What Dolly Parton Taught Us About Trust, Authenticity and the Power of Being Yourself
Dolly Parton’s legacy offers business leaders and communicators a powerful lesson in trust, authenticity and reputation management: credibility is earned when values, words and actions consistently align. For crisis and executive communications, her example underscores listening, humility, kindness, self-awareness and knowing
when to speak…and when not to.
By Faye Shapiro, writing for CommPro…
We all loved Dolly Parton.
That feels like the right place to begin because few public figures have ever occupied the place Dolly did in our culture. Across generations, geographies, politics and backgrounds, people didn’t simply admire her. They felt connected to her, and they trusted her.
In the days following her passing, there has understandably been an extraordinary outpouring of affection and remembrance. But for those of us who spend our lives thinking about communication, leadership, reputation and trust, Dolly’s life also leaves us with something worth examining. How did someone achieve that level of fame and success, continue to evolve for decades and somehow remain unmistakably herself?
CommPRO asked a remarkable group of leaders in communication to reflect on what Dolly Parton can teach communicators and business leaders about authenticity, trust, staying true to who you are, and knowing when to speak and when not to.
What came back was much more than a collection of tributes. Together, these reflections tell a story about what authenticity actually looks like when it is lived over a lifetime. They remind us that trust is earned through actions, that kindness can be a form of leadership, that values matter most when there is something at stake, and that having a voice doesn’t require using it on every issue.
Perhaps most of all, they remind us that Dolly’s greatest communication strategy was never really a strategy at all. She knew who she was.
Jon Harris, EVP, Chief Communications & Networking Officer, Conagra Brands:
“Dolly taught me that you can be incredibly successful without ever losing your humanity.
She knew exactly who she was. Her brand was never manufactured – it was simply Dolly. She was smart, disciplined and a terrific businessperson, but she never took herself too seriously.
A few things I learned from working with her:
• Authenticity wins. Dolly never tried to be anyone other than herself.
• Kindness is a leadership skill. She made everyone in the room feel important.
• Protect your name. She understood the value of her brand and was thoughtful about what she put it behind.
• Take the work seriously, not yourself. She was prepared, engaged and demanding about the work, but always brought humor and joy.
• Stay curious. Music, movies, television, Dollywood, philanthropy, consumer products – she never stopped evolving.
• Success means more when you share it. Giving back wasn’t something Dolly did on the side. It was central to who she was.
I’ve met and worked with a lot of well-known people over the years. Dolly was different. The person lived up to the legend.
I had the privilege of interviewing her several times, but the conversations away from the cameras are what I’ll remember most. She was funny, curious, gracious and incredibly sharp.
Maybe the biggest lesson was this: Dolly could walk into a room as one of the most famous people in the world and somehow make everyone else feel important.
That’s a pretty extraordinary legacy.”
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