You would not be working at a nonprofit if there was not a passion for your mission that compensated for the sacrifices in salary and other benefits you could probably earn in the commercial world. That says something about the kind of people we are. Most of us are:
* Trusting. We cannot imagine that there might be bad people in our idealized world;
* Optimistic. How could we survive if we did not believe we really could make a difference?
* Sympathetic. We are mostly attracted to needy causes or people;
* Non-confrontational. We mostly like consensus and seek agreement.
* Collaborative. Our comfort level is with working as a team rather than going it alone.
These are admirable and useful qualities to have in the nonprofit world. However, there are other people in your industry who do not fit this description. They operate more like they were in competition with everyone. Instead of trusting, they are wary. Instead of being optimistic, they are fearful of failure. Instead of being sympathetic, they are self-promoting. Instead of being non-confrontational, they fiercely stake out and defend their turf. Instead of being...