Rest ≠ Stagnation: Why Integration is the Hardest Work You’ll Do (Part 2)

Culture Focused Practice

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