While working with Karen Rae on Being Brave: Celebrating 1m Women and Their Courage, I had the honor of working with many women, sharing their stories, and Laurie Thibert was one. In her chapter, “The Gift of You,” she shared the experience of meeting a young boy in Ghana, who eventually became her son. Her story brought tears to my eyes and is a display of surrender and trust. (Be sure to get your copy!)
I met Laurie and Osei in December of 2024 at the launch party. What I remember most is Laurie’s bubbling smile. Enthusiasm for life oozes from her, and now I have the honor of working with her on another project. The CATR Theory: The 4 Legs of Successful Professional and Personal Relationships. 
Currently, a short guide (in paperback, ebook, and audiobook) to the process she created to improve relationships is available, and we’ll soon be embarking on the expanded version, which elaborates on the process and highlights the importance of Communication, Accountability, Trust, and Respect.
She shares, “When I had a house full of teenagers, and they kept asking me to help them figure out what happened in an important relationship (girlfriend, best friend, teacher, parent, etc.), it kept coming back to the same elements at play. Over time, I saw a pattern.
“Most often, either trust had been broken, or the respect for each other had been impacted. So we then needed to look further to see what caused the trust or respect to be damaged. Was it an aspect of communication, or did something happen regarding accountable actions? When we could find the root cause, then we knew what to fix.
“In the discussions, it became clear that trust and respect do not happen on their own – they are developed through consistent and healthy (accountable) communication and actions; and both trust and respect are damaged by failing to communicate well or having an issue with accountable actions.”
Enhancing our relationships is vital to creating strong families, communities, and organizations.
Find out about Laurie and her work at Aligned Insights Matter