Photo courtesy of Claudia Chan
I was deep into infertility treatments and they were not going well… I had worked with four doctors and had gone through four treatments (2 IVF) by the time I heard Claudia Chan speak on stage at her annual S.H.E. Summit. At the time I was closeted about my unexplained infertility diagnosis to hide the massive shame that weighed on my shoulders. I had also thrown myself even deeper into my work as a corporate brand marketer because I could actually work for wins there.
These sentiments bring me to why I was at the S.H.E. Summit. The conference is all about leadership and empowerment. I bought a ticket for professional growth, yet I left changed on a much deeper level personally.
When Claudia shared “Things happen for you, not to you”, it resonated with me on such a deep level. For the first time I saw that the beast that is infertility as an opportunity… to accept, learn, grow and support others. I began taking the step to understand that I was not in fact alone and that by sharing, not only did I feel more comfortable with my diagnosis, I could help others feel less alone, ashamed and all of the things that had made me question myself at my very core.
Claudia is not just an executive leadership expert, she is a whole life leadership guru who empowers others to share their stories in support of a greater cultural change - at home, at work and in the community.
Read on to learn more about Claudia and join us this Sunday, July 26th at 8p ET to hear how you can channel your why and help you thrive as an impactful and inclusive leader in all aspects of your life.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
CC: My whole-life purpose as a wife, mother, leader of a mission and movement … and to get into connection with spirit.
What moved you to create S.H.E. GLOBL and the S.H.E. Summit?
CC: I grew up in the community of women — an incredible working mom, an all-girls high school, Hewitt in New York, and an all women’s college, Smith in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Soon after college, I started SHECKY’s GIRLS NIGHT OUT with a partner which turned into a multi-million dollar business by the time I was 29. I hit a point though where I felt I had material success but lacked purpose.
In 2012, I noticed that the people around me were not engaged in women’s issues, so I launched S.H.E. Summit as a conference to activate them as change agents to fuel movements in topics most personal to them. Since then we have had over 600 speakers and impacted over 100,000 people to rise as impactful, inclusive leaders. Today, our S.H.E. GLOBL movement stands for “Advancing SHE, HE & Equity for All - and we do this by training professionals in what I call whole-life leadership, a framework that unlocks leadership for your career, workplace, family and community--starting with mental health as your # 1 leadership priority. The traditional definition of leadership is too one-dimensional and exclusive.
I believe that to achieve a more thriving and equal global workplace and humanity, we need people to embrace this whole-being approach to leadership.
Because of Covid-19 we have been innovating our virtual offerings to support women, men, and all people in this curriculum. On August 1, we are announcing two programs. The first is the S.H.E. Summit 12-Month Virtual Conference Membership which will put you in a community of changemakers for powerful monthly trainings and include the 9th annual conference November 9-13. For those that want to build their leadership credentials and go deeper in developing a three-year whole-life leadership vision, we offer the How We Rise “Whole-Life Leadership” Certificate Program born out of my book This Is How We Rise.
Which accomplishments in your career would have most surprised your 30 year-old self?
CC: Some of my greatest highlights have been:
Sharing a conference stage with Michelle Obama
The US State Department sending me to South Korea for a country wide speaking tour to empower women in 2015 while I was pregnant with my 1st child
Becoming a UN Women's Champion for Innovation
Having had over 600 speakers on my S.H.E. Summit stage and over 100,000 leadership actions have been taken by people since 2012
What does empowerment mean to you?
Empowerment means pursuing my calling, my big bold dreams, and my visions with internal peace. Being in a state where all self-doubt has been silenced and replaced with confidence and exhilaration.
In your view what is the intersection between fertility and empowerment?
CC: Fertility represents birth and creation to me… being in a place where your whole-self is healthy enough and ready for creating miracles...for doing the impossible. I believe that when we are more empowered, we are more fertile.
You’ve openly shared about your miscarriage which happened during a Summit. How did the experience affect and change you?
CC: I had a miscarriage before I had my first child Jackson. The miscarriage happened on the first day of the S.H.E. Summit 2014 and it was really hard. I started bleeding and on the second day of the conference, I checked into the hospital after moderating Catherine Maladrino and Soledad O’Brien on a “Girl’s Can” topic that Cover Girl was sponsoring. At first I felt ashamed and guilty because back then miscarriage was still an invisible conversation full of stigma. But I have learned (and teach in my curriculum) our pain can be our positive impact. I knew I had to share the story on my conference stage in the future and I did so in 2016 with my son Jackson sitting on the stage with me.
Why do you think that the discussion around women’s reproductive health and fertility is largely taboo in the corporate space?
CC: Based on the gender history we come from and how traditional roles of women and men have been defined, there are just so many invisible barriers and conversations that we need to shed light on and transform. I teach that the equality movement is not just one movement -- it is “macro-movement” made up of thousands of movements and we need all people to start, lead change and fuel these movements -- especially the ones that are unnamed.
Fertility is in and of itself a macro-movement as there are so many areas (IVF, surrogacy, etc.) to tackle.
Which mantra do you live by?
Mental health and mindfulness is my #1 leadership priority.
Do you have a favorite self-care ritual?
I am a Christian so spending time with God and prayer is a big one.
What are you reading right now?
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Claudia Chan is the founder of the award-winning leadership conference, S.H.E. Summit, which has made advancing women, diversity and inclusion both accessible and actionable since 2012. She is also the author of the bestselling business book, THIS IS HOW WE RISE: Reach Your Highest Potential, Empower Women, Lead Change in the World. In her book, she coined the term, “Whole-life leadership,” as a more accessible, whole-life integrated approach and gender-traits-balanced definition. Claudia’s book was celebrated as a “2018 must-read for any woman and for many men” by CNBC, featured in The New York Times and listed top six on 800-CEO-Read. She was also named one of eight UN Women Champions for Innovation.
Learn more about the S.H.E. Summit here and follow along on social @shesummit and @claudiachanwagner
Blogger’s footnote: This interview has been a long time coming… In fact, our first interview was 4 years ago and the recording was 2.5 hours long. Needless to say, Claudia and I had a lot to talk about and it never got published. I am thrilled to finally be sharing with you.
