Janet Diodato

I would say there's 3 people that I think of all the time. My first manager, her name was Kathy Graham, and she was my manager at McDonald's, and she was the first person that believed in me and was like, I'm gonna show you how working at McDonald's is more than just, you want fries with that? And it was about also, again, just showing up and being your best self and having the ability to change someone else's day. And then I would say Nava, who was the CEO and the owner at Kind Hospitality, he was really the person who was like, yes, HR is black and white, but life is gray. And you have to accept people as they are, and recognize your commitment to them when you offer them a job, and figure out where they sit at the table, and maybe you hired them for one role. This isn't the right role, but now it's your job to find another role and work with them, to develop them into still being successful, but maybe into another role. And then, I would say Mac Monroe, he came across at a SHRM conference, and he trained me on a lot of different leadership topics. And we kind of went over whenever I would run into a problem where someone was, like, a high performer and they got promoted, I'm like, how do I give them the soft skills that they don't have of how to delegate and how to train somebody? And so, he really worked with me one-on-one, and then with my teams to give them that information on how to be a great boss, and how to be there for your team and show up. And then, of course, my grandmother, she really was instrumental in showing me that you have to show up, you have to be accountable, and you have to do whatever's right. And if you make a mistake, then you have to own that, and you have to fix it.

The best career advice I’ve received combines several lessons: “Show up, be accountable, and own your mistakes,” taught by my grandmother; “HR is black and white, but life is gray—accept people as they are and find ways to develop them,” shared by Nava; and practical guidance on delegation and soft skills from Mac Monroe’s leadership training. These lessons have shaped how I lead with integrity, empathy, and effectiveness.

I would say that they have to be consistent longer than it feels comfortable. Sometimes things will happen, and it will feel uncomfortable, and you'll want to kind of shrink, or kind of, like, withdrawal into yourself. But you have to be able to sustain your sense of worth, and your credibility is built over time, and it's built over how well you follow through on things, and not really on your intention. But on how you show up, and that you're gonna have to be navigating growth while strengthening infrastructure in HR. And you have to identify the gaps in trainings and onboarding and compliance, and you have to be able to brainstorm and problem solve and come up with the solutions, and if you identify a problem, don't just say, hey, there's a problem, but bring maybe multiple solutions with you. And then follow up on those decisions, because everyone gets busy, and people who follow up get things done. And so, you gotta be consistent longer when it comes to trying to change a process or change a system. And then, just remembering that when you make tough decisions, you have to often reset expectations and rebuild processes in real time, so that the key's really just, staying focused on the long-term impact rather than the short-term comfort of it. And it's worth it in the end.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is balancing organizational growth with strengthening HR infrastructure and addressing staffing shortages. The greatest opportunity lies in supporting and developing employees with lived experience of homelessness, helping them build stable careers and break cycles of instability.

Receiving the Anne Burns Award for Professional Excellence from Arizona SHRM, which recognized leadership attributes developed through various mentors
membership in SHRM organizations and their volunteer work with Fresh Start for Women, where they help rebuild resumes and conduct mock interviews for women re-entering the workforce