Culture Isn’t a Vibe. It’s a System. (And You’re Probably Building It Wrong)
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.
If you’re a group practice leader relying on birthday emails and quarterly retreats to build culture, I’m here to lovingly (and bluntly) say: that’s not it.
In my latest Culture Focused Practice podcast episode, I walk through why culture needs to be approached strategically, just like your clinical systems or financial processes. You wouldn’t let your billing structure be guided by “vibes,” right? Same goes for your culture.
Here’s a taste of what we get wrong:
Thinking culture = perks. (Snacks are nice. They don’t build trust.)
Avoiding hard conversations because we want to keep morale high. (Spoiler: that erodes morale faster than anything.)
Writing down values once and never revisiting them. (If you can’t recall your values without looking, your team doesn’t stand a chance.)
Culture isn’t set-it-and-forget-it. It’s the result of what you reward, what you correct, what you ignore, and what you model—every single day.
In the episode, I break down how to turn culture into a system by embedding it into:
Your hiring and onboarding practices
Your feedback and accountability structures
Your leadership modeling (because people notice when your words and actions don’t line up)
And if your culture feels a little off right now? That’s normal. We talk about how to fix cultural drift—through values audits, team feedback, systems mapping, and more. None of it requires a complete overhaul, but it does require your leadership.
If this resonates (and if you’re tired of culture feeling like an afterthought), there’s more where this came from.
👉 Join the membership: www.taravossenkemper.com/the-membership
This is where we roll up our sleeves and turn “good intentions” into aligned, sustainable culture systems. No fluff. No vibes-only strategies. Just real tools, straight talk, and systems that work.
About the Author
Dr. Tara Vossenkemper is a gently-candid consultant who’s been in the trenches of group practice ownership since 2017. With a hearty blend of depth, irreverence, and a solid dash of humor (or so she hopes), Tara helps practice owners navigate the can-be-messy process of hiring, culture-building, vision generating, people-y issues, and all the other things that keep you up at night. When she’s not consulting, she’s probably wrangling her animals or homeschooling her kids—because why not add more chaos to the mix?
Ready to dive deeper into practice culture? Join the membership and get access to the tools and insights that make thriving, sustainable practices more than just a pipe dream.
