Claude Silver is Vayner Media’s first-ever Global Chief Heart Officer, tasked with fusing empathy with agency to unlock employee potential and foster a culture of belonging across the 1200+ person organization. Between her deep education in psychology and spirituality and the two decades she has spent as an advertising strategist, Claude has been studying and influencing human behavior for over three decades.



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Claude Silver

<h4
        class="block-heading"
        id="h-claude-silver-is-the-global-chief-heart-officer-at-vayner-media-a-modern-day-communications-agency-here-she-shares-some-ideas-on-what-it-means-to-lead-with-heart"
      >
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-red-color"
            >CLAUDE SILVER</span
          >
          is the Global Chief Heart Officer at Vayner Media, a modern-day
          communications agency. Here she shares some ideas on what it means to
          lead with heart.</strong
        >
      </h4>

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <h4 class="block-heading">
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"
            >The Role of Chief Heart Officer</span
          ></strong
        >
      </h4>

      <p>
        A Chief Heart Officer is in touch with every single human in an
        organization. We all have hearts, they are our central operating
        systems, and we all have heart beats. It is being in touch with humans,
        and what they are going through; the things they go through before
        coming to work every single day; their work journey; their dreams and
        aspirations; where they want to get to, and what might be holding them
        back.
      </p>

      <p>
        I help people by finding road blocks and helping them remove them, so
        that they can drive. It’s really about empathy and giving people the
        space to be. I want people to feel like they can be their authentic
        selves at work without judgment. I want to create a place for everyone,
        so we are rowing the boat in the same direction and turning each other
        into champions, turning each other into heroes.
      </p>

      <p>
        It is what I have always done in my life. It just happens to be a
        wonderful, enormous title, and I am very proud and honored to wear it
        every single day. It is really about how I can create space for you, how
        I can help you feel better than you did.
      </p>

      <h4 class="block-heading">
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"
            >What does “leading with heart” mean?</span
          ></strong
        >
      </h4>

      <p>
        A leader leads with heart. A leader leads with love. Some leaders may
        use other words, but the true essence of a leader is to serve others, to
        work for them, and to work with them. “Leading with heart” is a choice,
        every single day. It’s not a badge of honor, but a choice I make to
        bring my full self into any position, to bring my full self to you, so
        you feel that you can do the same.
      </p>

      <p>
        First, I need to cross the bridge. We all have aches and pains, we all
        have families, we all have other responsibilities, we all have good days
        and bad days. Being human, why would we not want to share that with
        others? I do know why, and I am on a revolutionary mission to change
        that!
      </p>

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <hr />

      <h4 class="has-text-align-center block-heading">
        <span class="has-vivid-red-color"
          >“Leading with heart” is a choice, every single day. <br />It’s not a
          badge of honor, but a choice I make </span
        ><br /><span class="has-vivid-red-color"
          >to bring my full self into any position, <br />to bring my full self
          to you, so you feel that you can do the same.
        </span>
      </h4>

      <hr />

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <h4 class="block-heading">
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"
            >How to create heartful leaders?</span
          ></strong
        >
      </h4>

      <p>
        <em>We</em> have to show up as that. There is no magic dust we can
        sprinkle. A person needs to be willing to do the self-work, and become
        aware of themselves and why they lead, in order to step into those
        shoes.
      </p>

      <p>
        Many people are in leadership positions because that is the trajectory
        of their career in an organization. But they may not want to lead
        others; it may be a wrong fit. Many people want to be individual
        contributors, and we need that too.
      </p>

      <p>
        It really comes down to finding the right fit. It means a desire to be
        better in the world, better at sharing with other people, open in our
        hearts, having a growth mindset. Being humble, sharing gratitude, and
        saying thank you. Saying I see you, how are you, holding the door open.
        These are the smallest things in the world, yet they make everyone feel
        so good. Every single person has the ability to reach inside themselves
        and do that, and that is their own practice.
      </p>

      <p>
        We must feel active about, or rebellious about what really matters.
        People matter. When you put people first, listen to them, and give them
        what they are asking for, they will do remarkable things for the
        company, for themselves, for the consumer, for the client.
      </p>

      <p>
        When you lean in and really listen, you will find that they are burnt
        out, or they need more training and development, or they want more
        opportunities, or more feedback. You need to figure out how to
        systematize that, operationalize that, to provide them what they need.
        Then they can be their best selves. It’s a collaboration. It’s about
        being better in the world. It takes of all of us, not just me and not
        just you. All of us.
      </p>

      <h4 class="block-heading">
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"
            >Is it inherently easier for women to be heartful leaders?</span
          ></strong
        >
      </h4>

      <p>
        Generally speaking, yes. Men are trained from a very young age to hold
        their emotions inside, to provide, to compartmentalize their feelings. I
        think women in general understand how to be vessels, how to hold
        space.We have it naturally, and we’ve been trained for that from a very
        young age. But it’s possible for any man to lean into those strengths,
        to open up that wall for themselves, and it starts with self-awareness.
      </p>

      <p>
        It’s one thing to be kind, it’s one thing to show compassion, but what
        we really want is to understand empathy, humility, strengths and
        opportunities, weakness if you will. You have to get self-aware, you
        have to acknowledge who you are, where you have been, and that takes
        time. But it’s possible, and it’s every single person’s birth right to
        be nurturing and full of love. They are just choices we make.
      </p>

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <div class="block-image">
        <figure>
          <img
            alt="leadership-everyone-wants2b"
            class="lazyload has-img-center"
            src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/leadership_everyone_wants2b_ab12a62880.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T10:56:55.157Z"
          />
        </figure>
      </div>

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <h4 class="block-heading">
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"
            >Compassion, empathy, and courage go together</span
          ></strong
        >
      </h4>

      <p>
        There is an unstated notion that a leader has to be courageous and brave
        on today’s battlefield, which is a different kind of battlefield. Both
        courage and empathy are qualities of the heart, yet often they are
        viewed as opposite ends of the spectrum. It’s not one or the other. In
        fact, I have been using the term “emotional bravery.” The emotional part
        is the willingness to feel, and the willingness to express, and that
        goes back to self-awareness. The bravery part is being comfortable to
        share the emotion, and understand how to regulate emotions, so they are
        not spilling everywhere. The last thing anyone wants from a leader is to
        have an emotional breakdown while running onto the battlefield.
      </p>

      <p>
        So, being able to feel comfortable with emotions, knowing how to
        regulate them, and leading at the same time is a real gift. They go hand
        in hand. In fact, emotional courage, emotional bravery, is part of
        emotional intelligence.
      </p>

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <hr />

      <h4 class="has-text-align-center block-heading">
        <span class="has-vivid-red-color"
          >Emotional courage, emotional bravery, </span
        ><br /><span class="has-vivid-red-color"
          >is part of emotional intelligence.
        </span>
      </h4>

      <hr />

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <p>
        A happy workplace, a healthy workplace, a productive workplace, are all
        things that can be available to us, and we deserve them. What does it
        take? It takes the removal of ego, because ego is telling us, “I have to
        be right,” “I have to be first,” “I have to look good with everyone,”
        and that’s not how the world works.
      </p>

      <p>
        Look at these last years of the pandemic. We all had to relearn many
        things and start from scratch in many ways. There is no role model for
        how we can get through a pandemic, and it takes humility to know that we
        don’t have the answers. We have to collaborate with others. With
        humility, and with a sense who we are, we can go through the battles
        together.
      </p>

      <h4 class="block-heading">
        <strong
          ><span class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"
            >How can leaders help employees achieve their highest
            potential?</span
          ></strong
        >
      </h4>

      <p>
        Good leaders want to help employees reach their highest potential and be
        the best they can possibly be. It’s not about “me” –I am there as a
        guide, a sherpa, a coach, but it’s not my show. It’s about the other
        person becoming greater, getting the promotion, or learning something.
        So, it’s the removal of “I” having to have my fingerprint all over the
        process.
      </p>

      <p>
        Leaders create spaces where people feel psychologically safe. They feel
        like they belong, they can show up as who they are, and they can start
        to look at the stories they are telling themselves that are myths. We
        all do it. As leaders, we can help them find new stories in their heads,
        real stories rather than fictitious beliefs. To do this, we have to
        remind ourselves that, “It’s not my show. It’s their show.”
      </p>

      <hr class="vertical-space1" />

      <hr />

      <p>
        <em
          >Excerpts from a GLOW webinar interview with PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN. </em
        ><br /><em
          >To listen to the whole interview, go to
          <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlcICafqRNM"
            >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlcICafqRNM</a
          >.</em
        >
      </p>

Claude Silver

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