Episode 129: Empathy is the Secret Sauce. Use it on Everything! An Insightful Conversation with VaynerMedia's Chief Heart Officer, Claude Silver
Hereโs a question to ask yourself, improve it! peeps: ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป? ๐ค
๐Todayโs ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐! ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ guest is none other than Chief Heart Officer, Claude Silver of VaynerX and VaynerMedia who has all the wisdom, benevolence, and charisma coming right to your earbuds. Absorb her insight like a sponge and watch as those around you feel the difference.
And weโll let you in on ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐: you donโt have to be Chief Heart Officer to make sure those around you are seen, heard, and valued.
Tune in, and let the empathy ensue!
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Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief โYes, Andโ officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. Sheโs a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, โget comfortable with the uncomfortable.โ Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We canโt wait to connect with you online!
โI love this podcast and I love Erin!!โ
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Episode 129 Transcription
Erin (00:01):
Improve it! Peeps. Oh, y'all don't even know. You don't even know. I'm coming real hot into today's intro because I'm so thrilled and honored to share this interview with you. Claude Silver is one of the most amazing thought leaders that I have had the privilege of following on LinkedIn. She is an emotional optimist, a coach, a manager, mentor, and she is the first ever chief heart officer leading the charge at VaynerMedia. She works for approximately 2000 humans and is in touch with the heartbeat of every single person in the company. Her role is to infuse the agency with empathy, and it is her purpose. Claude thinks that culture is a texture, it's a vibe, it's a feeling, It's alive, and definitely it's not one or two dimensional. She thinks culture is very three dimensional, and culture in a nutshell is the heartbeat for her.
Erin (00:59):
And you'll hear that as we talk today. It's something that absolutely lights up an entire system. And if it's in place, it is thriving. Claude is constantly asking, How do I hold space for people? How do I not make it about my agenda? She's had an enormously fortunate career, and now this role is the role of a lifetime, and it is all about her life's work. It's bringing together every single personal and professional growth workshop She's attended. Every corporate team building sessions she's led, and fun fact, she has used improv and quite a few of those. You'll hear about that. And every trust fall that she's caught, she doesn't necessarily have all of the answers. She's helping their employees find their answers. This is actually a conversation we get to at the very end of today's show. It's so impactful, it's so meaningful. This Chief Heart Officer role was created to scale Gary Vayner Chuck, and to make sure that Vayner X and Vayner Media's 1600 plus 2000 plus employees have a place that they can find home.
Erin (02:04):
We're gonna talk about how she got this role, which is fascinating, what she does on a daily basis. And she actually hopes that in her 15 to 30 minute meetings with employees, they'll feel so much clearer and that they leave with a newfound path to a solution, which in turn creates success for that employee. But also for Baner Media as a whole. I am thrilled, I am honored to have had this conversation. I am just blown away by her wisdom and just the conversation that we had. Enjoy, Enjoy today's episode with the one, The Only Claude Silver. Are you a leader searching for new and innovative ways to drive employee engagement and team morale through the roof? Do you wanna create a company culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued? Hi, I'm Erin Diehl, Business Improv edutainer, failfluencer and Professional zoombie, who is ready to help you improve your it, your it being.
Erin (03:10):
The thing that makes you, you think of me as your keeping it real professional development bestie, who is here to help you learn from your failures, stand tall in your power and improve yourself so you can improve the lives of others. Oh, and did I mention that we are improving your IT through play? That's right. I am an improvisational comedy expert who uses experiential learning to help you have your aha haha moments. Those are the moments when the light bulb goes off and you're laughing at the same time. So grab your chicken hat, your notebook, and your inner child because I'm gonna take you on a journey that is both fun and transformative. Welcome to the Improve It Podcast. Claude, I am so excited to have you here on the Improve It Pod. Welcome to the show!
Claude (04:17):
Erin. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me!
Erin (04:21):
<Laugh>. I love it so much. And I, as I mentioned before we hit record, I just find you so intriguing. I love what you stand for. I love the work that you do. I love how you communicate it. So our audience is in for a treat. I'm in for a treat selfishly. I'm like, let me just take notes. Someone my Evernote notebook and just soak all this in. But I want our audience, if they don't already know you, which I'm sure most do to get to know you on a deeper level. And so this is a fun game that I look to play called Five Facts. And so it has a little Diddy on the upfront. Okay. And I'll do the little Diddy, but then I want you to give us five facts about Claude that we would never know from your LinkedIn bio, your bio, your re, any of the places we could find you. And we'll just hear those five facts and it goes, I'll give you the first. It goes like this. Five facts. Five facts five, Five facts five. Here we go.
Claude (05:19):
Do I sing that too?
Erin (05:20):
If you want, or you could just gimme your one fact. Whatever feels right.
Claude (05:25):
Five facts. Five facts. Five facts. Five. Five. Okay. I spent a good portion of my 20 studying Clairvoyancy Chakra Healing and Past life regression.
Erin (05:37):
Okay. You and I I knew we were friends, but you and I have to talk so much after this. Okay. Two.
Claude (05:43):
Two. I am really interested in psychotropics.
Erin (05:48):
Okay. Number three.
Claude (05:50):
I love listening to the same songs. Over, over, over, over, over on Repeat.
Erin (05:57):
What's your favorite song?
Claude (05:59):
Oh gosh, that's just impossible.
Erin (06:01):
So, so hard. Okay. Okay. Four, four.
Claude (06:03):
I love a diet Coke a day and if I cannot get a Diet Coke a day, I will drink a sugar free Red Bull. Yes, it is true.
Erin (06:11):
Yes. Well, you need, you gotta have wings. Okay. Number five,
Claude (06:15):
You, you gotta have wings. Geez. I mean, God, I have so many books that I don't read and I look at them all day long and feel really guilty about them. They're like children and I just wanna at least touch everyone once a day.
Erin (06:33):
Ah, I know the neglected children, I too have that same thing cuz in theory you're like, this book sounds awesome. And then when do you read that book? That's my question. At what time do I read that book?
Claude (06:48):
Yeah, Gimme the time. And by the way, I noticed I'm starting to be a collector aka hoarder on Audible. Mm.
Erin (06:54):
And
Claude (06:54):
I had to have a talk with myself two days ago. No, no. You cannot download anymore audible until you at least read one or two that's been sitting here for two years.
Erin (07:05):
I hear you on that. And you know what I was doing? I was doing like a lot of running at one point and I did get into Audible and then I That was great. I actually listened to quite a few books. Yeah. Not doing it anymore. Got the old back issues. So the back and the reading have really <laugh> just gone to poop. Gotta poop. Well, let me, I wanna start too with that first fact. First of all, I love this game because it just gives us so much more insight into who you are. And I love, you know, I already told you this, I find your work fascinating, but the clairvoyant piece, number one, fact one, can I give you some fun facts about myself?
Claude (07:46):
Oh my gosh,
Erin (07:47):
Yes. Let me just share this. I love, I love reiki, have a wonderful clairvoyant teacher. And I just actually hired him as my life as an intuitive life coach, which I'm very intrigued by. So are you still studying this work? Or have you, like was it something you studied a while ago?
Claude (08:09):
You know, I think once you study it, you always study it. Yeah. If it's something that's just, it's intuition. Yeah.
Erin (08:15):
So
Claude (08:16):
I'm a huge proponent of, of intuition and mysticism and, and just belief in energy. So it's always with me. And, but no, I'm not in a school where I'm actually practicing it.
Erin (08:31):
And I hear what you're saying cuz once you understand your inner being, your inner, your interconnectivity and the importance of energy, it's one of those things that I think is ever present in every conversation and every piece of work that you touch. So yeah, I can see this very clearly in the way that you show up in the world. And I love that so much and I'm grateful we get to chat with you today. So let's set an intention. I know this, this is something we love to do at the beginning of every show, of every workshop we do. What is one word, one word intention that you wanna get to our audience today?
Claude (09:08):
Hope.
Erin (09:10):
Hmm. I love it. I love it. Yeah. So let me ask you this, I know you've done a ton of team building. I was researching, looking through a lot of the things that you've done and it seems to be a pillar in your career. Have you ever used improv to team build?
Claude (09:30):
I haven't, but I've had improv teachers and practitioners come into various places I've been working before.
Erin (09:39):
I love it. And how, and do you, are you familiar with the craft? Do you, I mean, so you've had some experience doing it in workplaces. It is such a, for me, it's such a magical teaching tool and it's the, the backbone of what I know you stand for and Vainer media and all of the things that you touch stand for is really empathy and caring and kindness and just the traits of a good human being. We always say the traits of a great improviser make up the traits of a great human being. Cuz you have to have that trust, that kindness, that companionship, that compassion to go on stage and make something up with other humans. You can't not have their back. Right, right. So I love that you have, it seems the pillars of that we have are very aligned with your work. I wanna ask you too, how did this connection to Gary v Tavener Media, Vayner X, how did this all take place and what led you to this role as Chief Heart Officer? Which is the best title ever?
Claude (10:46):
It is. It's the best title in showbiz for sure. Yes. I had been following Gary since 2009 and in the back half of 2013, my best friend in the entire world introduced me to him and basically said, You guys are two sides of the same coin you have to meet. And I was like, I know who he is. Yeah. And so I was living in London at the time and we had a very brief phone call, like three minutes, two minutes where, which was magical anyway. And then I came to New York and I met him. We had a coffee. He had half of a grapefruit and a black coffee. That's what I remember.
Claude (11:27):
And and we just hit it off and I think we just kind of fell for one another in that. So that was September of 2013. And then one thing led to another, and I started with him in New York, May 8th, 2014. So when I start, I had been a strategist at a at advertising agencies for a while. I mean, that's kind of like my background, which is very much a people person, which is very much a a, you know, a a sociologist, a psychologist, all of that stuff. All of that good stuff. And I he hired me. I was the first, his first senior hire. I was a woman, which was a big deal I think back then. And I was probably one of the third, fourth oldest people in the company, which was great. And shortly after starting, he had me go to other offices to go kind of quote unquote do that thing that I do. And that's when I first realized, oh, I'm with someone who actually sees the secret sauce. Mm.
Claude (12:30):
I have a job that pays the bills and I've always been that person. I just wanna be with people and I enjoy being in the perfectly imperfect mess of us all. And so I said to him on my year anniversary, like, Thank you so much. You're great. I love this place. I don't wanna do advertising anymore. And he said, What do you wanna do? And I said, I only care about people. I only care about the heartbeat of this place. And so about six months later, we created the chief heart officer role. It was set up originally to run kind of hr, which I changed the name from HR to people in experience. And what I said to him is like, Hey, I've never done HR and I don't wanna do it. So he said, Yeah, great. You're gonna hire a team around you. And while I was doing that hiring and looking for the right people to compliment, I was able to start to create and craft what I wanted this department to be and how it would, you know, sh and jive and be a very big cornerstone of the culture. So that is how I got here.
Erin (13:38):
Started out with a grapefruit, and now we're here. This is Right. Truly, I I mean, how did, okay, so let me ask you this. This is just pure, pure curiosity. This friend knew Gary, knew you and just said, these energies have to combine, these two people must know each other. And what I'm hearing you say is, Gary saw you, he saw what makes you tick, how he saw Claudes magnet, Claudes sort of, it, we call it the it here. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> that you give the world and said, this is too great of a person. She doesn't wanna do advertising, Let's figure out how to keep her and engage her. And then look at this. I mean, this is so cool.
Claude (14:21):
Yeah. This is really cool. I mean, I resigned, don't get me wrong
Erin (14:26):
From
Claude (14:26):
The company. And then four months later we sat down and had breakfast and he said, That's it. You're coming back. You will be Chief heart officer. And I knew exactly what that was. You know, the only job description I have is to touch every single human and infuse the agency with empathy. So I figured I could do that cuz I've always done that. And the rest I, i I make up based on who I'm talking to. You know, talk about improv. Like the, the screen comes up a zoom and here comes Charlie, and I'm figuring out how to get into where I wanna get to with Charlie, or they walk into the room and I'm figuring, all right, how am I gonna get there with Alice? Wow. So it's all, it's all improv and there is no, there's no menu.
Erin (15:16):
Yeah. At all. Yeah. But you put that secret sauce, empathy on all the plates. On all the plates, which I really love. And so this leads me actually beautifully into something I saw told you doing some research and what of my favorite posts that you posted says, empathetic leadership looks like I've got your back. And that means safety. It means I believe in you, which means belonging. It means there's nothing that you can break that I can't help put back together, which means don't be afraid to fail. I love this post so much cla because all of these components are tenets of improv, comedy, something that we hold true to us, and something that we use as our teaching tool to teach these fundamentals. And so what does making people feel, seen, heard, and valued mean to you? This is a loaded question, but what does that mean to you?
Claude (16:20):
I guess what it means to me is just the common denominators that we all have, the common, the commonalities that we all share. Very similar emotions. We've all shared very similar emotions and, you know, to kind of like cut through the BS and just like, I wanna feel safe and I wanna feel great at work. And don't you? Yeah. So if I'm in a position to do that because of who I, who I am, my role, but more than anything, just my desire and my purpose, why wouldn't I do that? Why wouldn't I make life a little easier for you? Why wouldn't I try to create a space where you could take your armor down? You know, Why wouldn't I try to create a space where you can forgive yourself? I mean, there's no reason I, there's no reason not to do any of these things I we're here for. I mean, we're here. Yeah. And we got one life. And it's not always easy. And there are people that have a ton of challenges in life, and I really recognize that. And and that doesn't mean that we're all the same. Apples, Apples, apples we're absolutely unique and we share a lot of similarities.
Erin (17:35):
I agree with that. I agree with that. To the core of who we are, we're human beings. And I, I feel like we have very similar thoughts on this. And I believe we're all here. You know, we're given this soul, this body. We got one, we got one purpose. Let's live it. You know, let's get out there and do it. And I love, I love that this is your job, right? I love that a chief heart officer is so important to be the heartbeat. They say HR is the heartbeat of a company. And I know you, you run the HR department, but this role in particular speaks volumes. The title itself, when you hear the word, you're like, Yes, this belongs in an organization because you're trying to foster this idea of belonging. Why would you not have a person there to be that heartbeat?
Erin (18:27):
To control the heart, to not control, but to help control the way that people feel when they walk into or join a zoom call and make it a positive experience. It just is so smart. And I think a lot of leaders listening today sh are empathizing, hopeful, wishing that they could implement something like this within their own organizations. I wanna talk specific to you because this is a lot of energy, talking about energy. Like you have to expend yourself. So you like, are giving, giving, giving, giving. Claude is like on the giving train all day, right? So what, do you have any key habits that you do regularly to put energy into yourself before you step into this Chief Heart Officer role every day? Are there any key things that you do to put energy into you?
Claude (19:21):
Yeah, you know, I, I have habits and I don't know if they're rituals, you know, because they, they sh they change every now and then. But I mean, my morning is, is kind of rushed. I've got a 16 month old and a and almost four year old. So it's not like I have a lot of time for myself. But from about, you know, 45 minutes before I know I need to get busy and I need to be with it. You know, I have coffee, I listen to music, I, I'm able to just ground being grounded is, is the magic for me. If I'm not grounded, then it's, then it's just not gonna be a good moment. And there are definitely times that I've had where I say to myself, You know what, I'm gonna move that meeting because I need to take 15 minutes for myself and whatever that is, I need to go take a ride. I need to have a diet Coke. I <laugh> Yes, I but Or Red
Erin (20:15):
Bull. Or Red Bull. Yeah.
Claude (20:16):
Or, or sugar free Red Bull. Cuz it does give you wings. <Laugh>, we yeah. You know, I don't have anything necessarily that I could say, Oh, this is what Claude does every single morning to prepare you. You know, I, I have, I have kids and I get a lot out of that and I get a lot of creativity and physical activity with them. And most mornings my eldest daughter and I are having you know, picnics with her Barbies. And so that's, I think using my imagination and being creative with her and watching her blossom is part of my deal.
Erin (20:55):
Oh, I love that. Okay. So I have a three year old boy and I hear you because I sit there and watch him. Like this morning he had his walkie talkies and he was calling his friend Julia, which is a made up character from the Disney movie Luca, because she had dinosaurs in her house and he was calling the police because the dinosaurs at Julia's house. And so that was a whole moment. But I sit and I watch him and I'm like, Wow, we were born with this ability to imagine and to play and to be creative and to just lose our inhibitions. And then somewhere along the way we are taught that it's not okay.
Claude (21:39):
Yeah. Look, here's my little
Erin (21:42):
Aww, for those of you who cannot see, it's a unicorn.
Claude (21:46):
It's a little unicorn. I'm holding. You know what happens? I, I've thought a lot about this. The es especially cuz cuz I struggled in school and now I'm watching my kids and their imagination talk about improv. I mean, everything they do is improv, right? Yeah. Nothing is, nothing is ritualized yet. And and I think to myself, you know, we have this wonderful imagination and mysticism going back to that word I used in the beginning. And an ability to improv and whatnot and dream and think about unicorns and, and all of that stuff. And I do think that there's a part of the educational system that asks us, quite frankly to become a more linear, analytical thinker. And it requires us, let's just say if you're gonna take the SATs and fill in those ridiculous multiple choice bubbles you have to be able to be a good test taker and be very analytical and, and a chess player.
Claude (22:46):
And I don't know if as we're growing up, if our minds can carry both of those things the right and the left lane. And so I do think we make choices, maybe unconsciously to become successful at school or academics and whatnot, and we leave that imagination behind, then we don't have any more time for it. We think, you know, I gotta be successful. I gotta do this, I gotta crush. I gotta blah, blah, blah. I gotta bring in a zillion dollars. And you know, it's not really like the dreamers. The dreamers are like, Yeah, well I'm gonna just dream. And then your parents say, you're not gonna make any money dreaming.
Erin (23:26):
Yeah. So I think
Claude (23:27):
That's kind of what happens. I mean, in a, in a nutshell, I'm oversimplifying it and that's something I just wanna like just completely blow out of the water. I don't wanna do that.
Erin (23:39):
Yeah, yeah. Club, let's make a, let's do a, a nonprofit unicorns unite. I unicorns unit. You unicorns unite. Let me tell you something. I am totally on board with this concept. I actually was a horrible test taker. Horrible. Especially the SATs. Have I used any of those word problems in my real life? Absolutely not. And it, I've always felt like the dreamer and the, and it, the analytical side of me has to come out cuz I'm a business owner, Right? But I also feel like life is too short going back to this sort of underlying fundamental to not dream and to not allow ourselves play. And that's why I think this concept of energy, putting it energy into ourselves and fueling ourselves with things that give us that fuel so we can give it out to others as chief heart officer, HR leader, whatever you may be, is so important. And it sounds like you get that energy from play, which is just the coolest freaking thing. I'm so on board with that. And so when you have that energy, you get this energy from your kids, you're importing and it's yourself, you get grounded. How do you see that energy then when you're grounded transform into the people you're communicating with?
Claude (24:56):
Well, I think it brings an enormous amount of calm. That's what I will say. Yeah.
Erin (25:01):
You know,
Claude (25:02):
Even this, A guy this morning was very conscious that he had, I had heard some rumblings about inappropriate kind of tone. He took in a meeting with someone and I set up time with him. And this entire time we've waited a week, he thought I was gonna come crashing down on him. He didn't know me. And I said to him, You know what, I just wanna spend this time getting to know you. Like, like where are, where are you from? Like how did you get into this role? How'd you get into this world? Where does your empathy come from? I didn't even address the thing he thought, and I'm sure he was concerned about, because what matters to me is the person and what they're going through. And he, then again, this is someone in London that, you know, all of a sudden became very vulnerable, vulnerable with me and shared part of how he grew up with a emotionally abusive father. And I was like, see, this is what creating safe space does. This is exactly what it, now I know more about him and I know what he deals with on a day to day basis. Some of that PTSD and yeah. You know, he had an outburst with someone and they apologized and they were adults and they fixed it. I don't need to get involved in that. Like totally. I don't wanna be the hammer and I sure am not the judge and jury.
Erin (26:22):
Totally. Yeah. And I think it's, it starts with really a, a firm belief and a firm groundness and who you are, where you're coming from, and then you really opened yourself up to listening. You were like, let's not just get to the root of the problem. Let's underst let's not talk about the problem. Let's get to the root of this problem and go deeper, which says so much. And I'm sure Charlie will call him Charlie, as you mentioned, walked away feeling heard, feeling seen and feeling like he wants to keep showing up because the time was taken to really feel like he mattered. And the things that go on at work matter and he matters as a human being because of that.
Claude (27:07):
That's right. Mattering is an enormous word for me. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, I use it a lot. It's one thing to create psychological safety and belonging and help people connect with one another. And yes, you bring me value, you bring this company value, but literally you matter. Like it matters to me if you're sad, it matters to me. If you choose to leave this company, I like you. Yeah. You know, and that's, that's the greatest gift. I mean, we have 1600 people, I don't know, 1600 people. I can't wait until I do, you know, that'll probably be on my last breath by the time that happens. But <laugh> in the meantime, spending time with people, whether or not that's in one-on-one situations or in jam sessions, which I do at least three times a week. That's the, that's where it's about. Like, I do icebreakers with people all the time. So very improv oriented. And I just, I don't know. We, I want to spark as much joy as possible during the times that I'm, I'm with this person or with these people. And that's, you know, until my last breath. That's what I hope I'm doing.
Erin (28:17):
I love it. People don't leave jobs, they leave leaders. And this is a harsh truth. When leaders are the single most important factor in accounting for an organization's performance, is there a magical pill that can keep employees engaged, retained, and even assist in attracting top talent? Yes. My friends, that mystical medicine is you studies have found that people with positive energy produce substantially higher levels of engagement. They lower turnover and they enhance the wellbeing among all employees. In my interactive keynote, I see you how to use improv to attract a company culture where all feels seen, heard and valued. I use my research and extensive experience in improvisational training to help you realize that the energy you put into yourself is a direct correlation to the energy you give to others. And the energy that everyone in the organization gives out is what magnetizes the culture where all feel included.
Erin (29:25):
This keynote is perfect for large teams and large scale events. In this 60 minute interactive and high energy session, I'll teach participants how to discover their power within and how to harness it on a daily basis. They'll learn the power of empathy and how to use it as a leadership tool and how to measure their energetic levels using high five b I b e s. That's high. Five five. If your organization wants to create a safe space free of judgment, we're all feel seen, heard and valued, then this is the experiential and electric session for you. Email us at info, learn to improve it.com to learn more. I see you improve it peeps. I see you. Wait, I have to ask you about a GM session. So tell, tell us what a GM session is. Is it when you get a, how does it, how do you get to a GM session? That's what I wanna know. Can I come to a jm
Claude (30:33):
Tactical? Tactical, Okay. Is I put out on Slack, Hey, I'm doing something for the next three months called 20. At 2020 people sign up for 20 minutes and we're just gonna get to know one another. You're all gonna be coming from different areas, different departments, different geographies around the world, and we're gonna do an icebreaker. And that's that. Thank you. Here's the signup sheet.
Erin (30:56):
Yes. And I
Claude (30:57):
Sent that out and I have to say like, it's so more than 20 people. It's you know, it's like, I dunno, 90 people show 90 people signed up just for one day. So that's three meetings three different meetings. And so I call that a jam session cuz we're just jamming. Yeah. Now, if someone chooses to say in that session, Hey, you know, Claude, can I ask you something about the culture? Can I ask you? Yeah. Ask me anything. Ask me anything. People I think in companies feel like they need to be invited in. And so this is my way. It's completely open. My calendar's completely open. You wanna drop 15 minutes on my calendar? Great. Let's go. If I have to move it, I'll reschedule it. So the accessibility and availability and being, you know, what you see is what you get. I do think sets people at ease a bit.
Erin (31:50):
Mm. Oh my god. I love that. We, we have jam sessions and improv, but those are just improv jam sessions. And so I need, I needed that clarification. That is genius. And I love that. So any I I'm sure you're okay. Take make your own jam sessions and prove it pee. Make your own jams. That's huge.
Claude (32:08):
That's the thing, Aaron, you don't need a title to do any of this.
Erin (32:12):
Totally, totally. You don't,
Claude (32:15):
You just need a heart that wants to help and wants to spark joy and wants to be a passenger with someone on their journey. That's like it.
Erin (32:23):
That's it. Mike dropped. We're done. This interview's over. No, I'm just kidding. No, this is for real. Like, you speak so much truth. I feel like there's so much alignment with improv and the way that you carry the torch there and the way that, that you're showing up. And I love this notion of empathy. It's come up a lot. You've mentioned it's the secret sauce. You sit on everything. So let me ask you this question. How do you see this energy, and I'm talking a lot about energy today because it, it matters and there's that word again. But this energy and this empathy, how do you see that as a direct correlation to the people that you attract to the company?
Claude (33:07):
People come here for a couple reasons. One, and I ask them so I'm aware one, Yeah. Gary v fans, Gary v fans, Gary v fans two, they know we're disrupting the advertising world. And three, they have heard about the culture or they have friends here. And so, you know, I can't, I have nothing to do with Gary v I have a lot to do with disrupting the, the way we do things, especially in this world of people and experience in hr. And the culture is a place where people know it's a very warm and friendly culture. It's a collaborative culture, and they really know we have a no, a-hole rule here. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, that's,
Erin (33:50):
You know mm-hmm. <Affirmative>.
Claude (33:51):
So, you know, you start with that kind of as your common denominator. And when people go through their interview process and they're meeting with 3, 4, 6 people, they end up saying, you know, every single person said the same thing just in their own way. And that's, that's like, wow. Talk about a consistency. You know, people like, people like consistency. They feel safe with consistency. If I was to show at a meeting and not be my normal self, it would, it would probably freak people out if I, you know, if I had a temper tantrum, it would freak people out. They don't know that. They don't know that side of me. Not that I have temper tantrums really anymore just inside my head. But yeah. Look at my daughters and I go, God, I wish I could just do that right now. Just know, try and scream and kick on the floor. Me
Erin (34:45):
Too. I, and then it's like, then we put them in like a blanket and cuddle them and we're like, You're okay. And I'm like, where's that for
Claude (34:53):
Me? I mean, my four year old is Tosh very tall, and today she's just like curled up inside of me. Like she was like a little, you know, six month old and she's huge. So that's the best. Anyway, that's what I, I like follows. Like, and that is the role of energy, you know. And we get people in here that are, they're similar in the fact that they wanna do very similar things in terms of the disruption and in terms of being ahead of the, the eight ball and whatnot. And of course they're wildly uniquely different. And when I took the role six and a half years ago, one of the first things I did, aside from changing the name of the department, was I changed the way we hired, we used to hire for culture fit that got us same, same, same. Oh, you like Pearl Jam? I like Pearl Jam. Right on. Cool. Oh, you've gone to Kales San Lucas, so Oh yeah. Right on. And now I changed it to skillset fit and culture belong. And culture addition, skillset fit and culture addition. Because now we can make sure that we're getting the, the diversity that we want from the obvious diversity, you know, race, ethnicity, sexuality, you know, religion, but diversity of thought and neurodiversity and people with seen and unseen abilities.
Erin (36:19):
Yes, yes, yes. I love that. So skillset and culture addition. That's, I love. That's, that's so much. And you're so bright. Energy it attract it. You're spining so many truths here. I really believe that all of this is in conjunction to you finding your very first fact says it all for me. That you found a lot about yourself. You find, you know, the world is a big ball of energy and what you put into yourself is what you put out. And then what you put out is what you attract. And I feel like that's truly what empathy, this, this idea of empathy, empathetic leadership, this idea of you matter, I'm, I'm loving all of these themes. So if you could tell leaders one thing to start doing and one thing to stop doing right now, what would it be?
Claude (37:14):
Well, to start listening and I mean, active listening, listening to learn. That would be, it's pretty obvious, but I think it's important to say, to make sure you're not doing all the talking. That's what I would start to do. And I think to stop doing is thinking that you have all the answers because you just don't <laugh>. Yeah. We just don't. We're, unless it's a mathematical equation and it's binary and it belongs in an Excel chart. Everything else is, we are all figuring this out. All of us. And especially in a new day, a new dawn, you know, out of the pandemic quote unquote, people are, you know, you don't know that I'm in my sweatpants. I mean, it's, it, there, there is no you know what, you know how people used to use the word best practice. There is no best practice right now. We're all coming up with the practices that work for our individual companies, our families, ourselves, so forth and so on.
Erin (38:19):
Yes. I love that answer. It's probably one of my favorite answers because I think a lot of times as leaders, we think we have to have the answers. And then if we don't, we look like a failure or we look like we're not doing our job well. Right. And I always say fail. Yeah. Fail, you know, Fail on fail. Yeah. And truly, I'll never forget this, There was one time a team member of mine, I didn't have the answer. And so I said, Well, what do you think? And that team member said, Well, you're supposed to know that's why. And I said, No, we are supposed to figure it out together. And I think right there in that moment, I real, that was a realization for myself that I don't have to have all the answers. And that's why we have a team is because we're supposed to collaborate.
Erin (39:11):
And that as improvisers, the world is improv. Everything is made up. Literally, this company uses improv. It's, it was a made up company. This podcast was made up. It's all a construct. We're making it up as we go. Everything. And when you stop and think about it, it really gives yourself freedom from feeling like you have to be perfectionist or you have to be a perfectionist. You have to know all the things. And you have to show up as this person at work when in reality you have flaws and failures and are figuring it out like everybody else.
Claude (39:47):
Yeah. I I I'm really like high fiving you for everything that you said there. And it's absolutely right. And I also, I think it's right. So I think you have the right answer, <laugh>,
Erin (39:59):
Thank you. Okay. For once. For once. But,
Claude (40:02):
But I also wanna say, to piggyback off of that, it's really the little things that matter. Cause the little things are what make up our life. Like you and I, the, the big things are like, I don't know, are you, like, did you win the lottery today? I mean, that's giant. Did you get married today? That's giant. Most everything is little like, unless it's like your kid took their first step, said their first word. It's little things. And those little things matter. And especially, you know, I think a lot about mental health and emotional health since it's, it's that time. And I have that generation, I have a lot of Gen Zs and young male at work. And so we do a lot with mental health, emotional health, and really helping people, empowering people, I should say, to, to, to, to take care of themselves and to figure out in the moment, what do I need? What do I need right now? And if you don't know, that's okay. Then just take the moment. <Laugh>.
Erin (41:03):
Yes. Like
Claude (41:04):
We don't have to force something into a shoe that, that your foot just doesn't fit into. So there's, you know, there is no perfection. Let's just, I just wanna remove that whole thing. None of us are Olympians right now. We're not like striving for the gold. We are striving, I believe, and need to spend more time striving for peace in our hearts and in our minds and love and kindness and I mean this of self and then others. And, you know, just being okay when things are okay and when they're not okay. And that's really tough because our societies don't really like it when things are not okay.
Erin (41:46):
That is so, so true. Everything. I am high fiving you right back. And I gotta tell you too, it's like, hmm. It's like you can't pour from this empty cup. You said it earlier when you said, you know, if I'm not feeling, if somebody puts time on my calendar and I need to reschedule, or I, I'm having a day, I'm gonna take some time for me. Because you have to put that energy and that clarity and that mental stability into yourself, especially in a people oriented role in order to give to others. And I love that quad. I think you're doing, you are truly a joy to watch lead people. Thank you. And I mean that wholeheartedly, like joy Very
Claude (42:28):
Yes. Means a lot. Thank you.
Erin (42:29):
Yes. And I hope you I could cry. I'm like, why am I tearing up? I'm like, it's, I, I truly mean it. I hope you receive it because feel it's heartfelt. Yeah. And so I wanna end with this question because here at Improve it, we say you're, it is your thing that you're here to do. It's your purpose, it's your mission. It's why you're here. So why is Quad, what is your it Tell us what is your it?
Claude (42:54):
I am here for joyful service to literally spread and be of joyful service.
Erin (43:03):
And we feel that for real, for real. So if anyone wants to connect with you, Claude, where can they find you? What's the best way? You gotta follow her on LinkedIn if you're not already, but what, how can they find you?
Claude (43:17):
I'd say LinkedIn is huge. Like drop me a note. I'll absolutely get back to you. Instagram, Facebook, I have a website you can write in and, you know, write your name and I'll get back to you. But I definitely get back to people when they write. It might take me a little bit of time, but I love knowing what's up with people and certainly if I can be of service, but more so just like where you are. Mm.
Erin (43:41):
So cool. So cool. And please reach out. She meets that and I, I will drop all of those things in the show notes and quad. I have to tell you, I'm so honored to have had this conversation to make this connection and to pour that secret sauce, Okay? On every plate I touch as a leader, and I know so many people listening are gonna get so much value out of this conversation. And the condiments of leadership. You are the Costco sized edition to the company culture. Okay? All right. You are Costco size. Oh my gosh, Thank you. Thank you so much. It has been a joy. Thank
Claude (44:17):
You so much everyone.
Erin (44:26):
Okay. That was amazing. I hope that you had a notebook out. You were jotting down quotes, you were jotting down towards some wisdom. So much to unpack. But here's what I want you to take away. One thing that I loved about today's show is this, through line of empathy. It's the secret sauce. Use it on everything, right? So I want you to hear how those jam sessions impact the people at Vayner Media. 20 minutes invite, 20 people, 90 people show up and they're just getting to know each other, especially in this hybrid workforce. What an awesome way to create connection. What an awesome way to create culture and to get people just getting to know each other. It's like they're standing in the kitchen at the water cooler except they're doing something that's fun and evokes emotion and empathy and connection. So as Claude mentioned, you don't have to have a title.
Erin (45:24):
If you're listening to this show and you're not a Chief Heart Officer, which there might be only one in the world, or you're not in human resources, but you are a person who cares about other people, present this idea to a leader in your organization and implement some culture building activities for your team. Claude is walking her truth. She has given us so much wonderful insight and I hope that today's episode spoke to you. So that's your homework. Get out there, create some jam sessions in your work, in your life, and I promise you it's going to change the game wherever you are. You know what I'm gonna say? Improve it peeps. I want you to keep failing. Keep improving because this world, we need that very special it that only you can bring. I'll see you next time. Hey friend, did you enjoy today's show? If so, head on over to iTunes to rate and subscribe. So you never miss an episode. Now, did I mention that when you leave a five star review of the improvement podcast, an actual team of humans does a happy dance? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That's right. So leave a review for us on iTunes, screenshot it, and send me an email at info learn to improve it.com. I'll send you a personalized video back as a thank you. Thanks so much for listening improve it peeps. I'll see you next Wednesday.