Recovery Coaching

What is Executive Recovery Coaching?

Coaching is a professional relationship that helps business leaders, executives and professionals who are in (or who are considering) recovery from addiction. Coaching can help executives become ready and willing to seek treatment as well as explore their options for recovery or treatment. The coaching interaction creates clarity and moves the client toward action as the coach listens and contributes observations and questions.

Coaching is a process whose primary goal is to maximize executives’ results in their lives, careers, businesses, professions or organizations in harmony with healthy recovery. Coaching helps expose gaps between the recovering leader’s current reality and the future he/she desires, helping client move from clarity to action. Coaching is future-oriented, concentrating on where clients are now and what lies ahead and uses a strengths-based approach to help executives uncover and apply their values, assets, and strengths.

Coaching is a system that assumes each client is innately healthy and capable of achieving wellness while promoting the achievement and maintenance of sobriety, abstinence, and serenity. Coaching’s premise is that improved performance and enhanced leadership capability result from self-awareness, acceptance of what is, and commitment to taking action (or adapting behavior) to positively impact outcomes. By providing greater focus on and creating awareness of choices, actions, and responsibility, the coaching system integrates recovery success with business success.

RADIO INTERVIEW:  Therese Marie describes recovery coaching on Seattle’s  “Recovery Coast to Coast.” (October 2014)

Why does an Executive need a Recovery Coach?

ISOLATION KILLS ADDICTS & ALCOHOLICS Executives, presidents of companies, business owners, are by the very nature of their position isolated. Even the most ‘team-minded’ leaders believe their success has resulted from their OWN efforts.  They are individuals first, often opting to go it alone when things get intense.  Successful recovery requires a leader to accept confidential help from a recovery coach and admit, “I alone might attempt to do it, but I really can’t succeed alone.”

RECOVERY IS A NEW PROCESS Because recovery is new and unfamiliar territory, the executive needs a confidential guide, a confidante, who can help him/her stay conscious of how addiction/alcoholism is showing up within the context of work. Executives are masters of organizational processes, but mastering the recovery process requires a different perspective, one that a recovery coach can provide.

OUTCOME DRIVEN Executives are wired for results, controlling outcomes and directing others – all of which are mindsets that are in direct conflict with successful recovery. Recovery coaching helps the leader improve his/her leadership capability through a process of building self-awareness without sacrificing business results.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS Executives are expected to hit the floor running and produce regardless of outside concerns.  ‘No excuses’ is the watchword! But leaders returning from addiction treatment need space to sort out how new healthy behaviors will support their success. Coaching gives them this space to apply new ideas within the context of their business, career and relationships.

NO FOCUS = NO SUCCESS Leaders who are not clear about their core values and life goals are much less likely to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle that supports long-term recovery especially amidst the many distractions and demands which are part of the C-Suite. Coaching provides the opportunity to explore what’s most important personally without losing focus of corporate objectives.

What Recovery Coaching Isn’t

Recovery Coaching isn’t treatment – coaches cannot diagnose any addiction

Coaching doesn’t explain why addictions occur nor does it identify causes

Recovery coaches are not chemical dependency/addictions counselors, nurses, doctors, therapists, or psychiatrists

Coaching doesn’t address/treat past issues or trauma