Various styles of leadership can either mitigate or worsen polycrisis in northern Uganda – with various repercussions for the local authorities and people experiencing everyday stressors. In a five months ethnographic study in northern Uganda, I have observed events, interviewed local leaders and distressed individuals with the aim of understanding local authorities’ involvement in resolving local polycrisis. Two over-arching notions come to mind in interpreting local qualitative evidence namely engaged empathy-centred and detached power-centred interventions. Empathy-centred interventions by engaged authorities describe approaches deployed by self-less leaders to address any crisis. Engaged authorities explored practicable culturally appropriate approaches with their distressed clients. Although costly, tedious and messy, local authorities’ resorting to this approach garnered popularity and trust from residents. The respondents confirmed that they would seek interventions again from such leaders – for their approaches frequently restored harmony and normalcy. Detached power-centered approaches on the other hand involved the use of instruments of power including Local Council chairman’s letter heads, local legal provisions, the constitution and tactics of appropriating power like committee meetings’ declarations. Typically, while following detached-power centred leaders’ approaches, I observed outcomes including angrily tearing the chairman’s letter, and disregarding local committee declarations or even an increase in the scale of domestic violence. The affected respondents argued that it was not useful to approach such detached authorities with their everyday challenges. Instead they preferred to resolve them by themselves or even approach other trusted local leaders. Generally, local authorities’ involvement in resolving polycrisis in northern Uganda can be replicated in other settings. The leadership frameworks observed do depict not only efficacious leadership styles but also the extent to which leaders’ engagement, innovation and self-lessness may mitigate polycrisis.