Increase your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
Summary
Doing good service design is hard. You know what makes it easier? Having a supportive community of smart and generous professionals who are rooting for your success. In this session, we'll explore the power of professional communities, what makes them thrive, and help you decide if joining one is the right move for you. Plus, we'll share how to start and grow your own community based on the lessons we’ve learned from designing the community for in-house service professionals.
Key Insights
-
•
49% of service design professionals do not feel connected to their peers, impacting their confidence and productivity.
-
•
Feeling connected doubles the likelihood of individuals perceiving that they make significant impact at their organizations.
-
•
The Circle community started from a simple email invitation and grew intentionally to 20 countries with a focus on quality over size.
-
•
A curated and selective admission process helps build trust and ensures community alignment and safety.
-
•
Regular, structured sessions with a familiar rhythm (biweekly meetings, themed quarterly seasons) enhance commitment and participation.
-
•
Slow, intentional communication avoids overwhelming members with constant notifications, encouraging presence and focus.
-
•
High quality personal connections, including one-to-one video calls, foster deeper trust and peer support.
-
•
Interactive session formats like Water Cooler (open topic, voting-based discussions) and Dinner Table (hosted, thematic, story sharing) enrich learning.
-
•
Active member involvement in governance through councils and working groups sustains community relevance and continuous improvement.
-
•
Community design is an ongoing prototype that evolves with member feedback and changing professional landscapes.
Notable Quotes
"Half of the service design professionals do not feel connected to their peers, which is significant."
"If you don’t feel connected and you’re standing alone, the challenge looks much bigger."
"Respondents who feel very connected are twice as likely to say they’re making a significant impact."
"We design a community that would be missed if it were gone for our service design leaders."
"Everyone goes through quite an extensive application process, but it was stress-free and informal."
"A regular heartbeat and familiar structure are really important principles to keep a community alive."
"Slow and intentional communication allows you to be fully present rather than distracted by constant notifications."
"High quality personal connections mean you can engage on a level playing field with serious professionals."
"We encourage one-to-one video calls to build rapport and feel comfortable reaching out for advice."
"The community is an ongoing prototype; members have a strong, frequent voice in shaping what good looks like."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"That mink showed up and it took on a fight that felt more enormous than it was."
Jemma AhmedResearch at an inflection point: Adapting to a new era of collaboration, equity, and innovation
March 11, 2025
"Silent leaders are people who prefer action over words and advocate in more intimate settings."
Briana ThomasThe Quiet Force: Uncovering Hidden Leadership in High-Impact Design Teams
September 24, 2024
"By summer, there had been zero cases of COVID on farms employing temporary foreign workers in BC."
Gordon Ross12 Months of COVID-19 Design and Digital Response with the British Columbia Government
December 8, 2021
"Well-set-up AI systems pulling data from multiple company sources will have more context, but it’s still limited compared to human understanding."
Laura KleinHuman vs. machine: Testing AI’s ability to synthesize and analyze research
March 11, 2026
"Customers tend to inflate negative feelings in surveys, but that doesn't always reflect their actual behavior."
Alberto FerreiraMaking it Count: Developing a custom digital metric framework that works
October 15, 2021
"And again, it’s free. So what are you waiting for?"
Louis RosenfeldHow to use the Rosenbot
March 16, 2026
"AI tools generate convincing yet potentially misleading content at scale, eroding public trust."
Noah BondRedefining truth and inclusivity: Navigating data ownership and ethical research in the age of disinformation
March 11, 2025
"Right now, tech hiring is down because interest rates are high and headcount is expensive, not because the skills aren’t needed."
James LangHopeful Futures for UX Research
January 30, 2026
"Energy Star appliances generate over a billion dollars in revenue yearly — applying that analogy to Cisco hardware proved powerful."
Amy ParnessScaling Sustainability: Complementary strategies that drive long-term success
May 29, 2025
