Introduction: Workplace Culture and Leadership in Public Relations

his chapter challenges the applicability of traditional, individualized leadership models in public relations (PR), arguing that leadership is not just an individual attribute but an ongoing social process embedded in workplace culture. While existing research has emphasized personal traits and strategic capacity, this chapter reconceptualizes leadership as something enacted through everyday routines, interactions, and shared identity. The analysis situates leadership within broader industry transformations, including the reorganization of work and shifting generational expectations. Structural conditions within organizations limit the progression of PR professionals into executive roles, while increasing numbers of practitioners turn to freelancing in response to burnout and rigid workplace environments. To address these challenges, the chapter advances a multi-level framework, examining leadership at the micro level of individual experience, the meso level of workplace culture and organizational practices, and the macro level of industry and societal change. It argues that leadership in PR emerges through the interaction of these levels, rather than through individual capability alone. The chapter calls for a reconceptualization of PR leadership as a relational, cultural, and context-dependent process, inviting also interdisciplinary research.