Celebrating the Small Victories

Celebrate the small victories.

Hanging on the wall of her office at our Minneapolis headquarters, this phrase describes Dani Biever and the leadership she strives to convey. It’s a value she’s carried through four different positions and eight years at North Star, and one that ultimately led her to her current role as supervisor of client services.

Dani joined the North Star team as an administrative assistant in 2014. She worked for the next nine months in that role, supporting two financial advisors with their client needs, service requests, and paperwork. From there, she transitioned into the role of central processor, where she supported over 20 advisors and was the go-to for underwriting and service requests. Following her role as a Central Processor, Dani worked for five years as the Lone Star Processor Lead.

Now, as the supervisor of client services, Dani leads more than 40 team members in North Star branches positioned throughout the nation, from administrative assistants to practice coordinators. Her days consistent of interviewing and training new employees, setting goals with team members, holding annual reviews, setting goals with team members, and sharing her knowledge with advisors and their teams.

Dani can frequently be spotted in our monthly team member kudos submissions for her ability to efficiently multi-task, her responsiveness, and her ‘lead with a smile’ attitude as she supports teams throughout the nation. Using a people-centric leadership style with her reports as well as her experiences throughout North Star, Dani has found that she’s able to build genuine relationships with her reports.

We sat down with Dani to learn more about her unique journey at North Star Resource Group.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

D: “I think I’d describe myself as a bubbly, friendly person, but also someone who’s very dedicated – in both my personal and professional life. I truly just enjoy being around people. When I’m not at work, though, I love to be active; whether this means mowing my lawn, taking my dog for a walk, or tending to my garden.”

So far, what is one of your favorite things that you’ve done in your role? 

D: “There are two things that come to my mind right away – the first is helping team members grow and advance within their roles.

The second is the fact that I’m able to create relationships with outside branches. I really enjoy the fact that I’m able connect with others and share my knowledge.”

If you could go back to your first day and give yourself one piece of advice to your previous self, what would you say or what advice would you give?

D: “I’d let myself know that I should be open to a changing environment…and probably to organize all of the notes you get from everyone. There’s a lot of moving pieces and changes to this industry, and keeping things organized really helps to when you want to go back and look through things.”

How do you keep your team engaged?

D: “We plan a lot of group activities. Everything from grabbing morning coffees at Starbucks, walking to lunch, planning happy hours, or even seeing live bands. Every Friday we listen to Initials on KFAN which is a really fun way to start the last day of the work week. We talk a lot about our dogs too, that seems to be a favorite conversation of ours! Basically, any event that we can do together!”

North Star’s mission is “Changing Lives, Forever.” What does that mean to you?

“I don’t think changing lives, forever really hits you until you see something big coming. For instance, when you see an advisor reaching out on how to submit a life or disability insurance claim, you know that the client is need of our help and you’re just thankful that you’re able to make it easy or convenient for a client who may be going through something that’s the opposite.”

What skills do you think have transferred from your different positions within North Star?

“Organization, definitely. It’s what keeps me up to date on deadlines. I also think that having a background of insurance terminology has helped me relate to the different advisors that I work with. Before I started my role as a supervisor, I worked with a lot of the team that I now supervise, so I already understood their communication preferences. This was crucial to my transition as a supervisor, because I was able to enhance the communication style between the team members and advisors that I work with on a daily basis to make sure that everyone feels understood.”

What is something you want to accomplish in the future with your current role?

“I really want to work to ensure that my team is resourceful and able to do the job if I’m not there. It shows a lot when a manager, supervisor, or team lead isn’t there and the team is still able to work successfully and handle problems that may come up.”

Who has been a good resource for you within North Star?

“When I worked in processing, Taylor Wakefield was another individual within North Star who started in processing before I did. She was super helpful for any training or help that I needed. Now, as a supervisor, Mary Claire Wente has been an incredible resource, whether that’s for advice, helping me navigate difficult conversations, or providing me with different templates or checklists that she uses for her team growth and overall culture.”

At North Star, we celebrate the fact that our team members and advisors have discovered different paths before ultimately joining our team. If you have questions about our open positions, click here.