Job listings, especially at start-ups, frequently appear to be in search of “a passionate team player to take this rocketship to the moon,” or whatever.

Even if the job is at a company with a mission that aligns with your values (which is a great way to choose a job), be cautious that you aren’t taking the job for the wrong reasons, because the outcome could be burnout, or worse.

Have you ever heard the advice that you shouldn’t buy a combination printer/copier/fax machine because even though it can do all three things it won’t be very good at any of them?

Well, few people need a fax machine anymore so perhaps that point is moot, but when it comes to our jobs, it becomes harder to excel in any one area of skill as the number of areas you’re responsible for increases.

I almost can’t believe it, but it’s still happening. It’s the year 2020 and business leaders are still saying things like “I need one or two senior Java resources.”

This word, “resources,” when used to refer to people, is damaging to your organization. There are very few cases where people working on a project are fungible assets in all practicality, but even in those cases, not recognizing them as human beings is insulting at best.

In the early ’00s, I worked for a start-up in the education technology space. It isn’t important what we did (and the company no longer exists), but my experiences there shaped my view of what management should be like.

The worst manager

Early on, there were only about six of us: the founder and president, whom I’ll call “Paul;” the CEO, whom I’ll call “Bill;” and four tech folks including me. Paul had hired Bill to manage the operations of the business so that he could, ostensibly, focus on the sales and customer relations.

Think of a time when you had a challenge in front of you that you were anxious or uncertain about.

Now think of one of those times when someonea parent, a manager, a coach, a teachersaid, “You’ve got this.”

How did that make you feel? Probably pretty good, right? It feels good when someone shows you that they believe in you. Especially when that person also knows how difficult the challenge is for you.