I’m almost certain there are things you simply cannot understand until you are no longer an employee, no longer a manager, but the CEO, the owner, the guy who actually has to make sure the bank account has cash in it. The Pastor. The Shepherd. The Landlord. The king, if you will.
It really doesn’t matter how attached to the organization or the country you are, how much you love the mission, the people, the service you provide, if you aren’t the guy who has to make sure you don’t run a deficit, the guy who has to make sure your navy isn’t destroyed, the guy who has to answer to congress if the army is defeated time after time, the guy who has to answer to the bankers if the movie doesn’t make a profit..
..you just don’t really know.
I’ve spent the last 24 hours looking at spreadsheets, trying to get answers, and there is NO ONE I can ask for a raise, other than my customers.
Until you are there, you really can’t judge your boss. You have NO IDEA what he is going through.