Discover — Senior Associate Leadership Development Experience
Discover celebrates and marks the first significant career milestone for our eligible client service staff ─ promotion to senior associate. New senior associates step away from work to attend a leadership development experience at an exclusive location where they explore leadership on a deeply personal level, including understanding the importance of a strong support network. For many, it’s a game changer - an opportunity to realize what is truly important to them as they strive to realize their potential.
Our senior associates experience:
Discover builds skills that help our new senior associates to make effective choices in four key areas: career, community, family and self. Hear from recent Discover alumni as they discuss how the program helped them grow professionally and personally.
- Community
- Family
- Career
- Self
Community
For Assurance Senior Associate Laura Nelling, working in public accounting was a good starting point – work, gain experience, get credentialed and move on. After a while, Laura wondered if the time had come for her to consider a new opportunity. It was then she began her journey of self-exploration, which coincided with her experience at Discover. And, it was at Discover where she found her answers. Laura learned that her top value was "community." Throughout her three years with the firm, there were many moving puzzle pieces, but her involvement in the firm's Corporate Responsibility initiatives was the one thing that remained consistent. Laura realized that the things she was doing were indeed bringing her fulfillment, and that her values and the values of the firm were in alignment. So when she transferred to a new office and couldn't find someone to connect with on local efforts, she took it on herself, working with the market Corporate Responsibility leader. Now Laura is the "go-to" person if you're looking to get involved in local community service efforts. Laura has even applied to a rotational program with our national Corporate Responsibility team.
Family
For Advisory senior associate, Pete Johnson, a key takeaway from Discover around asking for help enabled him to tackle a sudden and life-changing situation with support from his extended family and client engagement teams. He applied what he learned at Discover by implementing rituals — highly specific behaviors that become authentic over time. This new skill has allowed him to care for a parent diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer (which he is happy to report is in remission), be more present for his wife to strengthen and deepen their relationship, and continue to perform at a high-level across client engagements and internal firm initiatives.
Career
After transferring to a different PwC office, industry and engagement team to follow his significant other, Travonte Aldrich, an Assurance Senior Associate, found he wasn’t happy with all the changes. Armed with his experiences from Discover, he felt empowered to discuss his concerns with his support network - engagement manager, HR manager and relationship partner. When a break occurred in his schedule, he talked to his market team leader about the opportunity to work on a client in his original industry sector. The feedback was positive and the senior associate felt like he had come home. Today, he’s fully integrated into the new team, informally coaching his team mates, sharing his experiences and enjoying being a newlywed.
Self
Assurance Senior Associate Kierney Waldron came away from Discover with several tools to help her act with intention, be present, stay positive and practice flexibility. Working with her Discover coach, Kierney was able to realize her dream of moving to the West Coast. After returning from Discover, she called her Relationship Partner to help her explore a transfer from Boston to Los Angeles. She also started a gratitude journal where she wrote down three things she was grateful for every day. Because of Discover, Kierney was able to step outside her comfort zone - not only moving across the country, but also changing her client focus from financial services to healthcare/not-for-profit.
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