Abstract To maintain a competitive edge, businesses must be highly adaptive and resilient. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted the organizational practices of Saudi Arabian companies. One of the main effects has been to move employees to work from home virtually, which has raised legitimate questions about finding better management and productivity strategies. It was clear that relying only on basic managerial skills in the new environment was impossible, as it had the potential to lead to organizational crisis and loss of trust. At the same time, it was essential to create a new ethic that was relevant to remote employees, combining work responsibilities and home environments. This research paper consistently answered the questions of e-leadership and remote working. The critical research tools were a literature review and two case studies of STC and Mobily telecommunications companies present in the Saudi Arabian market. It was shown that each organization’s experience is different, and while STC focused more on creating a supportive work environment for employees and providing training, including for executives, Mobily management sought to intensify their commitment to innovation and improve their own designs. Both companies showed improved profitability for 2020, but the paper emphasized that this metric cannot be associated solely with moving employees online, although general trends are noticeable. Thus, the research paper served as an excellent summary of current trends related to e-leadership aspects. Introduction It would be erroneous to claim that the field of modern business is characterized by stability and conservatism. On the contrary, in an ever-changing global marketplace in response to increasing social demands, businesses must be sufficiently adaptive and adaptable to the environment to maintain competitive advantage and vitality. Of primary importance for realizing these performance criteria is the recognition by business leaders of dynamic transformation and a deep commitment to change. Consequently, only a leader who can anticipate and manage change has the potential to maintain high performance in the company. At the same time, it is crucial to understand that dynamic market fluctuations cannot necessarily be predicted in advance. In fact, fluctuations such as aggregate demand, industry leadership, or technological advancement trends are generally well predicted by analysts (Alshammari, 2020). However, some global changes, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic, can suddenly change the market structure in all countries, slowing down business processes and disrupting entire supply chains. In this case, influential leaders are expected to implement professional competencies to manage the current changes and the ability to adapt to the business promptly. This research paper conducted an in-depth study of the aspects and opportunities that have become relevant to today’s Saudi Arabian companies in the COVID-19 environment. In particular, it is recognized that some of the main effects of the pandemic have been the demands of social distancing and isolation, expressed including through the need for employees to work remotely (Sattar et al. , 2020). In an effort to comply with sa