When you join the Border Foods family, your career can grow by leaps and bounds! Case in point? Taco Bell’s theLeap Program, a leadership development initiative for high potential Restaurant General Managers (RGMs) and Area Coaches (ACs).
Running six months in duration, theLeap consists of monthly training conducted online with four in-person sessions at the Taco Bell Corporate Office in Irvine, CA. The course focuses on skills like authentic leadership, bold thinking and system management that can have real impact on your teams. We were proud to send three of our brightest minds to participate and recently caught up with them to learn more about their experiences!
Border Foods’ Leap Leaders
Brenda White says she made it known to our leadership team that she’d love to be considered for this opportunity, and, being newly promoted to Area Coach, she was an obvious choice!
Brenda’s goal was to learn how to handle shifting priorities in her new AC role.
“There’s always so much room to grow and understand yourself as a leader,” Brenda shares.
She particularly enjoyed the in person classes, describing them as fun, interactive and busy! She has her sights set on being named an AC of the Year someday, and understands the tools she received from this training will bring her one step closer to achieving her goal.
[theLeap program] has given me a new perspective on my coaching style and how I can adapt to others based on their needs.
– Brenda White, Area Coach
Through it all, Brenda is most appreciative of her Border Foods family. “They truly are my world and I thank all of my peers and supporters for being there for me when I need them,” she says.
Manasseh Williams is another friendly, familiar face around here! “I love the people-side of the job,” Manasseh shares. “I enjoy building relationships, supporting others and being part of a team that truly feels like family.”
Manasseh’s goal as an AC is to make an impact, and theLeap program gave him plenty of learnings to fortify this selfless mission. He says he looks back on theLeap’s practice modules, planning tools and leadership strategies whenever he needs guidance.
theLEAP program gave me more confidence and clarity in my leadership style,
– Manasseh Williams, Area Coach
Manasseh shares what it was like to hear from AC peers during the in-person sessions. They called the exercise “sharing the room” and Manasseh says it made the experience meaningful.
“It helped me understand how to lead in my own way while still adapting to what others need,” he says.
With the insights taken from the course, Manasseh says he feels more comfortable, intentional and effective as a leader. He highly recommends the program!
“No matter how long someone has been in the Area Coach role, it’s a great refresher and a strong kick start,” he says.
Lindsay Wurhman was training to be an AC when our Chief People Officer Sharla Hennek reached out to her about theLEAP opportunity.
“I was open to learn[ing] anything and everything as I was not even an Area Coach yet, and I wanted to get as much knowledge as I could from this class,” Lindsay says.
The biggest takeaway for her was understanding how to be confident, and how to productively coach and set up strategies for each restaurant in her care. Lindsay’s aim is to make each of her locations the best version of themselves, and she views their performance as a direct reflection of her.
“The experience was really interactive, gave you tons of tools to use and made a great network of peers to be able to reach out to,” Lindsay shares.So if you want to become part of a team that sets you up to be the best version of yourself, consider joining us!
