In this episode of the Culture Focused Practice podcast, Dr. Tara Vossenkemper gets real about the gut-wrenching moment when a hire you thought was perfect turns out to be a total mismatch. Through a candid, question-based reflection, she walks through two hiring situations — one tangled up in attachment wounds and the other tanked by her absence from the process.
Dr. Tara explores five key questions, offering up lessons learned, personal accountability, and a brutally honest look at what happens when the paper-perfect candidate doesn’t pan out in real life. From team impact to hiring process flaws, this is a behind-the-scenes look at what leadership actually looks like when things get messy.
She also tackles a scenario: what do you do when someone starts missing deadlines and causing team tension within two weeks of being hired? (Spoiler: document everything, move fast, and trust your process.)
This is an Owner’s Room episode, which means it’s raw, unscripted, and fully grounded in real-time leadership tension.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to The Owner's Room
00:32 The Perfect Hire Gone Wrong
01:30 Question 1: What Made Them Seem Perfect?
05:56 Question 2: Ignoring Gut Feelings
07:53 Question 3: Post-Onboarding Changes
13:58 Question 4: Team Impact
16:10 Question 5: Lessons Learned
19:05 Scenario: Stellar Resume, Poor Performance
24:46 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
👉 Got a real-life hiring or leadership scenario you want Dr. Tara to unpack? Submit it via the contact form at www.taravossenkemper.com — it might just be featured in an upcoming episode.