Delegation Disasters & Hiring Heartbreaks

Author: Dr. Colleen Long, Dr. Jennifer Politis, and Erika Bugaj, LICSW
Published: Tue 16 Sep 2025
Episode Link: https://off-the-chair.captivate.fm/episode/delegation-disasters-hiring-heartbreaks

When it comes to running a therapist business, nothing derails growth faster than the wrong hire. In this episode, we get real about the delegation problems, the bad hires, and the lessons that cost us time, money, and plenty of sleep. From missed calls to admin chaos to leaders who looked great on paper but wrecked the culture, we’re unpacking the true cost of bad hires and how to recover when your group private practice takes a hit.

We’ve lived these mistakes, and we want you to skip the heartbreak by learning from our scars.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

The red flags we ignored when bringing on new team members - and how those bad hires nearly broke our practices.
Why therapists confuse delegation with abdication, and how those delegation problems set us up for failure.
The hidden cost of bad hires that goes beyond payroll and eats away at culture, client care, and reputation.
How running a therapist business forces you to balance empathy with accountability, and why that tension is so hard to navigate.
Practical systems that help protect a group private practice from repeating these hiring heartbreaks.

If you’ve ever felt that pit in your stomach about a staff member, this episode will make you nod in painful agreement - and give you tools to act with more confidence. Tune in and let’s make the hard parts of leading a therapist business a little easier together.

Listen to the full episode now and learn how to stop repeating the same hiring mistakes in your group private practice.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Podcast Website: www.offthechair.com

Colleen Long, Psy.D.

Website: www.claritypsychologicaltesting.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC

Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com

Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj

TikTok: @wellnesscounseling

LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis