[kaib]

Extrapolating from your use of "they" and the implied "us" I'm guessing that you haven't worked in the role of a CEO yourself. Taking that responsibility for a few years might not increase your respect for individuals but it will increase your respect for the difficulty of the job.

[ryanobjc]

I think my problem doesn't have to do with how hard the job is or not, but with the quality and honesty of the communications.

A lot of the startup CEOs I have seen tend to have a "this is my company" sort of feeling. But by expressing that feeling to their employees, they crowd their employee's feelings in this regard. Everyone who works for a startup wants to feel like they OWN the company. That's why you join one. For that feeling of ownership.

But when a CEO talks with these "sole ownership" feelings, people GET it. Also if a CEO uses evasive or trivializing language or behavior about the state of the company, people's internal sense of dissonance causes a rift of trust AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME.

I have seen this pattern play out a few times as the "non CEO" position. Yeah it's a hard job, but if you didn't want the challenge of a lifetime, why take the job?