At a Glance
- Aiko Bethea, longtime senior advisor to Brené Brown, will release her debut book Anchored, Aligned, Accountable on April 21
- The book offers a framework for navigating complicated interactions at work, at home, and in relationships
- Bethea draws on decades as a Fortune 500 coach and experiences as a woman of color in predominantly white spaces
- Why it matters: Readers gain practical tools to lead from authenticity and deepen relationships across all life areas
Aiko Bethea, longtime senior advisor to Brené Brown, is sharing her wisdom in a new book. In Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsht and Transforming Our Lives and Work*, out this spring from Random House, the Fortune 500 executive coach offers “a bold new framework for successfully navigating complicated interactions at work, at home and in all our relationships,” according to the book’s official synopsis.
Drawing on decades of personal experience, Bethea advises readers on how they can “lead from our most genuine selves and deepen relationships in every part of our lives,” the synopsis adds.
From Senior Leader to Author
Bethea, who was raised as the daughter of Taiwanese and Black parents, is no stranger to navigating two worlds that didn’t always know where to place her. Throughout her career, she spent years as a senior leader at both the City of Atlanta and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, often as the only woman of color in the room – all while raising two sons and “trying to reconcile who she was expected to be with who she actually was,” a press release for the book explains.
Her professional journey includes:
- Senior advisor role to Brené Brown
- Executive coaching for Fortune 500 companies
- Leadership positions at major institutions
- Navigating predominantly white corporate spaces as a woman of color
The Cairn Philosophy
In an exclusive excerpt shared with News Of Los Angeles, Bethea reveals the inspiration behind her framework: her grandmother’s stone stacks. When she was growing up, her Obachan (“grandmother” in English), a practicing Shinto Buddhist, would set up stacks of stones in their yard.
“They were small, organic, simple little structures, but to be honest, they didn’t look like anything special, at least not to me and my siblings,” Bethea writes. “We had no real sense of what they were for. And so, like kids do, we would mess with them: Kick them over or run around them, pick at the stones and let them collapse.”
Her grandmother would always rebuild them. “She didn’t believe in leaving things broken, or in throwing them away,” Bethea explains.
Understanding the Stone Towers
Now grown, Bethea understands what those stone towers represented. The simple stacks of stones, called cairns in English, taught lessons in balance, grounding and alignment. These structures became the central metaphor for her book, appearing on the front cover and throughout the text.
“Cairns represent the idea of being present, being mindful and constantly self-interrogating to avoid defaulting to old behaviors,” Bethea writes. “Stones, shaped by wind and rain and time, need attention and tending to stay stacked and balanced.”
She emphasizes that cairns are organic structures that can shift and slide, requiring mindful, indefinite attention. However, too much micro-adjusting can upset the balance, symbolizing “the rigor and effort required to stay anchored, aligned and accountable.”
Global Significance of Cairns
Bethea explores the cultural significance of stone stacks across civilizations:
- Sacred altars used by various spiritual traditions
- Beacons of safety marking dangerous territories
- Wayfinding markers showing paths through wilderness
- Mountain summits in Europe and Scandinavia where climbers add stones
- Spiritual altars created by Indigenous communities
- Temple entrances marked by Buddhist practitioners
- Underground railroad markers used by enslaved Blacks in the United States to mark paths to freedom
“All of these many meanings and uses ultimately connect to the framework’s purpose: collective well-being,” Bethea explains. “We may build these cairns as a personal practice, but they are there to help others, too: to show the way, to mark progress, or to stop and request reflection and honor.”
The Framework’s Application
The book’s framework applies to both personal growth and professional development. Bethea’s approach helps readers navigate complicated workplace dynamics while maintaining authenticity. Her methodology addresses the unique challenges faced by people who exist between cultures or identities.
The timing of the book’s release reflects growing corporate interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Companies increasingly seek frameworks that go beyond surface-level diversity training to create lasting cultural change.
Publication Details
*Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsht and Transforming Our Lives and Work will hit shelves on April 21 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.
The book represents years of Bethea’s coaching experience distilled into actionable guidance. Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, will publish the work under standard copyright protections.
Key Takeaways
- Aiko Bethea transforms decades of executive coaching experience into a practical life framework
- The cairn metaphor illustrates how balance requires constant attention without over-adjustment
- The book addresses both personal relationships and professional workplace dynamics
- Bethea’s unique perspective as a woman of color informs strategies for authentic leadership
- The framework emphasizes collective well-being alongside individual growth
From the book ANCHORED, ALIGNED, ACCOUNTABLE: A Framework for Transcending Bullsht and Transforming Our Lives and Work* by Aiko Bethea. Copyright © 2026 by Aiko Bethea. Published by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
