In the US democracy we still have a strong central executive with a lot of decision making power.
Parliamentary systems do not always have a President per se, but generally have a similar role of an individual who can quickly make decisions in emergencies and crises.
So in practice I’m not sure democracies are all that different in practice.
I think current democracies could also shed the notion that there must be an elected “dictator”, making decisions in crises should also be made with cooperation, especially then.