This is part of the series Catalyst 2013.

I am in the pre-conference lab right now, “Just Lead! A Survival Guide for Women Leaders and Those Who Lead Them.”

If it seems strange that I’m in a a workshop for women leaders, let me clarify that this is by accident! I tried to go to John Acuff’s session and couldn’t find it. So, having gotten back late from lunch, I jumped into this session because it’s the next one I saw and I know that the presenters are top notch.

This lab is led by Jenni Catron, executive director at Cross Point Church, and Sherry Surratt, CEO of MOPS International. Together, they are authors of Just Lead!: A No Whining, No Complaining, No Nonsense Practical Guide for Women Leaders in the Church.

Here are two of the key points, which are fantastic. First, “you can lead well, or you can lead alone. But you can’t do both.” Well said.

Second, as most of us have experienced, insecure leaders are among the hardest to work for. Sherry gave a great summary of why this is so:

Insecure leaders try to control everything. They avoid risk. They are closed in their relationships. They don’t hire 10s, because they are afraid the 10 will outshine them. They fail to affirm and empower others. Insecure leaders create environments of insecurity.

There is probably nothing that will limit your leadership like insecurity. And insecurity leads to fear, and makes you think small.

When people pretend, they over compensate, and other people see through it.

Excellent points.
For more on insecurity in leadership, and what to do about it, check out John Maxwell’s article: Why Insecure Leaders are So Bad.

This is part of the series Catalyst 2013.

I’m a huge fan of good usability. Whenever I work on a website or consult on web strategy, the core principle I advocate for is making the site as easy to use as possible. Further, this should be our mindset not only with websites, but with everything. For at the end of the day, it’s hard for your product or service or experience to help people if they find it confusing.

Creating good usability is actually a leadership task, because the essence of what leaders do is create clarity. Good usability makes things clear for people, and therefore is actually a form of good leadership.

That’s why the minute I walked in to the arena here today at Catalyst, I felt right at home. Everywhere around the arena they have people like the guy below holding up signs that say “need help?” If you need to figure out where to go, or where you can find a can of Diet Coke, or where to register, there’s no guessing. Just ask one of these people.

That is awesome. You can’t get any more clear than that. And, best of all, this is a model of good leadership right where you would expect it — at a leadership conference. Leaders make things clear. And here at Catalyst, what this shows me is that that task of leadership is evident not just in the speakers and teaching, as important as that is, but right down to the details of finding your way around.

Love it. That’s an example to learn from.

This is part of the series Catalyst 2013.

I’ll be live blogging Catalyst today through Friday. The labs are today, and the main sessions are tomorrow and Friday.

I’ll shoot to post a summary of each session, highlighting some key points and giving some of my reflections.

For those who are headed to Catalyst this week, here are 16 things you need to know to help you make the most of it from Brad Lomenick’s blog.

To keep up with things, stay tuned to my blog, follow me on Twitter, and follow Catalyst on twitter.

As I blogged last week, Catalyst Atlanta is coming up  October 2-4, 2013 in Atlanta, GA. 13,000 young leaders from across the United States and around the world will converge for one of the best leadership experiences around.

Some of the speakers this year I’m most looking forward to are John Piper, Andy Stanley, Lecrae, Malcolm Gladwell, and Reggie Joiner.

Today is the last day of special registration rate of $219 (which saves over $100). You can register by calling 888.334.6569 to speak with the Catalyst Concierge team, or online. Use the rate code BLOG or MP.

I’ll be blogging the conference, and it would be great to see you there!