| Somebody has to do these things. They can be done more or less well. This has a big impact on your company's success and on the happiness of your team. Those are the only good reasons to endure the hardships. You're coming to understand what executives do and how that's necessary in a company, at least until humans find better ways of working together. This isn't something you really see clearly when you're the CEO because you're above the fray. And this isn't something you see when you're an individual contributor if the executive of your group is doing his or her job well. People are paid in part based on how poorly a job can be done. The CTO is a role where real catastrophes are possible. It's a job the rest of the business often doesn't understand well, managing a team the rest of the business understands even more poorly. It's easy for bad choices to do a lot of damage to a company over a long period. If you're the rare individual who can bridge both worlds and do this job well, then it's likely your company and your team won't find anyone who can do this better. And if they have to look, it's quite possible they'll find someone who does it a lot worse, makes your team miserable, and drives the company into the ground. The reason to do the job is to make the company successful and to make the lives of those on your team better. If you believe enough in the company's mission, the other executives, and your team, then you'll figure out the rest. Humans can endure a lot of hardship if it fits within some context we find worthy. It's not an easy job. But if it's a worthy cause then carry on. |