Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of cultural background and its effect on successful leadership and how it contributed to the skills, behaviors, support systems, and barriers for Arab American immigrant women business professionals and, in particular, Palestinian American immigrant women business professionals, who migrated from an Arab country to the United States. Methodology. This research used an ethnographic, qualitative approach to study the personal lives and professional career patterns of 13 women who achieved successful leadership. This study looked to understand the central phenomenon (Creswell, 2008) by implementing fieldwork of collecting viable data through face-to-face and telephone interviews in creating a portrait of a culture (Klenke, 2008). Each participant had her own unique story that depicted a portrait of who she was as a woman and as a business professional. Findings. While all 13 women shared the common experience of migrating to the United States and attaining successful leadership, the results of the data varied for each of the women in how they interpreted their experience in shaping their identity. The family unit played a vital role throughout the process of these women developing their identity. Conclusions. Though the women participants faced many challenges, they learned to use these challenges as opportunities to develop themselves as successful leaders. Actions that could be taken include structuring mentoring circles where successful Arab/Palestinian American women business leaders support future women leaders from this culture by organizing workshops, developing a skills-bank database, and networking. By knowing which skills to develop, what behaviors to practice, and what barriers to anticipate enables future women of this culture to focus on the effective skills and behaviors they need to become successful business leaders themselves. Recommendations. Further research is advised. Recommendations for future research include a comparison study that focuses on the differences between the role of culture versus the role of gender in affecting leadership development and success. It is also recommended that the study is replicated in different geographical areas in the United States using a larger sample population that includes only Palestinian American women.