IGNITED LEADERSHIP: WHAT DOLLY TAUGHT ME

Shit, Dolly died.

It’s hard to express what this loss means to me without sounding trite.

The truth is that I felt like Dolly was my friend.

I know I’m not alone.

Tributes poured in from Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Sir Paul McCartney, Sally Field, Oprah and ordinary people across political, gender, sexuality, musical, and generational lines.

For once, there seemed to be no division.

No shade. No hate.

Just love. Light. Joy.

That was Dolly.

Whenever she walked onto a stage or sat down for an interview, she lit up the damn room. That smile. That giggle. That enormous personality.

And underneath the rhinestones, Dolly knew exactly who she was.

She refused the choices women are so often handed:

• Smart or feminine.
• Ambitious or generous.
• Powerful or kind.
• Successful or grounded.
• Serious or funny.

Dolly's answer?

All of it.

DOLLY PARTON WAS THE OG IGNITED LEADER

Photo: Dolly receiving Kennedy Center Award

We tend to measure leadership and power by numbers.

How much money do you have?

How many people report to you?

How big is your company?

How many houses, cars, followers, awards?

But Dolly showed us another kind of power.

She told the truth.

She knew her worth.

She protected what she created.

She built wealth and then shared it.

She caused Good Trouble.

She lifted up other women.

She brought joy and humor into serious spaces.

And she never made herself smaller.

She seemed to understand something our culture still struggles with:

1. Kindness isn't weakness.
2. Femininity isn't frivolous.
3. Generosity isn't gullibility.
4. Humor doesn't make you superficial.
5. Empathy doesn't make you powerless.

And don't let the boobs, big hair, rhinestones and giggle fool you.

Dolly Parton:

• Wrote more than 3,000 songs.
• Sold more than 100 million records.
• Put 26 singles at #1 on the country charts.
• Earned 55 Grammy nominations.
• Was inducted into the Country Music, Songwriters, and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame.
• Built businesses.
• Protected her intellectual property.
• Said no to Elvis freaking Presley.
• Helped build one of America's most successful theme parks.
• Made millions and gave millions away.
• Created a literacy movement that has put more than 325 million books into children's hands.

And she never had to become less Dolly to do any of it.

That's what fascinates me.

Maybe becoming an Ignited Leader isn't about becoming more powerful.

Maybe it's about becoming more fully yourself.

Dolly didn't strip away the parts of herself the world might consider too feminine, too country, too poor, too flashy, too emotional, or simply too much.

She turned up the volume.

Then she used what she built to help other people rise.

That’s not contradiction.  

It’s Ignited Leadership.

WHAT DOLLY TAUGHT US

1. Don't Make Yourself Smaller to Be Taken Seriously

Dolly was the fourth of 12 children and grew up poor in rural Tennessee. After high school, she headed to Nashville and built an extraordinary career as a songwriter, performer, actor, and businesswoman.

She once said:

“Find out who you are. And do it on purpose.”

And damn, did she.

Big hair. Rhinestones. Long nails. High heels. Big boobs. Southern accent. Humor.

She entered industries dominated by men without trying to look, sound, or behave like them.

She didn't trade her femininity for credibility.

IGNITED LEADERSHIP LESSON: You don't have to become quieter, less emotional, less funny, less strange, less creative, or less you to be powerful.

2. Know Your Worth—Even When Elvis Comes Calling

After Dolly wrote I Will Always Love You, Elvis Presley wanted to record it.

There was one problem.

His manager, Colonel Tom Parker, wanted Dolly to give up half of her publishing rights.

Dolly said no.

Think about that power differential.

She was a 28-year-old female songwriter.

He was Elvis freaking Presley.

She wanted to hear Elvis sing her song. But she knew what she'd created was valuable and she wasn't willing to surrender it to someone more powerful.

Years later, Whitney Houston recorded I Will Always Love You, and it became a worldwide phenomenon.

Dolly's "no" paid off.

IGNITED LEADERSHIP LESSON: Know your worth. Know what belongs to you. Don't give either away simply because someone with more power wants it.

3. Own Your Story

Dolly didn't hide where she came from.

She used it.

The poverty.

Her homemade clothes.

Her mother.

Her father's inability to read and write.

Her Tennessee mountain home.

She transformed her experiences into songs, businesses, and philanthropy.

Her story wasn't something to overcome. It became part of her power.

That's why Story is a Leadership Tool is the first pillar of Ignited Leadership.

IGNITED LEADERSHIP LESSON: Own your truth. The parts of your story you've been taught to hide may be the very parts that lead you home to yourself and help you lead others.

4. Build Power. Then Share It.

Dolly became wealthy and famous.

But she didn't leave Tennessee behind.

She invested in it.

She helped build Dollywood, created jobs, and brought tourism to her home region.

She established the Dollywood Foundation in 1988, initially providing scholarships and educational opportunities for young people.

Then she created the Imagination Library, inspired in part by her father's inability to read and write.

What began in her home county grew into a literacy movement that has distributed more than 325 million books to children.

Her giving expanded into disaster relief, healthcare, medical research and more.

That's Power-With, Not Power-Over.

Dolly accumulated money, influence, visibility, and connections.

Then she circulated them.

IGNITED LEADERSHIP LESSON: Stop asking, How much power can I get?

Ask:

What can I do with the power I already have?

BE MORE DOLLY

September is all about Ignited Leadership.

We're starting with Leadership Within: Remembering Ourselves and the first three pillars:

Pillar 1: STORY IS A LEADERSHIP TOOL

Pillar 2: SELF-TRUTH THROUGH THE BODY

Pillar 3: WHOLENESS OVER PLAYING THE PART

And I can't think of a better woman to help us explore them.

Because maybe Dolly's greatest leadership lesson wasn't about fame, money, awards or even the millions of lives she touched.

Maybe it was much simpler:

Know who you are.

Stop apologizing.

Turn up the volume.

And use whatever power you have to help somebody else rise.

Thank you, Dolly.

For the songs.

For the laughter.

For the rhinestones.

For the books.

For showing generations of women we don't have to choose between being powerful and being kind.

And most of all, for showing us how fucking powerful a woman can become when she decides to be 100% herself.