Leadership depends on clarity, foresight, and emotional regulation. Executives are expected to evaluate risk, manage uncertainty, and guide organizations through complex challenges. When substance use or chronic stress enters the picture, these abilities can be subtly compromised long before consequences become visible. Understanding the neuroscience of addiction and executive decision making provides leaders with insight into how performance can shift beneath the surface. Addiction is not a failure of character or discipline. It is a measurable neurological process that alters how