The effects of a cultural context on leadership within small firms in a crisis were studied by interviewing top managers and founders of entrepreneurial firms during and immediately after the COVID-19 lockdowns. Interview transcripts were analyzed as qualitative data using thematic analysis. None of the firms had a written plan that would be directly applicable to dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, they relied on entrepreneurial behaviour and flexibility. To deal with the crisis, Colombian firms tended to shift to greater reliance on parentalistic/paternalistic leadership practizing a more authoritative approach, but also benevolence, including care for employees' families. Such a shift was less characteristic of Spanish firms, which tended to adopt a transactional approach or did not change their leadership style. We interpret the difference by using Schein's levels of culture model: a crisis strengthens the influence of core societal values, which is reflected in leadership dynamics.