Get Aligned To Your Book Deal with Aiko Bethea

This week’s guest is Aiko Bethea. Aiko is a nationally recognized thought leader, educator, and facilitator who advances transformational and accountable leadership through executive coaching, practice-based learning, and systems-level change. She is the founder of RARE Coaching & Consulting, where she supports leaders and teams at Fortune 100 companies and global nonprofit organizations. Her work is grounded in a powerful leadership framework that helps individuals anchor in values, align intentions and actions, and lead with accountability—tools she uses to help leaders build cultures of trust, clarity, and impact. Aiko has served in executive roles with the City of Atlanta, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She also led the Daring Way™ and Dare to Lead™ facilitator communities at the Brené Brown Education and Research Group, where she designed the global belonging strategy for a network of more than 1,500 facilitators. A sought-after speaker and trusted advisor, Aiko has been recognized by Forbes as one of the top seven anti-racism educators for companies and named by CultureAmp as a leading voice in inclusive and equitable leadership. Her writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The New York Times bestselling anthology You Are Your Best Thing, edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown. She holds a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree from Smith College. Her upcoming book, Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: How to Transcend the Bullsh*t to Live a Transformational Life at Home and at Work, will be published by Penguin Random House in April 2026. Find Aiko on social facebook.com/RARECoach instagram.com/rare_coach twitter.com/rare_coach linkedin.com/in/aikobethea/ linkedin.com/company/rare-coaching-consulting Find Rare Coaching at www.rarecoaching.net, and the RARE resources page at www.rarecoaching.net/media-resources/. Preorder Aiko’s book at https://rep.club/products/anchored-al.... Episode Highlights: (0:00) Intro (1:32) Guest introduction: leadership coach Aiko Bethea (4:11) Defining the “bullshit” that blocks growth (7:26) Why leadership begins with inner self-awareness (9:14) Why most people misunderstand their values (12:08) Turning values into behaviors and boundaries (15:28) The Anchored, Aligned, Accountable framework (17:02) How values guide decisions and prevent regret (22:20) Why leadership requires acknowledging power and identity (25:44) Why people struggle with accountability (28:04) Accountability through curiosity instead of blame (31:27) Why the book uses real-life scenarios for learning (36:32) Channel one, two, and three listening explained (39:36) Lessons from writing a book over several years (50:36) How authors can use values to guide their book (57:21) Advice for entrepreneurs pursuing a book deal (1:05:31) Outro Have a great idea for a book but don't know where to start? https://www.meghanstevenson.com/quiz Traditional publishing expert Meghan Stevenson blasts open the gates of the “Big 5”—Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Macmillan—to share what every entrepreneur and expert needs to know about landing a book deal. In episodes released every Monday, Meghan shares wisdom and stories from 20+ years in publishing as well as interviews with authors, literary agents, and editors. She also answers questions from listeners like you. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur with an empire, or are just starting out—this podcast will help you understand what you need to do in order to turn your dream of being a bestselling author into real life.