The Deep Dive: Financial Lies Leaders Tell Themselves (w/ Carla Titus)

The Deep Dive: Financial Lies Leaders Tell Themselves (w/ Carla Titus)

In this episode of Culture Focused Practice, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper sits down with fractional CFO Carla Titus to unpack the stories leaders tell themselves about money—and why those stories can quietly keep businesses stuck. They explore why growth doesn't always mean financial health, how leaders mistake hope for strategy, and why so many business decisions are driven by anxiety instead of actual data. Carla shares some of the most common financial blind spots she sees, including misunderstanding profitability, scaling businesses before the underlying financial model is healthy, and bringing personal money beliefs into business decisions. Together, they talk about forecasting instead of reacting, using financial data to guide decisions instead of justify them, and why financial decisions never exist in isolation—they're connected to hiring, operations, marketing, leadership, and every other part of running a business. They also discuss when it makes sense to bring in fractional CFO support and how the right financial partner helps leaders make better decisions without taking ownership away from them. If you've ever found yourself saying, "Next month will be better," without a clear plan, this episode is for you. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:35 Money Stories and Anxiety 02:18 Profitability Reality Check 03:32 Data-Driven Change Decisions 05:37 Why Profit Feels Off 08:17 When Finance Gets Complex 13:36 CFO Value and Benchmarks 15:37 Cutting Costs vs. Growing 19:51 Forecasting Over Reacting 21:36 From Reactive to Proactive 22:11 Using Past Data 23:03 Turning Goals into Milestones 26:24 Reality-Check Planning 27:12 Planning as Feedback 28:56 When to Hire a CFO 33:22 Don't Scale Broken Models 34:31 Separating Personal and Business Money Mindsets 37:50 Staying Involved in Your Numbers 38:37 Resources and Wrap Up If you've been making financial decisions from stress, hope, or gut instinct instead of clear data, this is your invitation to pause—not panic. If you're looking for support with the financial side of your business, connect with Carla Titus and learn more about her work: https://www.wealthworthwithin.com/ [https://www.wealthworthwithin.com/] Listen to Carla's podcast: CEO Financial Clarity Corner [https://www.wealthworthwithin.com/ceo-financial-clarity-corner-podcast] And if you're ready to build healthier leadership systems where your financial decisions actually support your vision instead of constantly reacting to it, learn more about working with Tara here: https://www.taravossenkemper.com/work-with-tara [https://www.taravossenkemper.com/work-with-tara]

How Leadership Teams Confuse Reporting with Ownership

In this episode of Culture Focused Practice, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper tackles a leadership team dynamic that quietly creates a whole lot of frustration: confusing reporting with ownership. Tara breaks down why leadership teams can get really good at talking about problems, sharing updates, and making sure everyone feels informed—while somehow ending up in the exact same conversation week after week. She explores the difference between visibility and movement, why awareness alone doesn't create change, and how leadership teams accidentally reward feeling informed instead of creating accountability. Tara also discusses what ownership actually requires: decision-making power, prioritization, a willingness to act before certainty exists, and the ability to learn from mistakes when things don't go according to plan. Using a therapist retention example, she walks through how to identify where ownership actually belongs on an accountability chart and why getting the right metric attached to the right seat can dramatically reduce frustration across the leadership team. If your meetings sometimes feel productive but nothing seems to change afterward, this episode is for you. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and Topic 01:28 Reporting Versus Ownership 02:33 Visibility Without Change 05:57 Meetings That Feel Like Groundhog Day 09:07 Teamwide Ownership Trap 12:29 Who Owns Which Metric 16:05 What Ownership Requires 20:22 Scenario: Retention Stalls 22:10 Assigning the Right Seat 26:13 Wrap Up If your leadership team keeps having the same conversation over and over again, there's a good chance the issue isn't communication—it's ownership. Send this episode to a leadership team member who needs to hear it, then take a look at one recurring issue in your organization and ask a simple question: Who actually owns creating movement here? And if you're ready to build healthier leadership systems, clearer accountability, and a culture that doesn't rely on overfunctioning and guesswork, learn more about working with Tara here: https://www.taravossenkemper.com/work-with-tara [https://www.taravossenkemper.com/work-with-tara]

[Encore!] The Owner's Room: When You Realize Your Business Is Alive (and Not a Machine)

Encore Episode (Originally released  In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper steps into the Owner’s Room — her unfiltered space for talking about the real, raw side of leadership. No polished playbooks. No bulletproof strategies. Just the messy truth of what it feels like to lead when your business isn’t a machine but a living, breathing organism. Through five self-reflective questions and two honest scenarios, Tara explores what happens when you feel bogged down, disconnected, or stagnant in your leadership role. She digs into identity shifts, decision-making, team dynamics, and that gut-punch moment of wondering if the practice you built still feels like yours. This episode is for every leader who’s ever thought, “What the hell am I even doing?” and needed a reminder that leadership isn’t about fixing all the time — sometimes it’s about listening, stepping back, and remembering your practice is alive. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:08 Owner's Room Special: Unfiltered Leadership Talk 01:06 The Two-Part Structure of Owner's Room 01:53 Question 1: Decisions That Feel Alive 05:31 Question 2: Team Behavior Reflection 11:04 Question 3: Leadership Frustrations 13:41 Question 4: Business as a Living Organism 16:08 Question 5: Fixing vs. Listening to Your Business 23:21 Scenario 1: Disconnected Tasks and Vision 31:24 Scenario 2: Leadership and Culture Alignment 41:15 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 👉 Don’t miss future episodes that go deep into leadership, culture, and the messy middle of practice ownership. Subscribe to the podcast now

[Encore!] The Living Practice Framework™ (How I Actually Lead a Group Practice)

Encore Episode (Originally released in August 2025) In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice Podcast, we’re talking about why your group practice is not a machine (no matter how “well-oiled” you think it is) — it’s a living, breathing organism. I introduce the Living Practice Framework™ — my way of blending the structure of EOS with the cultural, leadership, and people pieces EOS doesn’t fully capture. I walk you through the origin story, the five main elements, a real-life scenario of what it looks like in action, and the ridiculously small, doable steps to start implementing it without burning your practice down in the process. Whether you’re running on EOS, winging it, or somewhere in between, this is about nurturing your practice’s ecosystem so you’ve got more clarity, trust, and alignment — and way less “what’s missing?” energy. 00:00 Introduction to the Culture Focused Practice Podcast 00:08 The Concept of a Living Practice 01:08 Agenda Overview 01:33 Origin of the Living Practice Framework 04:51 Five Elements of the Living Practice Framework 10:58 Scenario: Applying the Living Practice Framework 14:28 Steps to Implement the Living Practice Framework 17:34 Recap and Membership Invitation ➡️ Want to actually build a living practice — not just think about it? Join me inside the Inside the Living Practice Membership at www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership [http://www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership]. Twice-monthly live trainings + Q&As, on-demand resources, and a community of group practice leaders doing business with humanity at the center.

You Know You're Avoiding It – Here's What to Do Next

In this episode of Culture Focused Practice, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper explores the hard conversations leaders keep avoiding — and why insight alone doesn’t magically make those conversations easier to have. Tara breaks down the gap between awareness and behavior, the way self-protection lives in both the nervous system and leadership identity, and the stories many leaders unconsciously tell themselves to justify silence. Things like: * “I’m the kind of leader who supports my people.” * “I don’t want to make this about me.” * “I don’t know if I’m reading this right yet.” She also talks about how avoidance slowly shifts standards over time, why insight without action often turns into shame, and what it actually looks like to approach difficult conversations with more honesty, clarity, and care — without making the conversation mean something catastrophic about who you are as a leader. Timestamps: 00:00 Avoided Conversations Intro 01:14 Awareness Isn’t Enough 01:42 Knowing vs. Doing 02:42 When Insight Turns Into Shame 04:47 Nervous System Protection 06:35 Identity Threats and Leadership Stories 08:35 “I Support My People” 11:07 “I Don’t Want to Make It About Me” 13:02 “I Don’t Know If I’m Reading This Right” 17:37 What To Do Differently 17:48 Name The Story Early 18:34 Separate Identity From Outcome 20:59 Lower The Bar For Certainty 22:11 Recap If this episode hit a little too close to home, there’s probably a conversation you already know you need to have. Send this episode to another leader who’s been circling the same hard conversation for weeks (or months). And if you want support building a healthier culture, stronger systems, and leadership practices that don’t rely on avoidance and overfunctioning, learn more about working with Tara here: https://www.taravossenkemper.com/work-with-tara