assistance programs promote single parenthood, contributing to the destruction of African-American community, the very group these programs were intended to help (see also foresight and conceptualization).

I think it is high time the American people remind Washington just who it is they work for. Can anyone say, “Term limits for Congress”?