Learning to Manage: Day in the Life of a Team Leader

Name: David S.
Job Title: Team Leader, Personal Loans

Different every day
I’m a Team Leader within Personal Loans. Every day looks slightly different, but ultimately I develop and support a team of agents that help customers achieve a brighter financial future, through personal loans. This job has been more fulfilling than any past experience.

Team traditions
My favorite part of the job is the people! I love my team. We work hard (in comfy clothes) and play harder together. I’ve been to numerous team off-sites like axe throwing, picnics, etc. We have team traditions that keep everyone engaged in our work. One of my favorite traditions is Fun Friday, where we do something fun together as a team. We’ll watch a movie, play online party games or corn hole. My other favorite team tradition would be the potlucks. Now my cooking is not the best, but we truly have some amateur chefs within Discover.

First time people manager
I never wanted to be a “manager,” but I am incredibly happy that I took a chance. I love seeing the people on my team be awarded and recognized for their hard work. In my time here, I’ve had three people get promoted on my team. My number one goal as a leader is to take care of my people, so it’s fulfilling to help others accomplish their goals.

Who you know
Bring personality to Discover. I was always told that business is all about who you know. When I first started, I made it my business to get to know everyone I possibly could. While meeting everyone, I realized that I could truly be myself at work. I was comfortable with my environment because others were comfortable with being themselves. That’s when I feel in love with the culture. No matter where you come from, there’s a place for you.

Taking action to learn
Discover has taught me more about financial freedom and literacy than any other method I’ve previously tried, and I recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business (so that’s saying something). We’re more effective because we take action to push learning. For me specifically, Discover gave me the opportunity to go through the Operations Internship Program while I was still in school. This program gave me a full crash course on the business. I had a true hands on experience working with mentors and partners. I was fully immersed in all the processes and strategies that go on behind the scenes.

Beyond just saying
Coming into the internship program, my outlook was “great I get to make coffee for my boss.” But that was never the case once. Not only was I equipped with all of the resources to grow as a professional, but I was able to present my project to senior management and began networking with a highly talented audience. Discover doesn’t just say we take care of our people, we do it! Since then, I’ve participated in numerous focus groups, development classes (like delivering difficult news), knowledge expos and events that continue to push my growth.

Impacting business as an intern
When I went through the Operations Internship Program, my project was designed around the call-flow and how we could improve the process efficiency for our customers. The project that I presented was implemented to the floor and still being used today. That was my first experience with Discover and when I saw our leaders take the time to listen to an outside opinion and actually implement it, I knew Discover was a leading company for innovation. That is just one example of the numerous projects going on daily that will help Discover innovate and grow as a whole.

You get what you put in
I’m a strong believer that you get out what you put in. I believe that the leadership here have put in an amazing culture to achieve success. I love our vision and direction because regardless of our growth, environmental change or competitive pressure, we continue to be leaders in customer satisfaction. One of my favorite sayings is that the “C” in Discover stands for Change. We are constantly changing, adapting and creating new processes.

Snack boxes
When COVID-19 first started, the company transitioned to working from home. My bosses sent us a personalized snack box to enjoy. This was the best surprise I could have received. Though the box was gone in minutes, the true beauty was in the little thing Discover did to brighten our day. It’s the little things, which as a whole, equate to such a fun place to work.

Telling the truth
I went back to my alma mater, Northern Arizona University, for a career fair last year. I saw so many of my friends at the fair, and they all stopped by the Discover table to say, “tell me the truth: how is it there?” With laughter, my answer every time was “I love it.” Every day I wake up excited for work. I’ve never been part of something so rewarding before. Each day I have the chance to make a difference, and knowing that is an added bonus.

Finding a glitch
As a team leader, I take supervisor calls. One particular night, we had an upset customer on the line. After talking to other departments and researching the account, I noticed that there was a glitch in the system. I escalated this situation to our incident team and was able to get this applicant a loan. They called back a few months later in tears, overjoyed with my diligence in order to get them approved. Having a customer call back and thank you for doing your job is one of the most rewarding feelings because it was something they appreciated past the call.

Call center stereotypes
I currently work in the call center, which scares a lot of people. I hear it all the time, “I don’t want to take calls all day.” But no matter what role you have at Discover, the rewards outweigh the risk. The opportunities are endless, and we’ve built a strong foundation to help you learn, develop and promote into whatever you want. I could go on all day.

Imagining the future
I’ve already learned so much in the short amount of time with the company that I cannot imagine where I will be at the end of Discover journey. You can’t put everything on paper, but from my personal experience I recommend this job to everyone!