Culture Focused Practice

In this Owner’s Room special of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper sits down with Nicole Brewer, founder of Rethink Therapy and Rethink Your Practice. This one’s a no-polish, no-bullshit convo about what leadership really looks like when you’re deep in it — when the systems are built but the people stuff is still messy, emotional, and real.

Nicole drops gold on everything from letting people coast out of fear, to the gut-punch moments of replacing someone on your so-called “dream team.” Together, they explore the tension between clarity and kindness, building out decision-making frameworks, confronting leadership missteps, and navigating emotionally raw but necessary conversations — all through the lens of running a healthy group practice.

Whether you’re still clinging to your first admin hire or reworking your leadership team for the fifth time, this episode gives you the real talk you need.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to the Culture Focused Practice Podcast
00:52 Meet Nicole Brewer: Founder of Rethink Therapy
02:16 Diving into the Owner's Room
03:08 Question 1: Handling Misalignment and Fear of Losing Staff
05:23 The Evolution of Leadership and Practice Ownership
07:20 The Importance of Authentic Conversations
12:15 Using Data and Metrics for Performance Evaluation
20:39 Question 2: Balancing Niceness and Leadership
32:43 Question 3: Fear of Fallout in Leadership Decisions
39:01 Addressing Employee Needs and Leadership Support
40:06 Making Tough Decisions in Leadership
41:14 Understanding and Communicating Capacity
48:26 Frameworks for Decision Making
51:15 Implementing EOS and Team Communication
55:11 Handling Difficult Conversations with Employees
01:10:05 Conclusion and Podcast Wrap-Up

🎙️ If this episode hit home (or gut-punched you a little), come join us inside the membership: www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership — your space for real conversations, sustainable leadership, and culture that actually works.

Find Nicole here!

Consulting (Rethink Your Practice): www.rethinkyourpractice.com

Her Group Practice (Rethink Therapy): www.rethinktherapynv.com

In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, I’m coming in swinging at one of the most common traps leaders fall into: obsessing over scripts instead of showing up with actual presence.

If you’ve ever stalled a hard conversation trying to get the words just right, this one’s for you. We unpack why scripting becomes a crutch, what actually makes your hard convos land (hint: it’s not phrasing), and how to show up clear, grounded, and human. 

This is about ditching the safety blanket and building real trust instead.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Episode Teaser
00:14 The Real Issue: Presence Over Scripts
01:34 Agenda Overview
01:57 Script Obsession: Seeking Control
06:19 What Matters in Tough Conversations
15:58 Common Script Failures
18:58 Effective Preparation Without Overkill
25:35 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Ready to stop performing leadership and start living it? Join us inside the membership: www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership

In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, I’m coming in hot with one of the most damaging leadership myths out there: that avoiding conflict is the same as keeping the peace. Spoiler alert—it’s not.

Avoiding hard conversations might feel safe in the short term, but it’s quietly eroding your culture, your clarity, and your credibility. This episode dives into the real cost of conflict avoidance (it’s higher than you think) and breaks down exactly how to lead through the discomfort instead of around it. From people-pleasing habits to late-stage resentment spirals, I’m naming it all. 

If you’ve ever found yourself staying silent to keep things “smooth,” this one’s for you.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Myth Busting
01:45 Why You Avoid Conflict
09:14 The Hidden Costs of Avoidance
14:12 Signs of Avoidance
19:08 Leading Through Conflict
31:51 Conclusion and Call to Action

Ready to lead with clarity and courage? Join us inside the membership at www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership

Welcome to the Culture Focused Practice podcast. In this Owner’s Room episode, I’m joined by my very first guest — Dr. Jeremy Sharp — for a beautifully messy conversation about what happens after you slow down. You know that moment when the chaos stops and you should be feeling calm, but instead your brain starts spiraling with “Why am I not doing more?” Yep, that one.

Jeremy and I dive into what it really feels like to pause after a season of intensity, how our identities get tangled in achievement, and why stillness can feel more like a threat than a relief. We get honest about inbox avoidance, people-pleasing patterns, right-sizing big practices, and the weird cocktail of grief, restlessness, and relief that shows up in the quiet.

If you’ve ever found yourself fixing things that aren’t broken, rewriting to-do lists just to feel productive, or sprinting headfirst into the next big thing because being still is just... too much? This one’s for you.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:52 Discussing the Owner's Room Concept
02:05 Emotional Whiplash of Slowing Down
02:47 Agenda and First Question
03:17 Falling Behind: Personal Reflections
06:21 Inbox Management and Delegation
07:35 Right-Sizing the Practice
12:39 Struggles with Stillness and Productivity
15:31 Personality Traits and Family Influence
20:45 Expectations and Identity
31:35 The Fun of Enneagram
31:54 Achievement and Identity
34:57 The Struggle with Rest and Balance
36:08 The Concept of Time and ADHD
41:24 Visionary and Integrator Roles
42:47 Addressing Agitation in Stillness
53:09 The Beauty of Grief and Loss
57:33 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

If this kind of honest, gritty, emotionally-grounded leadership convo is your jam, join us at Inside the Living Practice, where we keep digging into the stuff that actually matters.
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Stay in touch with Dr. Jeremy Sharp or his offerings!

• The Testing Psychologist Podcast (podcast and consulting)
• Reverb (ai-report writing for psychologists)

In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper wraps up the two-part deep dive into rest, integration, and the quiet (but hard) work of leadership.

This episode challenges the assumption that rest is passive, arguing instead that integration is one of the most demanding—and crucial—skills in leadership. It’s not a gap between doing. It’s a strategy for making your systems, your team, and your brain actually catch up with your vision.

Tara walks through how to operationalize integration inside a group practice using tools like rock reviews, quarterly rhythms, clarity breaks, and leadership debriefs. She unpacks the psychology behind leaders who struggle with stillness, offers mindset reframes to stop conflating motion with relevance, and shares tangible practices that support sustainable leadership.

This isn’t the flashy stuff, and no one’s giving out gold stars for a hold month—but it’s the kind of quiet recalibration that keeps your practice from spiraling.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
01:37 Understanding Integration
05:01 Operationalizing Integration in Practice
11:56 Embedding Integration into Leadership
17:25 Making Integration Safe for Your Team
23:57 Mindset Pairings for Leaders
26:57 Anchor Practices for Integration
29:56 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

If this episode resonates, come join us Inside the Living Practice. It's where we dig into the culture, systems, and leadership rhythms that actually make group practice sustainable—without burning you out in the process.
👉 www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership

In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice Podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper unpacks the gut-punch of realizing that rest doesn’t mean you’ve stopped growing. 

It just means you’re in integration mode — and, spoiler alert, integration might be the hardest damn thing you do as a leader. We dive into why rest feels so itchy, what cultural narratives are feeding your resistance, and the sneaky emotional labor no one talks about when the hustle stops. 

You’ll get tangible signs that you’re resisting rest (even when you think you’re just “strategizing”), and Tara ends with three prompts to help you unravel your weird-ass relationship with rest.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
01:32 Cultural Narratives Around Rest
05:39 Why Integration Feels Uncomfortable
11:16 The Hidden Emotional Labor of Integration
16:23 Signs You Are Resisting Rest
21:48 Reflection Prompts and Conclusion

👉 Want more of this real talk? Join Inside the Living Practice, our membership community where we explore the messy, brilliant, human side of leadership and actually do something with it. www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership

In this Owner’s Room episode of the Culture Focused Practice Podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper digs into what it feels like—and what it means—to realize you’re the bottleneck in your own business. She explores the emotional weight and operational impact of being the one who unintentionally slows everything down, despite good intentions and strong systems.

Through five reflective questions and one real-world scenario, Dr. Tara walks through why bottlenecking happens, how to spot it in yourself, and what’s actually required to start letting go. From the tension of high standards to the identity hit that comes with releasing control, this episode offers a grounded, honest take on a leadership struggle every practice owner faces (and often hides).

If you’ve ever felt like you are what’s in the way, this one’s for you.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
00:07 Understanding the Bottleneck
01:16 Agenda and Structure of the Episode
01:43 Question 1: Justifying Bottlenecking
07:31 Question 2: Fear of Losing Control
10:11 Question 3: High Standards vs. Micromanagement
12:56 Question 4: Being Essential to Every Outcome
16:16 Question 5: Identity and Problem Solving
21:17 Scenario Analysis: Letting Go
28:22 Conclusion and Call for Feedback

-> Learn more about working with Tara: www.taravossenkemper.com

In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper calls out the top myths that group practice owners believe about EOS—and why those misconceptions are costing you more than you think. 

She breaks down why EOS is not just for large companies, why “we already do that” is a red flag, and why the system isn’t nearly as rigid as you think. She also shares what EOS actually requires to work well—spoiler: it’s not 10 hours a week or corporate-speak meetings, but it is consistency, feedback, and the willingness to evolve.

Whether you’re EOS-curious or knee-deep in a half-implementation, this episode will help you clear the fog and actually get the damn traction you’ve been craving.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to the Culture Focused Practice Podcast
00:38 Common Misconceptions About EOS
02:40 Myth 1: EOS is Just for Big Companies
04:28 Myth 2: We Already Do That
07:39 Myth 3: EOS is Too Rigid or Robotic
10:55 What EOS Actually Requires
13:46 Final Thoughts and Mastermind Announcement

📣 The EOS Mastermind is now live. If you're ready to implement EOS for real in a way that fits your leadership style and your practice, this is your invite. Six months. Biweekly meetings. Real structure. Real results.
→ www.taravossenkemper.com/eos-mastermind

If you're not sure it's the right fit, email me at [email protected] and let's talk it out.

EOS isn’t just a checklist you halfheartedly check off—it’s a rhythm. A way of operating. A structure that makes space for actual leadership and sustainable sanity.

In this episode, we’re digging into what it really looks like when EOS is working inside your group practice. (Spoiler: it's not about having a pretty L10 doc saved in Google Drive.) I break down the felt and functional signs that show you’re not just implementing—you’re actually integrating.

I also cover some of the most common traps people fall into when they think they’re doing EOS but are really just cosplaying structure.

If you’ve ever wondered “Is this EOS thing even doing anything?”, this one's for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Overview
00:16 Understanding EOS: Beyond the Checklist
01:14 Signs EOS is Working in Your Practice
09:37 What Doesn't Count as Evidence of EOS Success
16:34 Real Signs from Real Practices
22:06 Emotional and Operational Shifts with EOS
23:58 Conclusion and Mastermind Invitation

📣 EOS Mastermind is live (like now-now):
If this episode hit a nerve, it’s probably time. Join the 6-month EOS Mastermind and implement the structure your practice actually needs.
→ www.taravossenkemper.com/eos-mastermind

Not sure if it’s the right fit? Email me: [email protected]. We’ll talk through it—no pressure, just clarity.

In this special Owner’s Room episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper cracks open the weird liminal space where everything in your business is running smoothly—and you still feel off. You’ve implemented EOS. Your team’s solid. Systems are humming. And yet… the spark? Nowhere to be found.

Tara riffs candidly on her own experience navigating the emotional terrain of clarity without momentum, what it means when you’re craving something new even though nothing is “wrong,” and why feeling stuck doesn’t necessarily mean something’s broken. She explores the difference between clarity and certainty, how momentum plays into leadership identity, and what to do when you’re tempted to blow it all up just for the sake of feeling something again.

This one’s for the builders, the founders, the visionaries who hit the lull after the launch. You’re not alone, and this episode is your permission slip to name what’s happening out loud.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to the Culture Focused Practice Podcast
00:10 Understanding the Owner's Room Special
01:06 The Concept of Clarity and Feeling Stuck
02:11 Exploring Personal Clarity
04:44 Challenges of Clarity in Business Ownership
09:04 Relationship with Momentum
11:24 Self-Sabotage and Well-Oiled Systems
13:46 Clarity vs. Certainty
17:00 Scenario Discussion: Feeling Restless Despite Success
23:54 Conclusion and Membership Invitation

Ready for a space that supports your next season of leadership?
Join Inside the Living Practice—a community and resource hub for practice owners who are building culture-forward, values-aligned businesses. Monthly trainings, Q&As, tools, and the real conversations in between: www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership