Dianna Worthington, CFE

I attribute my success to investing in people and being a lifelong learner. My husband has always been a great advocate for me, telling me I have so much more to offer, so much more talent to give, encouraging me to go chase my dream. That's been a wonderful dynamic. I've got about a four or five-year positional track record, but a lot of it tied to systems and people development, training, support, and coaching, which is the world I love. Along the way, he has always encouraged me, whether out of boredom or hunger to learn and grow, to embrace the next challenge. For me, a huge value is investing in my people. I had a really great team at Neighborly and got them to a place in their development and skill set where I was comfortable leaving, knowing they could carry on, because I invested in each one of them. I think too often certain organizations miss that people attention and investment. We use nice words like career pathing and people development, but oftentimes they're left to their own devices to figure it out. I've been very intentional through the years as I've developed teams to find out what is the next challenge that you want, and how can I help you get there. I've been very intentional in their development, what I put in front of them, not just go on LinkedIn Learning and take a course, but how can I challenge you in their everyday work to learn and grow. As much as I've been intentional with others and developing them, I've also been intentional with myself. I've always leaned into the conversations, went and found information online, whether you're chatting with AI or taking a course or whatever it is - keep learning, keep growing, keep being curious. I think curiosity helps you become that lifelong learner.

The best career advice I ever received came from my husband while I was teaching in public schools. He kept encouraging me to change careers and told me, 'You have so much more to offer, so much more talent to give. You could be this, you could be that. Go chase your dream.' That's been a wonderful dynamic. His belief in me and recognition that my talents, leadership abilities, and passion for developing people could make an even greater impact in the private sector, particularly within franchising where training and systems are critical to success, gave me the confidence to step into a new industry. Along the way, whether out of boredom or hunger to learn and grow, he has always encouraged me to embrace the next challenge.

I would say don't wait till you're 100% ready. I think sometimes with that dynamic, we overthink and make these plans and we want to come off picture perfect. I think if you have wisdom, skill set, and a passion to learn, just raise your hand for the opportunities. Keep learning along the way. But if you take what you know and you invest in relationships and people, as much as you pour into others, they will pour into you. So joining hands with the right people and not waiting till you're ready - you'll get there. I always tell people that I'll figure it out. If you're giving me a challenge and it's not my wheelhouse, I'll figure it out, ask the right questions to ask, and I believe that I have enough common sense and wisdom to contribute at a higher level, so don't be afraid. Raise your hand and go. I think because we often find in that dynamic, women work twice as hard, sometimes women raise their hands too much to be recognized, to be noticed, to get that next opportunity, and we get so busy in the busy that we miss investing in ourselves. When a new opportunity comes, we feel like we're on our back feet, we're not quite ready. So as much as I've been intentional with others and developing them, I've also been intentional with myself. Keep learning, keep growing, keep being curious, and I think curiosity helps you become that lifelong learner.

The franchising industry offers strong opportunities for women to lead, coach, and influence organizational success. While challenges such as confidence, visibility, and readiness can still exist, these barriers are steadily decreasing as more women advance into leadership roles. I believe organizations benefit from diverse perspectives, especially in people development, training, communication, and culture-building, and the industry’s growing focus on leadership and talent development continues to create meaningful opportunities for women to make a lasting impact.

People are the core value in both my personal and professional life. I believe business success is driven by investing in and empowering the people who make it possible, ensuring they are supported, challenged, and given meaningful opportunities to grow rather than left to navigate development on their own. I’ve always been intentional about understanding individual goals and helping team members stretch into new challenges through their day-to-day work. That commitment extends beyond my career into my personal life as well, where family is deeply important to me, and where I’ve also been involved in ministry and missions work focused on supporting and investing in underserved communities, particularly children.