Reclaiming Your Energy When Design Feels Like a Losing Battle / Sara / Ep. #253

Do you show up as an "A-student" constantly seeking the next gold star, only to feel personally attacked when your work is misunderstood? 🌟 In this episode, we tackle the "identity trap" in design and how to stay passionate without letting corporate exploitation drain your soul

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why wrapping your personal value in professional output leads to burnout and frustration.
How the constant need for "exceeds expectations" reviews can actually undermine your professional agency.
Strategies to care deeply about your impact without letting it define your humanity.
How to feel in control even when your leadership doesn't yet grasp the full value of what you bring to the table

Our guest: Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Sara is a vocal leader in the design community and the founder of Active Voice, where she has coached dozens of professionals through these exact challenges. She joins Marc to explore how to lean into conversations about value without feeling like you’re constantly pleading for your seat at the table.

As you'll hear, Sara brings some "tough love" that helps you come out the other side more confident. It’s about learning to keep your side of the street clean, even when the organization around you feels messy.

Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 253

03:30 The collective headspace of design today

05:30 The impact of AI-related layoffs on design morale.

08:15 Era of cheap money

10:00 20-teens tech boom and its consequences

15:00 The ROI trap and identity

18:15 How shifting performance standards destabilize personal identity

22:00 Breaking the spell of work identity

24:45 Discomfort of realizing a job doesn't align with personal values

33:00 Navigating organizational change

38:45 Power mapping exercises

44:45 Empathy for colleagues

51:45 Concept of "humanizing" organizations to reduce isolation

55:15 Radical act of clocking out

57:00 Leadership without the ego

59:15 Strategic patience in a crisis

1:01:15 The value of the human behind the designer

01:14:15 Question to ponder

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraboettcher

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

[4. FIND THE SHOW ON]

Youtube ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-youtube
Spotify ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-spotify
Apple ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-apple
Snipd ~ https://go.servicedesignshow.com/253-snipd

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(321)

Designing for Truth in an Era of AI Hallucinations / Inside Service Design / Episode #08

We need to talk about the "intern" sitting on your desktop...Come on, you know the one. Sure, they are fast, very eager to please, and can process data at lightning speeds. But they also have a bad ha...

25 Joulu 20251h 1min

Fighting the "Enshittification" of Experience / Dan Saffer / Ep. #243

Sure, design might be going through a tough period...But as the saying goes, "never waste a good crisis."So this moment of uncertainty, where everyone is wondering if (or rather when) AI will take ove...

18 Joulu 20251h 13min

How To Stay "Stubbornly Human" in an AI World / Inside Service Design / Ep. #07

Here is a hot take, empathy is becoming "theater"...I mean, it's that feeling you get when you receive a "hyper-personalized" yet clearly automated email saying "We are so deeply sorry to see you go"....

11 Joulu 20251h 1min

Designing for the Long Game: Self-Care as Professional Rigor / Rachael Dietkus / Ep. #242

We often hear the "mantra" to move fast and break things...But what happens when the thing that breaks is you?For many service design professionals, this is the reality of their calendar: back-to-back...

4 Joulu 20251h 9min

How Vertical Storytelling Helps Translate Empathy into Business Value / Journey Management Playbook / Ep. #08

Okay, we are pretty good storytellers... but are we telling the right story?As service design professionals, we nail it when it comes to what I call "Horizontal Storytelling". We can walk anyone throu...

27 Marras 20251h 8min

The Missing Link Between Service Design and Business Goals / Mark Howell / Ep. #241

Service design, so what...That's a question still many people around us (rightfully) ask.And let's be honest, they'll probably keep asking it for the foreseeable future.It will take a very long time b...

20 Marras 20251h 9min

How to Win In-House: Don't Take Your True Superpowers For Granted / Inside Service Design / Ep. #06

Have you ever thought about...What a therapist, a grandma, and an organ donor teach you about service design?I know, this might sound like the start of a strange joke, but it gets to the heart of a bi...

13 Marras 20251h 2min

This Is Your Competitive Advantage As A Design Leader / Jose Coronado / Ep. #240

We've got a serious problem...The "higher" you climb on the career ladder, the further removed you get from the actual discipline of design.Unfortunately, it's a story I hear surprisingly often. A des...

6 Marras 20251h 6min