Improving the effectiveness of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment requires leadership approaches that impact drug treatment’s efficacy. To promote this positive system change, we define leadership beyond leaders’ characteristics. Leadership is considered a developmental competency among individuals, as well as the relational role of followers and the enabling context of organizational climate which create a system of influence.
Transformational leadership has the most empirical support in the extant literature. It is generally characterized by the leader’s ability to inspire others to follow a particular course of action. These leaders draw from the unique talents of each staff member, provide them feedback based on staff needs, stimulate their problem-solving abilities, and create a sense of shared purpose.
Although transactional leadership, which is based on reinforcing performance using rewards is also commonly used by managers, transformational leadership has demonstrated a higher impact in motivating staff to improve performance, which in behavioral health generally translates into delivering treatment with fidelity.
Daniel Fincham, a proficient leader with sheer expertise with his transformational leadership approach, has been in various leadership positions including Vice President of Customer Success and has established Recoverlution, an addiction recovery platform, aiming to connect and support the 100 million people recovering from addiction around the world.
“We welcome everyone in recovery to be part of our community, which is a safe space to stay well for life,” expresses Mr Fincham, Founder of Recoverlution.
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at
Recoverlution. What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?
I was VP of Customer Success at ZMags, a SaaS digital experience platform. I was there for over nine years, progressing into various customer experience roles, and was based for six years in Denmark before moving to London.
It’s fair to say I’ve experienced a host of personal challenges – divorce, mental ill health, addiction – and overcoming them has also helped me professionally. I’ve learned resilience, patience, and most importantly, that your past failures don’t need to define your future success.
Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.
Our ultimate vision is a world where it’s easy for everyone in recovery to connect with others and get the information and support they need in one place.
We want people in recovery to have a positive experience that gives them life-long support, with a big focus on being inclusive; Recoverlution uses technology that is accessible anywhere, anytime to anyone.
Enlighten us on how you have impacted the healthcare niche through your expertise in the market.
One thing that sets Recoverlution apart is the robust technical framework behind it. Our platform is underpinned by best-in-class technology, which I’ve been able to drive forward thanks to my own background and expertise in tech.
Our CTO, Jacob, also brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the company, allowing us to create a platform that’s agile and responsive.
Perhaps most importantly, though, we pride ourselves on the security Recoverlution offers. You don’t need to make public any personal details to use our Community feature – only your profile name. This sense of anonymity provides a sense of protection for our members, and that’s something I think is unique in the health-tech market.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.
Our core values are community, honesty, trust and empowerment. Many of the Recoverlution team are in recovery themselves or have loved ones who have experienced addiction, which means we all share the same common understanding of just what it means to be in recovery. That’s what makes Recoverlution special, I think. It was founded by people in recovery, for people in recovery, and this sense of community underpins everything we do.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
Something we’re starting to look into at Recoverlution is how we can harness AI. In particular, developing a machine learning framework or model that can start understanding the life-long journey of somebody in recovery from addiction for the first time would be an incredible venture for us. It would help us continue to ensure our members get the most out of Recoverlution throughout their recovery journey.
What, according to you, could be the next significant change in the Health Care sector? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?
I think the biggest change in healthcare will be greater signposting to virtual and online communities. Virtual healthcare has grown hugely of late due to Covid – think online doctor appointments, wearable health monitoring devices, and even robotic surgery. But where I see this having the biggest impact will be the use of online forums and patient communities.
Being part of a patient-led community has many benefits, regardless of your health condition. Personally, I can see how it could increase treatment adherence, as well as ensure patients are kept informed about their conditions.
Perhaps most importantly, though, connecting with others on the same journey as you does wonders for your well-being. Living with a health condition, whether that’s mental or physical, can be isolating at times, so knowing you’re not alone and that there are people you can turn to for support who understand what you’re going through, makes such a difference.
As for Recoverlution, we’re focusing on developing and growing our Community Hub in the platform, to ensure people in recovery have the best experience possible when connecting with others on the same path.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Recoverlution?
Looking forward, we hope to see Recoverlution grow to the point where it’s the first port of call for anyone experiencing addiction or who is in recovery. We have some exciting things on our radar for the next few years, from a sober dating hub to the offering of therapy via an in-platform psychotherapist. This is all planned with the vision of being the home of recovery and helping people in recovery learn, connect and stay well for life.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Health Care sector?
My advice would be to be bold and not lose sight of what has made you into the person you are today. Recoverlution wouldn’t be what it is if I hadn’t overcome the challenges I did and used those learnings to launch a business from the ground up.