799: How Leaders Stay Grounded, with Aiko Bethea

Aiko Bethea: Anchored, Aligned, Accountable

Aiko Bethea is the Founder and CEO of RARE Coaching & Consulting, a leadership development firm that partners with Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, and global organizations to build accountable, values-driven cultures. She is listed as #3 on the list of Top Executive Coaches of 2026 by the Industry Leader and has spent over a decade coaching C-suite leaders across industries, and served previously as deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is the author of Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

I have seen so many activities over the years to help leaders clarify their values. I have built some of them myself. And most of them, including the ones I’ve built, miss a big question: what do those values actually mean? In this conversation, Aiko and I explore that question in detail to help us all do a better job of staying grounded.

Key Points

• In an era of information everywhere, it’s more challenging than ever to engage our inner awareness.
• An anchor keeps a ship in place during the storm. Our values do the same for us as leaders.
• Values aren’t just decorative. Simply naming a value doesn’t tell us much about what it means.
• Explore the behaviors that come out of labels we use for values. Those behaviors help us better align with others – and ourselves.
• A value label may mean one thing to one person and something entirely different to someone else. Curiosity will help you uncover what really matters to people.
• Beware naming values that are simply aspirational. Instead, zero in on what is actually true for you.

Resources Mentioned

• Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work by Aiko Bethea (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• Leadership in the Midst of Chaos, with Jim Mattis (episode 440)
• How to Discover What Others Value, with Joe Hart (episode 616)
• The Way to Build Collective Power, with Ruchika T. Malhotra (episode 759)

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