Have you ever found yourself thinking, "This job just isn’t what I thought it would be?" Maybe you watched your leadership team make a decision that was supposed to help staff–and then you were shocked to see people’s negative reaction. Or, perhaps you were one of the staff members who felt deeply disappointed and confused by those decisions–wondering how these decisions are so misaligned with the organization you thought you were working for. In many cases, these experiences are the result of an invisible, unmet agreement: the psychological contract.

Even in nonprofit organizations, where people are typically seen as caring and compassionate, toxic behaviors of blaming and scapegoating can easily fester. When we become deeply passionate about our work and we’re faced with high demands, mounting pressure, and needs to perform well in an uncertain landscape, people will naturally start to point fingers when things slip through the cracks. But in times like these, our nonprofit workplaces need not mirror the divisiveness we see in the world. What we need is to come together and learn how to shift from blame to shared accountability.