It is hard to write about leadership today. Honestly, it feels hard to write about anything.

This past week held both joy and grief: celebrating a victory with my family, struggling through conversations with my kids about school safety and public violence, and carrying the burden of leading worship when worship feels heavy.

In moments like these, writing about leadership can seem trite. Shouldn’t I be using this tiny platform to shout louder, march farther, or sound the alarm?

And yet—it is precisely in these times that leadership is most needed. Those who are stepping into leadership today are desperate for guidance on how to navigate a world that feels like a roller coaster.

I’ve learned that leading in times of strife requires humanity the “boss” of the past never dared to show. It begins with knowing ourselves. The best leaders lead from authenticity.

Instead of copying someone else’s playbook, authentic leaders live from their “why”—the inner blueprint that guides their choices. Without that, leadership is inconsistent and exhausting. With it, leadership becomes natural.

We saw this vividly 24 years ago, when George W. Bush stood on the smoldering rubble of the World Trade Center, bullhorn in hand. It wasn’t what his father would have done, but it was authentically him—and people followed.

Leaders today face teams that are divided, wary, and afraid to show vulnerability. That is why authenticity and connection matter now more than ever. Sometimes the first step is as simple as sharing a meal—literally or metaphorically—to remind people that the human across from them is just that: human.

If you want to explore what it looks like to lead authentically in times of trial, reply to this email. Let’s start the conversation.

Reset Your Algorithm

(The MVP of my social posts this week)

Think on these things. Focus on these things.

Philippians 4:8 lists the things we are to think on.

It is an active verb.

but too many of us are passively letting algorithms think for us.

Of course you think everything is falling down around you.

When you top scrolling to watch something, the algo rewards you by showing you more of that kind of thing.

It becomes all you see!

Today you have the power to change that.

Every social media platform can be manipulated to show you the good stuff.

You have the power to think and focus on things that are good, that are pure, that are just, that are holy.

But it requires your active participation.

So today - reset your algorithm.

Learn more about Cody Hand here.

Learn more about Cody Hand’s Executive Coaching here.