Linda Ndung'u: Bolt CEO on how Daniel's biblical life has shaped her leadership style

The Bible is a fascinating storybook full of unbelievable men engaging in unbelievable activities. Of dreadlocked men who kill thousands of men with only a donkey’s jawbone. Men who live in whales. Men who could drive the devil out of their leader by simply playing them a harp. [If only]. Men who had 300 wives and 700 concubines but still managed to find time to preside over a kingdom.

Then there are teetotalers and vegetarians who could also interpret dreams, like Daniel.

And it’s the story of Daniel that Linda Ndungu, Country Manager of Bolt, the ride-hailing service, resonates with the most. (And not for any dietary reasons). To quickly refresh your memory. Daniel, captured together with his Jewish cronies, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego, are hauled off to Babylon to serve in the king’s court, where they face a lot of pressure to conform to Babylonian society and give up the ways of their people.

Linda identifies strongly with Daniel, whose story offers the apt illustration (or is it an allegory?) of her career drive and motivations. A story of service and rooting. “My corporate job is my assignment because God gives people assignments in different areas, and I do it while retaining my [original] call.” She says. “I can be fruitful wherever God puts me.”

I saw your name amongst a list of formidable women leaders invited to speak at an International Women’s Day event.

Oh yes, I’m incredibly passionate about women’s empowerment. It comes from my father. My dad was very progressive. There were four girls and one boy, but it didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl. He always stressed that we could do anything we set our minds to do. He shaped that thinking very early on in my life, and I thought it was normal for fathers to do it until I came out here and realised he was different.

He was very protective of his girls and made us believe that we had what it took to make a difference. He gave us every opportunity and took us to school. He’d say, ‘I’m doing all these for you so that no man can ever use it to manipulate you.’ [Chuckles] He tried very hard, and this is taking into account that we grew up in Nyeri, and Central Kenya, as you know, is very patriarchal.

Nyeri women have a reputation for being quite tough…at least, the ones I know are.

[Chuckles] Oh yeah? It’s a bit of a stereotype but also true because circumstances have taught us to always step up and make things happen. Over the years, as we pursued affirmation and girl empowerment programmes, our brothers and men of my generation were left out. Women have become super empowered, and now there is a tension that sees men resorting to other activities like drinking. A bit of balancing needs to happen.

Obviously, this is not your brother’s interview, but I’m curious how he turned out in light of these dynamics.

My dad always told my brother, “You are my deputy and we are bringing up strong women so you have to be strong because you are the head of this home when I’m not around”. After we lost my dad five years ago, my brother stepped into the role, and because my dad instilled in him this so hard, he has easily taken over as the man of the house now. Even though he is the youngest, and three of us sisters are married, he still calls us to find out. He’ll ask, “What’s going on? How are you? Are you fine?” [Chuckles] He’s in charge. This, to me, is beyond gender; it’s an empowerment thing. My dad empowered everyone in their own space because there’s space for everybody. I don’t have to win, and you lose. We can both win.

What did your parents do for a living?

They ran a law practice in Nyeri. My dad ended up being a judge. My mom then moved into parliament, where she worked in their legal arm. She’s also very strong in her own right. My mom taught me that you can be strong without overshadowing your person. You can win in your own space without taking away from your partner or your family. I also learned from her that you don’t have to trade your job for your relationship or vice versa. These things can co-exist... I’m sorry I’m telling you such random things…

Oh no, I love such random things….

My mom is quite impressive. There isn’t a side hustle she hasn’t done…She did chicken farming and reared pigs, I’m talking at scale, in the thousands. She did tomatoes and onions…the only thing she hasn’t done is flowers or keeping ostriches. [Laughter]. She is retired now and does large-scale wheat and maize farming. The thing for me with my mom that I saw growing up a lot is when she decided to do something, she did it. No excuses. I see a lot of that in myself, and I try not to make very firm stands on many things because when I decide it’s going to happen, it will happen.

People say I run my house like a military camp; dinner at this time, homework at this time, gadget time at this time, and bed at this time. It’s not always seamless because people are people (Laughs), and we are not robots, but at least generally, people have an idea of your expectations and their role. And I think it’s beneficial because it also helps instil responsibility for our three children.

For someone with a lot of order and structure, when did you feel like there was a lot of chaos in your life?

When we got married, then a year later, we had our first child. First, I was still trying to get used to the idea of this other person I was living with who was different from me - my husband is my opposite - then, as if that wasn’t enough, we added a child to this mix. At that time, I was working for Deloitte in Tanzania, but I was transitioning back home, and all these things seemed to be happening at the same time. It was pretty turbulent and chaotic. But I credit my husband because he was very accommodating and flexible.

From your LinkedIn it seems your career started quite well, what would you attribute that to?

I see myself as a child of God. I work hard, I’m intelligent, smart, orderly, and consistent, but the truth is so are many people in life. So, I don’t attribute it just to myself. I don’t believe in that. I believe in God, and I believe God has a plan for everyone’s life. And if you seek Him and try to understand what He wants in your life, then He directs you. So, that has played a key role for me. 

As a professional, you must ask yourself what your organisation wants to achieve and your role as an individual. You can have this lovely big vision board, but you won’t be able to actualise anything if you don’t build solid steps toward where they want to go.

I hear a lot of spirituality and religion there…

Those are very controversial terminologies that I try to avoid. They crowd out the real meaning of things. My philosophy is simple: I know who created me, and I have had to work my way to find out why I was created. That’s the bedrock.

The rest are…[Thrashes hands in the air]. But I do identify as born again, which means I’m led by the spirit, and I have that connection to my creator because the one who created you is the one who knows what you’re here for.

Who do you identify with the most in the Bible?

Daniel. He and his friends were taken from Israel by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon as captives. They would take princes, nobility, and the children of nobles, break their culture, teach them the Babylonian way, and then use their skills to serve the Kingdom. Daniel adopted the ways of the Babylonians, but he always remembered his roots. He never defiled himself with the king’s meat or wine. He kept the doctrine from Israel. How I relate with Daniel is that I have been assigned a job -

…Bolt, in this case, and Bolt is Babylon…

 [Laughs hard] No, no, that’s a terrible comparison. No. It’s not Bolt, it’s the world in general…all these other organisations I have worked for - Coca-Cola and Deloitte- are not ministries, and even though I have worked in these organisations and given my skill and talent as a professional, I have retained my core roots, which is my service to the Lord. And so, while the expression of being a child of God and being in service to God is not necessarily evident in my, say, country manager role at Bolt, it’s the greater underlying purpose….This interview is proceeding excitingly.

How did we even get here? [Laughs]. Anyway, I’m saying that my corporate job is my assignment because God gives people assignments in different areas, and I do it while retaining my call. I can be fruitful wherever God puts me. It doesn’t have to be in a Christian organisation.

Do you also refuse to defile your body with meat and wine, like Daniel?

 [Laughs] I eat meat. I don’t drink wine.

You’re a petite girl. How does that play out in leadership? Do you find that your size works for or against you? 

It’s always an advantage. Initially, I was very concerned that it might work against me because leaders are generally supposed to be people with presence, and studies show that people judge you in the first 20 seconds.

And so, as a petite person, people misidentify you. They don’t anticipate that probably, you know, your brain, your experience is not commensurate with your size, and so you always have the upper hand and you’re able to find common ground faster.

We have had a good conversation here this morning but I’m afraid I have to bring this up; your drivers. Are you aware of their relentless, unsavoury conduct?

 I’m aware and when I joined two years ago, this issue was at its peak. We started intense retraining programmes and took strong measures to enhance compliance. We are a mass-market rider market and this comes with a lot of complications on both sides, the drivers and the users. 

We are aware that our drivers also took advantage of our less stringent stance compared to our competitors, but we have since become more stringent. I think it’s going to take time because it was quite endemic. 

When I came, I wasn’t aware of the extent of the things that needed fixing, but we are fixing them. That’s one of the things I’m determined to do. At least by the time my time is done, the narrative should be different.

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