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You can build a group practice with a full team and still feel like nothing runs without you. That’s the trap this episode is about.
Daniel opens by sharing something that came up on a recent family vacation: his wife, who leads a team of 5 clinicians, found herself fielding texts and questions, at times, instead of being present. It’s a familiar pattern for a lot of practice owners, and Brittany Schank knows it well.
Brittany is the owner of Solace Counseling, a 13-clinician group practice in Fargo, North Dakota. She’s also a mom of 4, a nearly 20-year member of the Air National Guard, and runs the business alongside her husband, who serves as COO. Most recently, she built a software app called I’m Here to solve a scheduling problem inside her own practice.
In this conversation, Brittany talks about why being needed feels good long before it starts costing you, and the real systems she put in place to change it.
This Episode Answers…
Why do practice owners end up as the bottleneck by default?
Brittany says it starts as a simple fact of ownership: you’re the one taking on the risk, so you’re the one who ends up making the calls.
But most of what comes to a practice owner isn’t actually a decision only they can make. It’s a mad client, an admin question, an office thermostat complaint.
Brittany draws a clear line between true owner-level decisions (a fire, a lawsuit, a subpoena) and everything else that’s been routed to the owner out of habit.
What made Brittany realize she needed to change this?
She noticed she’d built an identity around being the one with the answers. Some of those questions had good answers.
But a lot of them didn’t, and Brittany says those decisions started weighing on her in a way that pushed her toward burnout and resentment.
The turning point came when she realized being needed constantly wasn’t proof she was doing a good job. It was proof too many roads led back to her.
What are the practical steps to build a team of therapists that doesn’t need to come to you for everything?
Brittany walks through the exact process. It started small: she created a “break room committee” and a “fun committee,” low-stakes ways to hand off decisions and see who actually wanted ownership.
From there, she built a clinical lead structure, and eventually a second lead, so she now oversees 2 leads instead of 13 clinicians directly. Before she leaves for vacation, she has a direct conversation about what should come to her (subpoenas, CPS reports, a struggling clinician) and what shouldn’t.
She also had to get comfortable letting people make decisions she wouldn’t have made herself, and not stepping back in to override them.
Other Key Takeaways
- Some tasks that feel draining to you as the owner are genuinely fulfilling to someone else on your team. Brittany’s admin team volunteered, unpaid, to come in on a day off and make TikToks for the practice.
- Changing your compensation model and changing how often people come to you with problems are connected. Fewer defaults to the owner starts with clearer structure everywhere, not just clinically.
- Health of the business isn’t the same as direct access to you. Brittany reframes it as clarity: does your team know what to do in a given situation without needing you?
- Delegating well means being clear about the few things you actually care about (a budget, a deadline) and genuinely staying out of the rest.
- The transition from “everything goes to the owner” to “clinical leads handle it” takes real time to teach. Brittany describes ongoing, specific coaching moments even years into the process, not a one-time system rollout.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode 180. My 5 Biggest Financial Mistakes as a $1.5M Group Practice Owner with Brittany Schank
- I’m Here! Client Check-In App
- Solace Counseling
- Who Not How by Dan Sullivan (mentioned by Daniel)
- Email Brittany: info@solacecodirectory.com
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This Episode Is Brought To You By The Following Sponsors:
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About Brittany Schank
Brittany Schank, MS, LCSW, is the Owner and CEO of Solace Counseling, a multi-clinician counseling practice in North Dakota. In addition to leading a seven-figure group practice, Brittany has served nearly 20 years in the Air National Guard, works alongside her husband as COO, and is raising four children.
Most recently, she founded I’m Here, a software company created to solve a real-world operational challenge she experienced within her own practice. Brittany is passionate about leadership, entrepreneurship, systems, and helping business owners grow without losing sight of what matters most.
About Daniel Fava
Daniel Fava is the owner and founder of Private Practice Elevation, a website and SEO agency focused on helping private practice owners create websites that increase their online visibility and attract more clients. Private Practice Elevation offers web design services, SEO (search engine optimization), and WordPress support to help private practice owners grow their businesses through online marketing.
Daniel lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife Liz, and two energetic boys. When he’s not working he enjoys hiking by the river, watching hockey, and enjoying a dram of bourbon.
