The Grip Problem: What White-Knuckling Your Practice Is Really Costing You – A Special Snack Episode, EP 258
Do you ever feel like you're white-knuckling your way through practice ownership — doing everything yourself, holding every thread, trusting no one quite as much as you trust yourself? If so, this SNACK episode is for you. In this candid, unscripted conversation, Miranda Dorta turns the mic on Tracy Cherpeski to explore one of the most persistent and costly patterns she sees in healthcare practice owners: the grip.
This isn't about delegation tactics or time management systems. It's about something deeper — the way high-achieving clinicians can quietly keep their practices (and their teams) from reaching full potential by holding on too tightly. Tracy draws on over 15 years of coaching experience, and her own personal reckoning with surrender, to unpack why this pattern is so common, why it's so hard to see in yourself, and what actually shifts when you finally let go.
If you're a practice owner who wants sustainable growth without burnout, this conversation will give you both the language and the permission to loosen your grip.
Key Takeaways
The grip has a real financial cost. White-knuckling your practice doesn't just wear you out — it quietly costs you in opportunity, profit, and team performance.
Clinician training creates the pattern. The stoicism that serves you in clinical settings can become a liability on the business side when it shows up as "if you want something done right, do it yourself."
Fear — not lack of ambition — keeps practices small. There's nothing wrong with choosing a simple practice model, but growth goals require honest clarity about what you're actually willing to do to get there.
Surrender is active, not passive. Tracy reframes surrender as the recognition that you are neither powerful enough to make something happen nor to make it not happen — and that this truth actually frees you.
What moves first is often a surprise. When practice owners release the grip, the first shifts tend to be financial — or their teams start noticing they seem lighter, calmer, more present.
Q&A
What does "the grip" actually look like in a healthcare practice? Tracy describes it as a pattern of slowed decision-making, inadvertently blocking team members from excelling, carrying the full weight of the business on your shoulders, and the persistent sense that everything depends on you. It often shows up as overwork, overwhelm, and significant opportunity cost — even when the practice owner is genuinely trying to do right by their team and patients.
Why is white-knuckling so hard for clinicians to recognize in themselves? Because it disguises itself as responsibility. Clinical training reinforces stoicism — staying unflappable for patients and staff is a real skill. But that same "never let them see you stressed" conditioning can carry over into the business side of practice ownership in ways that quietly stifle growth. High-achieving clinicians are particularly vulnerable because competence and control can look identical from the inside.
How does Tracy define surrender in the context of practice ownership? She defines it not as giving up, but as accepting a fundamental truth: "I am neither powerful enough to make someone else do something, nor am I powerful enough to make someone else not do something." What you do have some power over is your reaction, your response, and the decisions you make in the moment. That reframing creates breathing room — for you and for your business.
What should practice owners expect when they start letting go? Tracy says the first shifts are sometimes financial — things start moving that were stuck. Other times it's the team that notices first: "You look different. You seem more calm." And there's a ripple effect: when Tracy became more regulated and less attached to outcomes, her clients became more decisive and empowered in their own practices. Regulation, it turns out, is contagious.
Episode Highlights
What the grip actually looks like day-to-day — and how practice owners miss it in themselves
Why clinical training's greatest asset (stoicism) can become a liability in business
The difference between intentionally keeping a practice small and keeping it small out of fear — and how to tell which one is happening
Tracy's reframe of surrender: removing "war mentality" and what it actually feels like in the body
Her personal experience of learning what surrender truly means — not from a coaching framework, but from life
The baby bumblebee principle: why living things (including businesses) need breathing room
The unexpected places where freedom shows up first: money, team feedback, personal calm
How Tracy's own letting go created a ripple effect of confidence and empowerment in her clients
Memorable Quotes
"The hardest thing for nurturing people in helping professions is actually letting go." — Tracy Cherpeski
"I am neither powerful enough to make someone else do something, nor am I powerful enough to make someone else not do something. And so that's actually surrender." — Tracy Cherpeski
"Sometimes the willingness and the desire aren't talking to each other yet." — Tracy Cherpeski
"We can treat the business like a living entity. It needs breathing room, just like anything else does." — Tracy Cherpeski
"Me being bent around the axle about how they implement something that I've suggested to them does not show that I have confidence that they're going to take it and apply it in the way that's going to be best for their practice, their team, and their community." — Tracy Cherpeski
The grip is one of the most common — and most costly — patterns in healthcare practice ownership. And the good news is that releasing it doesn't require a complete overhaul of your systems or your identity. It starts with clarity, honesty about what you actually want, and a willingness to see control for what it really is. If this conversation resonated, share it with a colleague who might need the permission to breathe. And if you're ready to go deeper, visit practicesuccess.co to learn about working with Tracy, or explore thrivingpracticecommunity.com for tools and community designed to help your practice — and you — truly thrive.
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Miranda’s Bio:
Miranda Dorta, B.F.A. (she/her/hers) is the Manager of Operations and PR at Tracy Cherpeski International. A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design with expertise in writing and creative storytelling, Miranda brings her skills in operations, public relations, and communication strategies to the Thriving Practice community. Based in the City of Oaks, she joined the team in 2021 and has been instrumental in streamlining operations while managing the company's public presence since 2022.
Tracy’s Bio:
Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC (she/her/hers) is the Founder of Tracy Cherpeski International and Thriving Practice Community. As a Business Consultant and Executive Coach, Tracy helps healthcare practice owners scale their businesses without sacrificing wellbeing. Through strategic planning, leadership development, and mindset mastery, she empowers clients to reclaim their time and reach their potential. Tracy designs and delivers CME-accredited wellness retreats and workshops in partnership with medical associations, bringing burnout prevention and sustainable practice management to physicians nationwide. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, Tracy serves clients worldwide and is the Executive Producer and Host of the Thriving Practice podcast. Her guiding philosophy: Survival is not enough; life is meant to be celebrated.
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