Dena Smith, better known as Dean Dena, is the Dean of Tacala Leadership University. With 16 years at Tacala, Dena’s journey began with a part time job as a Food Champion, and led to Dena working her way up to her current position as Dean of Tacala Leadership University. Recently, Dena took us behind the scenes to show us what a “normal” day looks like for her as Dean.
On Thursday, August 29th, Dena visited the Helena, Alabama Taco Bell to oversee a Market Training Restaurant certification process. She started her day full of energy and eager to celebrate others. During her visit, she surprised Field Training Coach, Zaria Johnson, who was recently promoted to Area Coach, with a birthday sash and ribbon to wear during their visit. With Zaria properly recognized, Dena turned her attention to helping the Helena leaders go through their operations checklists to see what should be improved to help them achieve their goal of becoming an MTR.
While performing the walk through for the MTR certification, Dena looked for any opportunity to teach something new, or learn something new herself. Dena says a common misconception others have of her, is that she knows everything as “Dean” when in reality, there is always something to learn and not always a single right answer. She is always looking to learn from those around her, and she pushes her team to do the same.
One of Dena’s favorite aspects of her job is getting to train so many different people through classes, assisting in certifications, and overseeing her field training team. It is clear that Dena lives out Taco Bell’s core value of “People First.” Even though every day looks different, this value is consistent. Dena says the best part of her job is “watching them [restaurant employees] do things they never thought they could accomplish.” Her goal is that
each person she interacts with can take what they learned and use it for their own growth. She shared in the Helena’s Teams excitement when they learned something new that will improve their store and help them become a MTR.
Another consistent aspect of Dena’s day to day is problem solving. Working in a field that is people driven, countless scenarios arise every single day and you have to be ready to react both effectively and appropriately. Dena works with teams to be solutions oriented through role playing. Exercises included creating a schedule that considers the needs of both full-time and part-time employees, community events that effect sales, the schedule changes as a result of customers and employees going back to school, and so much more. Dena used this method of producing real life scenarios throughout her visit to help the team think quickly on their feet like they would have to on a normal day.
Dena plays a crucial role in Tacala’s success! She is always willing to serve wherever needed and helps make sure all of our Taco Bell’s and our people are operating at their best
