Real Leaders Don't Boss

Praise for
Real Leaders Don't Boss

“In college athletics, where building our brand is so important, the right kind of leadership is critical to long-term success. Ritch Eich knows this, and understands the complicated process that results in true leadership. Ritch has deep leadership knowledge and experience, and
Real Leaders Don't Boss
will provide valuable information to all who want to further develop their leadership skills.”

—David Brandon, director of athletics, The University of Michigan, and former chairman and CEO, Domino's Pizza

“Ritch Eich is a leader's leader, with a magical ability to turn the impossible into the possible. He brings to whatever he does exceptional experience, know-how, enthusiasm, and connections. Now, with his book, his unique transformational approach to leadership will be available to everyone.”

—William Kearney, senior vice president, Merrill Lynch

“Ritch Eich's leadership style is part Warren Bennis and Max Depree, part John Greenleaf and Peter Drucker, and part Jackie Robinson and Colin Powell. Ritch is a change agent and has worked tirelessly to transform the management practices and processes he inherited in each of his positions of increasing responsibility. As a leadership and management consultant, Ritch is continuing to share ‘best practices' from the leadership field.”

—Steve Grafton, president and CEO, The University of Michigan Alumni Association

“Whether you're a new manager or a new executive, Ritch Eich delivers an exceptionally useful pathway to follow for success. Ritch is highly accomplished, incredibly disciplined, and leads by example and with humor and with grace. Don't go to your next staff meeting without reading his book first!”

—Mary D. Olson, general manager, KCLU Radio, NPR

“No matter what stage you are at in your career,
Real Leaders Don't Boss
will help you get to the next level. Ritch's vast experience in healthcare and higher education shine through and his insight is refreshing. If you want to be a better leader yourself, or if you want to help others develop their leadership skills, read and share this book.”

—Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, MD, executive vice president for Medical Affairs University of Michigan, and CEO, University of Michigan Health System

“The essence of Ritch Eich's approach is to listen, analyze, and communicate. His intellect and training, buttressed by his fundamental instincts, are valuable assets in any problem-solving environment.”

—Eugene A. Bauer, MD, former CEO, Stanford University Medical Center, and former dean, Stanford University School of Medicine

“Books and articles about leadership are not scarce. Insightful books drawn from career-long, successful, hands-on experience are. Ritch Eich brings that experience to his valuable discussion of traits and qualities—some learned, some innate—possessed by the best leaders. His book is careful in describing the difference between leading and managing, a chasm he so clearly understands from his own successful careers.”

—Jim Finkelstein, Chief of Information, Navy Department, Pentagon, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

“Ritch Eich has captured the essence of leadership in his book,
Real Leaders Don't Boss
. People may gain wealth or promotions by the sheer power of their personality and desire, however the success of the organization fades as soon as they leave and they usually leave untold numbers of casualties in their wake. Real leaders know their trade as well, but they are guided by virtues such as fortitude and temperance. They value those that work for them. They also challenge and mentor them. Real leaders are comfortable in their own skin which in turn develops the character of those who work for them.”

—Major General Leslie M. Palm, USMC (Ret.), president and CEO, Marine Corps Association & Foundation (Ret.)

“Ritch has a strong passion for the principles, morals, and ethics that make great leaders. In a world where it's increasingly difficult to know who to trust, you can trust Ritch.”

—Ross K. Goldberg, president, Kevin/Ross Public Relations and co-founder, Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development

“Readers will learn from bosses who have led important organizations to places worthy of the deep personal commitment of those who have followed them.”

—Dan Beckham, president, The Beckham Company

“
Real Leaders Don't Boss
—a ‘must read.' Ritch has continued his fervent commitment to share with university students all the leadership skills he has mastered throughout his very successful career.”

—Harold Edwards, president and CEO, Limoneira Company

“Most books on leadership are not worth reading because they are long on the theory of leadership, but miss the heart of leadership.
Real Leaders Don't Boss
is an important exception. If you are interested in the ‘whys' and ‘hows' of leadership, get a copy, snag a couple of hours to read it, and you will have the insights you need to be the leader you have always wanted to be.”

—Robert A. Sevier, PhD, senior vice president, Stamats, Inc.

Inspire, Motivate, and Earn Respect
From Employees and
Watch Your Organization Soar

By Ritch K. Eich, PhD

Copyright ©2012 by Ritch K. Eich, PhD

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

R
EAL
L
EADERS
D
ON'T
B
OSS
T
YPESET BY
D
IANA
G
HAZZAWI
Cover design by Rob Johnson, Toprotype
Printed in the U.S.A.

To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on books from Career Press.

The Career Press, Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
www.careerpress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eich, Ritch K.

Real leaders don't boss : inspire, motivate, and earn respect from employees and watch your organization soar / by Ritch K. Eich.

    p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60163-186-2 -- ISBN 978-1-60163-640-9 (ebook)

  1. Leadership. 2. Interpersonal communication. 3. Employee motivation. I. Title.
HD57.7.E373 2012
658.4'092--dc23

2011037718

This book is dedicated to my grandfather, Harvey D. Eich, longtime community leader, teacher, principal, and four-term treasurer of Yuba County, California, and to my grandmother, “Mama Dean.”

To my parents, Wilton and Joanne Eich, who provided an abundance of love and devotion, and by their example instilled in me the importance of service to others.

To my brother, Ron, a natural leader whose scholarship, sense of humor, business acumen, and tireless community leadership from Cal Berkeley to IBM to Mendocino, who, along with his wife, Joan Stiles Eich, and their family, were an inspiration to me.

To my sister, Kathleen Eich McKinnie, her husband “Mac,” and family, for their sincere interest in my career.

To my wife's parents, Edward and Verla Cummings, for their intellectual stimulus and fascinating discussions that I will always treasure.

To my wife's sisters and their husbands, Cecily and Ralph Wood, and Kathy and Fran Larsen, for their enduring friendship and companionship.

And, finally, to my wife, Joan Taylor Cummings Eich, my partner and best friend, and to our sons, Geoff and Ted, and
their spouses, Nancy and Mary, and our grandchildren, Taylor Sun, John Patrick, Carter Jameson, and Caroline Elizabeth, whose continuing encouragement, support, and legion of leadership lessons are invaluable to me.

Thank you!

Many very talented people contributed mightily to this book in countless ways, including Michael Lynn Adams; Larry Ames; Ken Beachler; R. Duke Blackwood (director, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library); Mike Bradbury, JD; David Brandon; Eugene A. Bauer, MD; John Chamberlain; Dr. Jack M. Christ; Mike Craft; Scott Dennis and his reference desk colleagues (University of Michigan Libraries); Rich DeVos; Henry Dubroff; Joe Dulin; Don Dupuis; Harold Edwards; Tim Elson (Buchanan Group); Lisa Evans; RADM Jim Finkelstein, USN (Ret.); Jeff Folks; Steve Grafton; Ross Goldberg; Erik Hagen; Norm Hartman; Mark Helmke; Howard S. “Howdy” Holmes; Bill Kearney; Carol Keochekian; Emily Krueger; U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar; Mike McCurry; Bruce McRoy, JD; Jan Mendenhall; John T. Moore; Mary Olson; Lance Orozco; Maj. Gen. Les Palm, USMC (Ret.); Tony Pals; Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, MD; Marianne Ratcliff; Dean Rennell (president, Wells Fargo, Arizona Region); Jim Rondeau; Richard Schreiner, MD; Lisa Cuevas Shaw; Blaise Simqu; Laura M. Smith; Don Steel; Raymond Sun; John Ullmen; Marlize van Romburgh; Michele von Dambrowski; Patti Waid; Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., PhD; and Mrs. Dolores D. Wharton.

They were unselfish with their time, unvarnished yet always thoughtful in their critiques, passionate about the subject,
demonstrably assertive in urging me to move forward in this undertaking, or contributed in other important ways. I am deeply indebted to all of them and sincerely hope I didn't overlook anyone. If I did, I apologize profusely.

I have been privileged to work with and for many highly successful leaders, as well as several remarkably skilled teams of professionals in healthcare, higher education, the U.S. Navy and Marines, and elsewhere, and humbled by numerous opportunities to observe, meet, and interact with many of the best and brightest in our nation's businesses.

Myriad organizations have published my writing, and I wish to publicly thank several in particular for their support and professional courtesy in this work. They include
Communication Quarterly; Costco Connection
; the
Los Angeles Business Journal
; the
Los Angeles Daily News; Marine Corps Gazette; Miller-McCune Magazine; Modern Healthcare; Pacific Coast Business Times; Payers & Providers; Sales and Service Excellence; Santa Barbara News Press; Stanford University Report; Strategic Health Care Marketing; Thousand Oaks ACORN; Trusteeship Magazine
and
AGB
, the U.S. Naval Institute and
Proceedings
magazine; and the
Ventura County Star
, among many others.

Every author of every book or article I've read on this fascinating topic has taught me something of value. To Dan Beckham, Warren Bennis, Ram Charan, Jim Collins, Chris Denove, Ross Goldberg, John Kotter, James Kouzes, Larry Lauer, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Barry Posner, J.D. Power IV, Charles O'Reilly, Robert Sevier, Robert Sutton, RADM William Thompson USN (Ret.), Noel Tichy, and other distinguished authors, I ask that you keep writing to further deepen our understanding of the leadership skills required in a dynamically changing world.

A very special, heartfelt expression of my deepest gratitude is extended to Ross Goldberg, president of Kevin/Ross Public
Relations, for his enduring friendship, wonderful tutelage, and good judgment. His writing is exemplary, and his wise, savvy, and candid counsel is irreplaceable.

I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the superb team at my publishing house, Career Press, for their faith in me, their expertise, and their willingness to always go the extra mile in coming to my rescue when I required their assistance: Michael Pye, Jeff Piasky, Adam Schwartz, Laurie Kelly-Pye, Kirsten Dalley, and Diana Ghazzawi. And last but hardly least, I take my hat off to my literary colleagues, mentors, and editors par excellence Cynthia Zigmund of Second City Publishing Services, Susan J. Marks, and Laura M. Smith for their invaluable guidance, incomparable knowledge, and literary mastery. They are the best!