The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) created a disruption to the global landscape that called for the quick response of key governance actors, specifically an adaptive approach by the local leaders. In this study, we analyze strategies of two local chief executives to draw insights about how adaptive leadership practiced in the context of two cities in the Philippines deemed to excel in managing the pandemic at the height of its onslaught. Owing to COVID restrictions at the time of the study, secondary data from various social media accounts, local government portals, and news websites were utilized together with the accounts from a university webinar in which the mayors presented their leadership experiences. The data were analyzed using Mulder’s four dimensions of adaptive leadership. Findings show that during a pandemic, leadership may deviate from a traditional to an innovative, adaptive form. The study documents the various strategies employed by the mayors, from which other local chief executives in similar crisis response and management contexts may draw leadership and governance insights. This article is a preliminary inquiry on adaptive leadership in local governance seeking to invite further discourse on the role of adaptive leadership in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.