Let’s talk about the moment every group practice owner dreads: when a seemingly perfect hire turns out to be anything but.

There comes a moment in the hiring process when even the most intentional leaders start to feel the itch. You’ve been interviewing for weeks, maybe months. The calendar’s packed, your team’s stretched, and the only people applying are... not it. And somewhere in that headspace, a sneaky little question starts to whisper: “Well... can they do the job?”

There’s this uniquely frustrating moment in leadership—when your team is hitting their targets, following protocols, and “doing their jobs”… but something still doesn’t sit right. It’s not chaos. It’s not open defiance. It’s just off.

Let’s just go ahead and say it: culture is not a vibe. I get it. Culture feels like something—it’s the mood in the room, the morale, the energy. But that feeling? It comes from somewhere. It’s the end result of a system running in the background.

Leading a group therapy practice isn’t just about managing the business side of things — it’s about navigating the deeply human work of supporting your team, making decisions with limited data, and staying aligned with your values even when it’s uncomfortable.

Let’s talk about something most leaders don’t like to admit: You’re not stuck because you don’t know what to say. You’re stuck because you’re avoiding how it’s going to feel.

Let’s get real: conflict avoidance is one of the sneakiest leadership habits out there—and it’s doing way more damage than you think. If you’ve ever told yourself you were “just keeping the peace” by sidestepping a hard conversation, let me lovingly call bullshit on that.

Let’s just say it: stillness is weirdly loud.

You wrap up a launch. You finish onboarding new team members. You hit your quarterly goals. Logically, things should feel good. But instead? There’s a restless buzz under your skin. You feel agitated. Uneasy. Your brain’s spinning with ideas for what to fix next — even if nothing’s broken.