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The Right Altitude

What Nobody Tells You About Being A Leader

12 chapters. 48 tools. Built from 6,000+ hours of executive coaching with more than 1,000 leaders. This is the book for the role nobody prepared you for.

FREE TOOLKIT

DON EASH, MCC, ACTC

Every promotion resets the game.
The thing that got you here
is now the thing that's holding you back.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The leadership book that coaches the way you wish someone had coached you.

You got promoted. You proved yourself. And now you’re doing work that doesn’t match the role you’re in — solving problems your team should own, avoiding conversations that would change everything, and wondering why the thing that used to work doesn’t anymore.

The Right Altitude is built from real coaching conversations with senior leaders at companies like Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and AT&T. It’s not theory. It’s the pattern — the same pattern that shows up in every leader who gets promoted past the point where their old playbook works.

12 Chapters

Each one tackles a specific leadership trap — imposter syndrome, the hard conversations, managing up, burnout, and the patterns nobody warned you about.

48 Named Tools

Every chapter gives you four tools you can use this week. Not frameworks to study. Tools to pick up and use.

Real Stories

Composite characters drawn from thousands of coaching hours. You’ll recognize yourself in at least three of them.

Mirror Questions

Every chapter closes with questions — no answers. Because the person who needs to answer them is you.

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WHAT LEADERS ARE SAYING

From the people who've done the work.

  • "I reached the CIO role in part because Don Eash asked me the right hard questions at the right moments — first as my leader, then as my coach. The Right Altitude is those questions in book form. For any leader wondering why the higher they climb the harder it gets, Don has the answer. And unlike most leadership books, he also has the practical tools to do something about it."

    Paulette Haedo
    Chief Information Officer, Azamara

  • "Don Eash has a rare ability to cut through the noise and get to what actually matters. The Right Altitude captures that — real patterns, real tools, and the kind of honest perspective that changes how you lead. I wish I'd had this book years ago."

    Han Lange
    Sr. Director of Global Supply Chain & Contract Manufacturing, Shockwave Medical

  • "The Right Altitude puts language to something Don taught me long ago: that the skills that build your career are not always the ones that will sustain it. Don has sat in the rooms his clients are sitting in. That lived experience — across 30 years in executive leadership and thousands of hours coaching leaders at every level — is what makes this book different. It's not theory. It's field-tested wisdom I've seen in action."

    Scott Lobaugh
    Executive Vice President, Admissions, SSA Group

  • "Don's years of experience as a leader and coach shine through. He doesn't just take a problem or conversation at face value, but completely turns it on its head to evaluate all angles to help support not only immediate understanding and next steps, but a holistic learning and resolution to what might be happening for his coachee. These insights and lessons are invaluable!"

    Ashley Paczolt
    Senior Technology Leader

  • "The Right Altitude is a masterclass in modern leadership. Having worked with Don for nearly eight months during a pivotal transition in my career, I experienced firsthand his ability to gently and persistently dismantle the mindsets that limit our potential. This book perfectly captures his transformative approach to overcoming imposter syndrome and burnout, offering a clear roadmap for any leader looking to operate at their highest level."

    Blessing Nnachi
    Consulting Delivery Leader, Google Cloud Consulting

  • "Don has a rare gift, and this book brings it to life. Drawing on decades of experience, he shares the scenarios and patterns he has seen again and again. With both courage and compassion, he holds up the mirror to help us see how we're really showing up, then hands us the practical tools to build on what's working and change what isn't."

    Cristin Hernandez
    Independent Consultant, Product Delivery & Operations

  • "Don's book came to me at exactly the right point in my career. As I shift from being a doer to leading others, this book has helped me rethink how I delegate, build trust, and develop my team. It's simple, practical, and incredibly relatable — I saw my own challenges reflected in every chapter. The concept of 'listening to develop, not just to fix' alone has already changed how I lead. If you're ready to elevate your leadership and keep climbing, this book is a must-read."

    Matt Hoenstine
    Director of Product Development, Universal Destinations & Experiences

  • "Having been coached by Don Eash for over two years, I can say The Right Altitude delivers the same clarity, depth, and disciplined thinking that defines his coaching. He cuts through the noise, brings hidden leadership challenges into focus, and turns them into practical next steps you can apply immediately. Those serious about stepping into higher levels of leadership will find his guidance both genuinely grounded and refreshingly useful."

    Adam Shreve
    Director of Research, Seed of Life Labs

Part I — The INNER GAME

The Altitude Problem

Where your time is actually going — and why it doesn't match your role.

PART I - THE Inner game

The Dentist Trap

The more they need you, the less you're leading.

Part III — The organizational Game

Managing Up
Without Selling Out

Your work doesn't speak for itself. Not at this level.

Part IV — The Long Game

When To Stay
And When To Go

The role changed. The question is whether this is still the right place to do your best work.

Twelve chapters. Four parts. One altitude shift.

Part I — The INNER GAME

The Imposter in the Room

The role changed. Your self-concept didn't.

Part II — LEADING OTHERS

The Conversation
You're Avoiding

Every one you're avoiding has a cost.

Part III — The ORGanizational GAME

Executive Presence
Is Not What You Think

The gap between what you intend and what you transmit.

Part IV — The Long Game

The Burnout
You Don't See Coming

You manage time. You don't manage energy. And the debt is compounding.

INSIDE THE BOOK

Part I — The INNER GAME

The Stories You're Telling Yourself

Your narrative is running your decisions. Time to check it.

Part II — LEADING OTHERS

Developing People
Without Doing Their Job

Your job isn't to solve their problems.

Part III — The organizational GAME

Surviving The Reorg

Control, influence, release. Most leaders spend energy in the wrong circle.

Part IV — The Long Game

Defining Your Own
Good Enough

Stop chasing someone else's definition.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Eash

MCC, ACTC

30+ years in executive leadership at Disney, Universal, and Gateway Ticketing Systems.

Don holds the Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation — held by fewer than 4% of coaches worldwide — and the Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) designation. He is the founder of Don Eash Coaching and Don Eash Press.

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Four tools from the book. Each one takes less than ten minutes.

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GO DEEPER

The Altitude Reset

12 video modules built from the same work behind the book. Each one introduces a leadership tool, gives you a worksheet to apply it, and closes with a mirror question designed to surface what's actually going on.

Work through them in order. Do the worksheets. The gap between who you are and who the role needs you to be — that's the work.

Explore the course →

ONLINE COURSE

$399

12 Modules · Worksheets · Mirror Questions

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