I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Meng at the Kaospilots chaordic conference, and he mailed out this quote, which illustrates the paradox of being a servant leader, who must be:

Strong enough to be weak
Successful enough to fail
Busy enough to make time
Wise enough to say “I don’t know”
Serious enough to laugh
Rich enough to be poor
Right enough to say “I’m wrong”
Compassionate enough to discipline
Mature enough to be childlike
Important enough to be last
Planned enough to be spontaneous
Controlled enough to be flexible
Free enough to endure captivity
Knowledgeable enough to ask questions
Loving enough to be angry
Great enough to be anonymous
Responsible enough to play
Assured enough to be rejected
Victdorious enough to lose
Industrious enough to relax
Leading enough to serve

– Brewer, as cited by Hansel, 1987