The COVID-19 pandemic caused tremendous changes in the tasks of ECE leaders. In Germany, in the first phase of the pandemic ECE centres were closed. When the centres carefully were reopened, ECE leaders found themselves in a field of tension between different expectations and were exposed to multiple stressors. They e. g had to communicate restrictions and regulate social contacts between children, parents and team members according to containment regulations and this changed the quality of social relationships to the various stakeholder groups. The study investigates in the question, how leaders experienced these multiple challenges in reorganizing the pedagogical work and leading the staff, how they mastered these tasks and coped with stress. 35 ECE leaders from 10 German states were interviewed between September 2021 and January 2022. Topics of the interviews were changes and challenges in leadership roles and their impact on stress, coping and self-management. The results show changes in the leadership role e.g. due to the implementation and control of the containment measures as well as the handling of the staffʼs anxieties, conflicts and exhaustion in the teams.