Abstract
The impact of acculturation on leadership style is an important topic
for the global community. A quantitative, non-experimental,
descriptive-correlational design using primary retrospective data was
employed in this study. The objective of the study was to see if
gender, education, income, primary language spoken at home, level
of Afghan acculturation, and level of American acculturation predict
task- and relationship-oriented leadership styles. Respondents were
Afghan American adults currently working in the U.S. Health System
as registered nurses with one or both parents originally from
Afghanistan, N = 171 participants. The results showed that levels of
task-oriented leadership correspond to the span of control (number of
subordinates overseen) directly. The more subordinates, the greater
the tendencies toward task-oriented leadership. The fewer
subordinates, the lower the tendencies toward task-oriented
leadership. None of the other variables contributed significantly to
predicting task-oriented leadership. Due to the constant changing
nursing field, diverse workforce, and high demand for healthcare
administrators, nursing curriculum should emphasize the importance of leadership skills. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.