Speeches by Nduati

“There is no peace when there is a mad man in the house.”

That’s how I began a speech about leadership styles back in 2019. I was talking about Donald Trump as he had recently been elected the U.S. president. Fast forward to 2025, he is back and the world has been in a state of panic.

I joined the world in panicking back in 2019 but for some strange reason, not this time. I didn’t understand why—until I took the leadership style assessment for this project.

My results in 2019 showed that I was a democratic leader. This time, however, they revealed that I am equally democratic and authoritarian.

So, in a plot twist, I am not panicking about Trump because, in a way, resulting from my authoritarian style, I understand him. I know that the things he does are just a tool to get his way.

Because that’s what leadership styles are: our preferred tools of getting things done. Let me show you how I use the democratic and authoritarian leadership styles.

I will use marriage to paint a picture the democratic style.

When you get married, while you might eagerly anticipate that first night, there’s a problem waiting for you. In all your visions of night, you probably forgot to ask yourself a simple question: Who will make the bed when you wake up?

Culturally, it might be expected that the woman makes the bed . But she might say, “Not so fast!” Maybe, to be fair, the last person to leave the bed should make it. Or perhaps you take turns. Or is it whoever has more time before leaving the house?

Whatever the case, you need to negotiate a fair agreement democratically. Otherwise, you might find yourself living with a resentful partner who, one night, “accidentally” elbows you in the chest and later claims SHE was just dreaming.

When I was elected in July, I used this democratic approach. I had a team of other leaders, and for the next year, we were essentially married to each other. Not wanting them to turn crazy on me, I was the Democratic leader, and we negotiated how to work together.

One of our agreements was that club officer training would primarily be in person rather than online.

But very quickly, I realized being democratic only works up to a point. People can take advantage of it.

Like in the biblical story of King Solomon and the two women fighting over a baby.

One woman had lost her child and claimed another woman’s baby as her own.  She bet that she could game a democratic King. But King Solomon made an apparently authoritarian decision—he ordered the baby cut in half so each woman could have a share.

Of course, he never actually intended to harm the baby. His wisdom lay in knowing that the real mother would rather give up her child than see it harmed. Still for a brief moment while the situation played out he seemed to be the bad guy.

And that’s precisely what happened to me.

One of my district leaders tried to game our agreement. In their mind, even though we had a clear plan, it was just words on paper. They bet on a democratic leader being pushed into a corner like King Solomon, and like him, I did something authoritarian. I was willing to be the bad guy.

One of my favorite bad guys is from the animated series Venture Bros. His name is The Monarch. He wears a ridiculous yellow butterfly suit, wings and all. His sidekick is Dr. Girlfriend.

In one episode, while attacking an enemy’s office, he shouts to his minions:

“Spare no one! Kill everyone! God knows His own!”

That is exactly how I handled the training situation.

The discussion about changing the training took place in a WhatsApp group. I asked to be added to the group.

I didn’t check the names of the participants.

I didn’t ask who had said what.

I went full bad guy – don’t try this at home.

I spared no one.

I let everyone have it.

I figured God knew who was innocent.

And it worked. The group followed through on our agreement, and the training was incredibly successful. I know because I traveled to the country and participated in it myself.

When I first took the leadership style assessment in 2019, I was clearly a democratic leader. And if I’m being honest, I believed that some leadership styles were inherently good while others, like the authoritarian style, weren’t. Over time, however, I’ve learned something important: Leadership styles are just tools—not inherently bad.

Being authoritarian is good when it holds a team accountable, and being democratic is bad when it prevents you from following through on your team’s plans.

Develop all your leadership tools, but most importantly, make the best use of the ones you have now to make a difference.