The impact and changes due to unprecedented internal and external events lead to challenging scenarios global leaders are forced to face. The COVID-19 crisis presented significant challenges to leaders in all organisations and countries. This study presents how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders responded to the pandemic by exhibiting dynamic leadership. The theoretical grounding for this study is dynamic leadership. The dynamic leadership theory is based on the vision, traits, and creativity that leaders must possess to emerge as effective decision-makers amidst change. This study employed content analysis and literature review to conduct a PEST analysis evaluating the political, economic, social, and technological factors among ASEAN countries amidst the COVID-19 crisis (2019-2021). This study particularly examined ASEAN leaders' responses to these changing factors. The findings reveal how leaders integrated transparency in ASEAN, further demonstrating the interconnections and relationships between followers and leaders. The attitude and behaviour of leaders are crucial in navigating crises for organisations to enhance the quality of leadership outcomes. Strong cooperation and dialogue between ASEAN member countries are crucial to surviving post-pandemic economic disruptions. The overview of the context and impact for the pandemic provides a vantage point of how the actions and changes of leaders are important factors in ensuring nationwide survival and sustainability.

Keywords: Crisis, dynamic leadership, PEST analysis, traits