Cultural intelligence (CQ) is the ability to work effectively in different cultural contexts. It has become increasingly important for organizations as workforces have become more diverse in terms of skills, education, generations, and cultural values. CQ involves understanding how one's own cultural values influence behavior and adapting one's communication style, leadership approach, and other behaviors to different cultural contexts. It can be developed through self-awareness, cultural training, coaching, and continuous learning from intercultural interactions. Organizations can build CQ by hiring people with growth mindsets open to diversity, providing CQ training and coaching, and fostering ongoing reflection on intercultural experiences.
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Print this page
8.4 Building Cultural Intelligence
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Discuss how to adapt to different cultures.
Managing cultural differences in the workplace is key to a company's survival, but it is also key to an
individual's ability to contribute to society. To operate effectively in a global world requires the use of cultural
intelligence, or the knowledge to function effectively across cultural contexts. Cultural intelligence is measured
by a person's cultural intelligence quotient (CQ). A person with high CQ can differentiate features of a
behavior that relate to culture, features that are universal, and features that are specific to an individual. For
example, if you attended a meeting in Finland and your Finnish colleague didn't do a lot of talking but then
summarized what you said, would that be a common cultural communication pattern found among Finns or is it
unique to that individual? If it is not unique to the individual but is a behavior common in Finnish culture, then
it can give you a clue about how you might want to structure your own conversations with other Finnish
colleagues.
Take, for example, a U.S. manager who was serving on a design team that included two German engineers. As
other team members offered ideas, the two Germans shot the ideas down—even describing them as not
applicable or too immature. After a fair amount of interaction with these engineers, the U.S. manager concluded
that Germans, in general, were rude and aggressive people. Had she possessed a higher level of cultural
intelligence, however, the U.S. manager might have realized that she was conflating the merit of ideas and the
merit of the people offering them—two factors the Germans were able to make a sharp distinction between.
Many managers would probably empathize with the team members whose ideas were being criticized and
propose a new style of discussion for the team that would protect people's feelings while allowing for candor.
However, without being able to distinguish how much of the engineers' behavior was culturally determined and
how much was unique to them as individuals, the manager couldn't know how to influence their actions or how
easy or difficult it might be to do so.
Assessing Cultural Intelligence
Cultural intelligence is rooted in research across many different countries and profoundly affects the way
businesses work and the success of cross-border leadership. Three factors determine a person's level of CQ.
It's not enough to be good at just one or two—all three are necessary to effectively and appropriately adjust
behaviors in a foreign culture. These three factors, which we discuss next, are cognitive CQ, behavioral CQ,
and motivational CQ.
Cognitive CQ .
Cognitive CQ is our level of understanding about how cultures are similar and different. Most corporate t.
“I think she’ll fit well into our company.”
“His experience was stellar, but he just wouldn’t be a good fit.”
These phrases are frequently used to describe candidates and whether they will – or won’t – “fit” into an organization’s culture. But what does culture fit really mean? Is there a better way to determine how well a candidate will fit than simply having a good feeling about whether they’ll mesh well? And, how do goals of hiring for culture fit complement—or conflict— with other goals such as diversity or hiring for skills?
This article will explore these questions and provide qbest practices.
In a world where professional services firms are increasingly opting for regional and global reach, the need to be responsive to cultural differences has skyrocketed. Whilst being culturally savvy has always been critical to local and cross-border business success, there is enormous room for improvement in this area. In an era where global mobility of talent is at an all time high, there is significant pressure on firms to respond to cultural nuance.
The world is becoming more inter-connected. Are managers prepared to lead a more culturally diverse work force? Cross Cultural Leadership skills are necessary to address both opportunities and challenges. But what type of training and development do managers need? Here, what outline criteria for developing competency in Cross Cultural Leadership.
As we look forward to 2021, our People Science experts offer predictions that can serve as your map to the path of People Success. We want to invite you to tap into insights—about people-centricity, well-being, and reimagining the world of work—to inspire a fresh start in the year ahead.
6820, 147 PMCulturePage 1 of 4httpsedugen.wileyplus..docxfredharris32
6/8/20, 1:47 PMCulture
Page 1 of 4https://edugen.wileyplus.com/edugen/courses/crs12056/ebook/c08/…OTc4MTExOTI0NDgzN2MwOF81XzAueGZvcm0.enc?course=crs12056&id=ref
Print this page
8.4 Building Cultural Intelligence
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Discuss how to adapt to different cultures.
Managing cultural differences in the workplace is key to a company's survival, but it is also key to an
individual's ability to contribute to society. To operate effectively in a global world requires the use of cultural
intelligence, or the knowledge to function effectively across cultural contexts. Cultural intelligence is measured
by a person's cultural intelligence quotient (CQ). A person with high CQ can differentiate features of a
behavior that relate to culture, features that are universal, and features that are specific to an individual. For
example, if you attended a meeting in Finland and your Finnish colleague didn't do a lot of talking but then
summarized what you said, would that be a common cultural communication pattern found among Finns or is it
unique to that individual? If it is not unique to the individual but is a behavior common in Finnish culture, then
it can give you a clue about how you might want to structure your own conversations with other Finnish
colleagues.
Take, for example, a U.S. manager who was serving on a design team that included two German engineers. As
other team members offered ideas, the two Germans shot the ideas down—even describing them as not
applicable or too immature. After a fair amount of interaction with these engineers, the U.S. manager concluded
that Germans, in general, were rude and aggressive people. Had she possessed a higher level of cultural
intelligence, however, the U.S. manager might have realized that she was conflating the merit of ideas and the
merit of the people offering them—two factors the Germans were able to make a sharp distinction between.
Many managers would probably empathize with the team members whose ideas were being criticized and
propose a new style of discussion for the team that would protect people's feelings while allowing for candor.
However, without being able to distinguish how much of the engineers' behavior was culturally determined and
how much was unique to them as individuals, the manager couldn't know how to influence their actions or how
easy or difficult it might be to do so.
Assessing Cultural Intelligence
Cultural intelligence is rooted in research across many different countries and profoundly affects the way
businesses work and the success of cross-border leadership. Three factors determine a person's level of CQ.
It's not enough to be good at just one or two—all three are necessary to effectively and appropriately adjust
behaviors in a foreign culture. These three factors, which we discuss next, are cognitive CQ, behavioral CQ,
and motivational CQ.
Cognitive CQ .
Cognitive CQ is our level of understanding about how cultures are similar and different. Most corporate t.
“I think she’ll fit well into our company.”
“His experience was stellar, but he just wouldn’t be a good fit.”
These phrases are frequently used to describe candidates and whether they will – or won’t – “fit” into an organization’s culture. But what does culture fit really mean? Is there a better way to determine how well a candidate will fit than simply having a good feeling about whether they’ll mesh well? And, how do goals of hiring for culture fit complement—or conflict— with other goals such as diversity or hiring for skills?
This article will explore these questions and provide qbest practices.
In a world where professional services firms are increasingly opting for regional and global reach, the need to be responsive to cultural differences has skyrocketed. Whilst being culturally savvy has always been critical to local and cross-border business success, there is enormous room for improvement in this area. In an era where global mobility of talent is at an all time high, there is significant pressure on firms to respond to cultural nuance.
The world is becoming more inter-connected. Are managers prepared to lead a more culturally diverse work force? Cross Cultural Leadership skills are necessary to address both opportunities and challenges. But what type of training and development do managers need? Here, what outline criteria for developing competency in Cross Cultural Leadership.
As we look forward to 2021, our People Science experts offer predictions that can serve as your map to the path of People Success. We want to invite you to tap into insights—about people-centricity, well-being, and reimagining the world of work—to inspire a fresh start in the year ahead.
Synergised Solutions Ltd presents their Transofrming Bias, 3-Day Change Programme:
An interdisciplinary modular based change programme that unlocks participants’ minds and perspectives around bias, equality, diversity and inclusion. These areas are examined from an organisational, team and personal standpoint.
At it's core, the programme is a combination of an evidence based approach along with the latest mindfulness and heart centered practices.
Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer Succession Planningbeyondrewards
Over the past 5 years we have heard predictions of an impending worker shortage due to the retirement of the baby boomers. Predictions are that the retirement of baby boomers will create a drain in knowledge, experience and leadership in our workforce. With the recent downturn in the economy, most organizations did not focus on this trend. However, now that we appear to be in an economic recovery the discussion is back on the table with greater intensity. But did anyone actually speak to the boomers or is this just a prediction?
On the basis of global cultures, would people from the United States.pdfshalini178068
On the basis of global cultures, would people from the United States, Japan, or Chile be more
comfortable with a group or team-based approach to work?
Solution
“There’s a typical default way that we all act in our respective cultures. It is the way that we give
feedback, greet people, praise or don’t praise, so all sorts of things would be different across
cultures.
Multicultural teams offer a number of advantages to international firms, including deep
knowledge of different product markets, culturally sensitive customer service, and 24-hour work
rotations. But those advantages may be outweighed by problems stemming from cultural
differences, which can seriously impair the effectiveness of a team or even bring it to a
stalemate.
Creating successful work groups is hard enough wherein the global work force is geographically
dispersed. When team members come from different countries and functional backgrounds and
are working in different locations, communication can rapidly deteriorate, misunderstanding can
ensue, and cooperation can degenerate into distrust.
This multicultural challenge can be dealt with in four ways –
What strategy to follow will depend upon the particular circumstance the manager is into. In
general, though, managers who intervene early and set norms; teams and managers who try to
engage everyone on the team; and teams that can see challenges as stemming from culture, not
personality, succeed in solving culture-based problems with good humor and creativity. They are
the likeliest to harvest the benefits inherent in multicultural teams.
Sometimes, the level of social distance plays a major role in the success of global teams. The
level of social distance means the degree of emotional connection among team members. When
people on a team all work in the same place, the level of social distance is usually low. Even if
they come from different backgrounds, people can interact formally and informally, align, and
build trust. They arrive at a common understanding of what certain behaviors mean, and they
feel close and congenial, which fosters good teamwork. Coworkers who are geographically
separated, however, can’t easily connect and align, so they experience high levels of social
distance and struggle to develop effective interactions. Mitigating social distance therefore
becomes the primary management challenge for the global team leader.
The fundamental requirement to get such teams on right track is to generate awareness and
sensitivity in the team to other cultures and people. The key is to boost their cultural
“awareness”- in other words to teach them the skills that transcend mere etiquette. These days
the companies are running cultural sensitivity training programs that focus primarily on ensuring
internal harmony within the international workforce.
The team leader should always encourage open dialogue so that the people from diverse culture
can feel comfortable working within the team.
Since we are talking about geographica.
ImaginativeHR's e-bulletins explore what's new and innovative in HR and talent management.
We are delighted to include you in the distribution of the December 2015 ImaginativeHR e-bulletin.
Building a team can be a difficult task. As a leader, the choices .docxhartrobert670
Building a team can be a difficult task. As a leader, the choices made with the formation of a group of people that will work together will reflect on the final project. The team must be able to work together and do it well. Building global teams can possess an extra level of difficulty that can actually be an advantage: diversity. Teams of a diverse composite are most effective when they are challenged with non-routine tasks that require innovativeness.
One model defines three stages of team development and these are the factors to observe when developing a diverse team.
Entry Stage
During the first stage of development, the entry or formation stage, the focus should be placed in building trust and forming cohesion within the team. The team is defined and various needed adjustments are made during this phase. Some member's customs may be to dive right into work and not get to know the team; this is generally the case for people from American, German, and Swiss backgrounds, which is the opposite of the overall Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Southern European culture that would like to create a true sense of a team by getting to know one and other better.
Creation Stage
During the second phase of creation, known as the work or development stage, the focus is placed on the description of the task and the analysis of the problem at hand. Cohesion within team members begins and reinforcements are in place to motivate the team members. This particular stage is not difficult in a diverse team due to the variety of experiences and ideas that result from a multicultural setting.
Action Stage
In the final stage, the focal point is decision making and implementation. This stage can become difficult because it generally requires a consensus among the team in regards to decisions to be made. Successful managers create and guide the decision making process and implementation as a facilitator for the diverse suggestions and comments added by team members without disrupting the flow of the project.
Guidelines for Success
Some guidelines to follow in order to successfully and effectively manage a diverse team include the selection style of the members. The team members should be selected by their task related capabilities and abilities instead of ethnicity or cultural quota building. The basis and nature of the project should be taken under account. Diverse teams perform better in innovative type of projects, so routine types of projects should be accomplished by homogenous teams. It is a given that diverse teams will involve a variety of personalities, styles, and customs, so the team members should expect this and be prepared to handle and accept diversity within the team. By understanding and accepting this fact of a diverse team, the members should also respect each other regardless of personal indifferences.
The different points of views may create difficulty in determining the final objective of the team and the milestones involved in the project, ...
In almost every Asian market, competition is increasing, fuelled by both local and foreign businesses. Skills shortages are a constraint on most firms in the region, and our leaders are now faced with managing three or four generations of workers all with their own unique ways of working and behaving.
This new ebook is explaining organisations and employees how to make the most of the opportunities ahead and tells why managers must be flexible and socially intelligent.
Great leaders come in all shapes and sizes, genders and cultures, but they all possess many of the qualities I’ve highlighted in the Think Oak A to Z of Leadership Qualities
Great leaders know they wonu2019t always get it right, but they work with other experts, listen to their employees, keep learning, and set the intention to create a vibrant, healthy workplace and culture that embraces diversity. This requires tremendous courage and empathy but results in stronger, more innovative and resilient organizations more capable of attracting and keeping top talent.
Synergised Solutions Ltd presents their Transofrming Bias, 3-Day Change Programme:
An interdisciplinary modular based change programme that unlocks participants’ minds and perspectives around bias, equality, diversity and inclusion. These areas are examined from an organisational, team and personal standpoint.
At it's core, the programme is a combination of an evidence based approach along with the latest mindfulness and heart centered practices.
Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer Succession Planningbeyondrewards
Over the past 5 years we have heard predictions of an impending worker shortage due to the retirement of the baby boomers. Predictions are that the retirement of baby boomers will create a drain in knowledge, experience and leadership in our workforce. With the recent downturn in the economy, most organizations did not focus on this trend. However, now that we appear to be in an economic recovery the discussion is back on the table with greater intensity. But did anyone actually speak to the boomers or is this just a prediction?
On the basis of global cultures, would people from the United States.pdfshalini178068
On the basis of global cultures, would people from the United States, Japan, or Chile be more
comfortable with a group or team-based approach to work?
Solution
“There’s a typical default way that we all act in our respective cultures. It is the way that we give
feedback, greet people, praise or don’t praise, so all sorts of things would be different across
cultures.
Multicultural teams offer a number of advantages to international firms, including deep
knowledge of different product markets, culturally sensitive customer service, and 24-hour work
rotations. But those advantages may be outweighed by problems stemming from cultural
differences, which can seriously impair the effectiveness of a team or even bring it to a
stalemate.
Creating successful work groups is hard enough wherein the global work force is geographically
dispersed. When team members come from different countries and functional backgrounds and
are working in different locations, communication can rapidly deteriorate, misunderstanding can
ensue, and cooperation can degenerate into distrust.
This multicultural challenge can be dealt with in four ways –
What strategy to follow will depend upon the particular circumstance the manager is into. In
general, though, managers who intervene early and set norms; teams and managers who try to
engage everyone on the team; and teams that can see challenges as stemming from culture, not
personality, succeed in solving culture-based problems with good humor and creativity. They are
the likeliest to harvest the benefits inherent in multicultural teams.
Sometimes, the level of social distance plays a major role in the success of global teams. The
level of social distance means the degree of emotional connection among team members. When
people on a team all work in the same place, the level of social distance is usually low. Even if
they come from different backgrounds, people can interact formally and informally, align, and
build trust. They arrive at a common understanding of what certain behaviors mean, and they
feel close and congenial, which fosters good teamwork. Coworkers who are geographically
separated, however, can’t easily connect and align, so they experience high levels of social
distance and struggle to develop effective interactions. Mitigating social distance therefore
becomes the primary management challenge for the global team leader.
The fundamental requirement to get such teams on right track is to generate awareness and
sensitivity in the team to other cultures and people. The key is to boost their cultural
“awareness”- in other words to teach them the skills that transcend mere etiquette. These days
the companies are running cultural sensitivity training programs that focus primarily on ensuring
internal harmony within the international workforce.
The team leader should always encourage open dialogue so that the people from diverse culture
can feel comfortable working within the team.
Since we are talking about geographica.
ImaginativeHR's e-bulletins explore what's new and innovative in HR and talent management.
We are delighted to include you in the distribution of the December 2015 ImaginativeHR e-bulletin.
Building a team can be a difficult task. As a leader, the choices .docxhartrobert670
Building a team can be a difficult task. As a leader, the choices made with the formation of a group of people that will work together will reflect on the final project. The team must be able to work together and do it well. Building global teams can possess an extra level of difficulty that can actually be an advantage: diversity. Teams of a diverse composite are most effective when they are challenged with non-routine tasks that require innovativeness.
One model defines three stages of team development and these are the factors to observe when developing a diverse team.
Entry Stage
During the first stage of development, the entry or formation stage, the focus should be placed in building trust and forming cohesion within the team. The team is defined and various needed adjustments are made during this phase. Some member's customs may be to dive right into work and not get to know the team; this is generally the case for people from American, German, and Swiss backgrounds, which is the opposite of the overall Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Southern European culture that would like to create a true sense of a team by getting to know one and other better.
Creation Stage
During the second phase of creation, known as the work or development stage, the focus is placed on the description of the task and the analysis of the problem at hand. Cohesion within team members begins and reinforcements are in place to motivate the team members. This particular stage is not difficult in a diverse team due to the variety of experiences and ideas that result from a multicultural setting.
Action Stage
In the final stage, the focal point is decision making and implementation. This stage can become difficult because it generally requires a consensus among the team in regards to decisions to be made. Successful managers create and guide the decision making process and implementation as a facilitator for the diverse suggestions and comments added by team members without disrupting the flow of the project.
Guidelines for Success
Some guidelines to follow in order to successfully and effectively manage a diverse team include the selection style of the members. The team members should be selected by their task related capabilities and abilities instead of ethnicity or cultural quota building. The basis and nature of the project should be taken under account. Diverse teams perform better in innovative type of projects, so routine types of projects should be accomplished by homogenous teams. It is a given that diverse teams will involve a variety of personalities, styles, and customs, so the team members should expect this and be prepared to handle and accept diversity within the team. By understanding and accepting this fact of a diverse team, the members should also respect each other regardless of personal indifferences.
The different points of views may create difficulty in determining the final objective of the team and the milestones involved in the project, ...
In almost every Asian market, competition is increasing, fuelled by both local and foreign businesses. Skills shortages are a constraint on most firms in the region, and our leaders are now faced with managing three or four generations of workers all with their own unique ways of working and behaving.
This new ebook is explaining organisations and employees how to make the most of the opportunities ahead and tells why managers must be flexible and socially intelligent.
Great leaders come in all shapes and sizes, genders and cultures, but they all possess many of the qualities I’ve highlighted in the Think Oak A to Z of Leadership Qualities
Great leaders know they wonu2019t always get it right, but they work with other experts, listen to their employees, keep learning, and set the intention to create a vibrant, healthy workplace and culture that embraces diversity. This requires tremendous courage and empathy but results in stronger, more innovative and resilient organizations more capable of attracting and keeping top talent.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
1. Why Cultural Intelligence is so
Important
WHAT IS CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE?
In today’s dynamic workplace, leaders are confronted with the
complex task of managing an increasingly diverse workforce. A
significant part of the leadership challenge is the differing
expectations of employees in terms of how they want to be led.
Many leaders have discovered through trial and error that what
passes for good leadership in one region, organisation or context,
doesn’t necessarily work in the next. So how do organisations
ensure that they support their leaders to transition into different
contexts and effectively lead diverse teams and individuals? The
answer, in short, is build cultural intelligence.
2. When we see the words “cultural intelligence”, (CQ) many of us immediately
think about the ability to work with people of different ethnicities. But while
ethnic differences are important, the range of diversity dimensions that we
encounter in today’s workplace are much broader than that. We work with
people with different skills sets, from different educational backgrounds,
across different generations and across teams and organisations with different
working cultures. These differences, if not engaged with effectively, can
create roadblocks and misunderstandings and can distract us from reaching
important organisational goals. What we really mean when we talk about CQ
is the ability to learn how to effectively work across all of these contexts to
leverage the diversity of thought and collaborate effectively to achieve the
right strategic goals. Research shows that, diverse teams who have this skill,
can benefit from their differences and create a competitive advantage which
accelerates performance across the board.
3. No-one is born culturally intelligent. It is not an innate skill. The good news
though, is that CQ is a practical intelligence, which means that it can be
learned. Moving beyond earlier thinking which equated knowledge with
capability (I know it, therefore I do it), it goes deeper to look at four key
factors which should be in place to build CQ, viz. Drive, Knowledge,
Strategy and Action.
Why CQ is important
1. Organisations are changing
Global talent shortages, the ease of travel and technology advances have
resulted in a melting pot of talent with increasing demographic diversity in
almost every region of the world. This diversity is being reflected in the
4. workplace, along with the growing number of women joining the workforce
and generational diversity as older workers remain in the workforce for
longer. This means we are increasingly working with and having to manage
employees who may have fundamentally different worldviews, educational
backgrounds, thinking styles and cultural values. Along with this upsurge in
diversity comes tremendous opportunities as well as potential obstacles.
Organisational leaders are feeling this challenge. It is tough to manage and
drive performance when you are required to interact with and manage
stakeholders with differing expectations, needs and wants. Not everyone
builds trust in the same way or responds equally to the same leadership
approach. In fact, global research supports the fact that leadership is highly
contextual and ideas about good leadership and management are culturally
shaped.
2. Common sense is no longer common
Detractors of Cultural Intelligence might argue that all it takes to lead people
from different contexts is a little common sense and emotional intelligence
(EQ). The research does not support this. While it is true that EQ involves an
element of self-awareness and awareness of others, its limitation is that it is
highly contextual. EQ is developed as we spend time within a particular
setting and use our experiences and feedback from others within that context
to appropriately adapt our behaviour to fit in. When the context changes, the
rules of the game change and what worked ‘there’ doesn’t necessarily work
‘here’. Many individuals have experienced the culture shock of moving to a
new organisation to find that what was valued and celebrated in their old
culture, is frowned upon in their new culture. Organisations too have learned
this truth the hard way, with some suggesting that more than 80% of Joint
5. Ventures fail due to the inability of the parties to adapt to the new working
culture.
3. Our cultural values show up at work
Understanding and managing workplace behaviour is a task that requires a
deeper understanding of cultural dynamics. In the workplace, cultural values
influence our behaviour on a range of dimensions, including: how we like to
communicate, give feedback, give presentations, lead, make decisions, build
trust, handle disagreements and schedule activities. For example, those from
low context cultures prefer communicating in a direct way, making use of
words to convey meaning. Those from high context cultures, on the other
hand, are more inclined to use non-verbal cues to communicate, giving
weight to contextual factors and listening for tone, emphasis and perhaps
even for what is not being said. For the Japanese, who come from an
extremely high context culture, this way of communicating is literally
described as ‘reading the air’. Understanding and adapting to these
differences means that we can more effectively communicate and build trust
with those who are on the opposite side of any particular cultural values
dimension.
4. CQ is a critical leadership competency
Often capabilities like emotional and cultural intelligence (EQ & CQ) are
written off as soft skills with limited value in the real world. Business leaders
might view a discussion about Cultural Intelligence as being far removed
from P & L issues and customer demands that dictate the direction of the
organisation. However, there is a growing body of evidence supporting a
view that gaining a competitive edge in today’s diverse world, increasingly
depends on the ability of business leaders to know how to work across
6. different contexts and when and how to adapt their behaviours. Hence the
need for CQ to be a key critical leadership competency.
Scientific research reveals that the most predictable results you can
expect from increasing organisational CQ include:
Better decision making – Individuals with higher CQ are better at
anticipating and managing risk and at making decisions that involve
complex, multicultural dynamics.
Enhanced negotiation skills – Individuals with higher CQ are most
successful as cross-cultural negotiations because they are more likely to
persist in reaching a win-win solutions, despite the ambiguity and
absence of cues which exists in many cross-cultural negotiations.
Stronger networks – CQ enhances individuals’ abilities to build
relationships across a broader geographic, cultural and ethnic span. These
networks are the currency that matters in today’s global environment.
Greater leadership effectiveness – Leaders with higher CQ are far more
effective at engaging and effectively leading multicultural groups which
are the norm in todays marketplace.
In fact, in the diverse marketplace of today, you could argue that the level of
CQ in your leadership team, has more to do business success, than other
predictors such as industry experience, skills, qualifications and tenure.
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUILDING CQ IN YOUR ORGANISATION
#1: Hire for attitude, not just aptitude
Make sure you hire people who have a growth mindset and are
energised by the thought of working with diverse teams and
unfamiliar contexts.
In other words, people who are not averse to change and are motivated to
learn about others! This means that the focus during recruitment should not
7. only be on the candidate’s past experience and qualifications, but also on
their motivation to work with diversity, their learning agility, their
adaptability and willingness to flex their behaviours. Most of us have some
interest in working with people who are different to us, especially when we
start on a new project or a role. Usually we are curious about what we will
encounter and what opportunities lie ahead of us to discover something new
about our work, ourselves and others.
However, as we encounter challenging differences between ourselves and our
colleagues, things can change. We may begin to feel ambivalent or unsure
about the differences we are dealing with and how to tackle them. If we
aren’t able to resolve our questions or challenges, we may begin to lose our
motivation to interact with those whom we believe to be very different from
us. We lose the ability to remain open minded and biases begin to play out in
our decision making and behaviour. In some cases, this may lead to a
disengagement, as we start to feel that we are underequipped to manage our
diversity challenges. The above phenomenon is known as cultural fatigue and
is, at least in part, responsible for the high failure rate of expat assignments
and joint ventures.
Hiring for the right attitude, will in the first instance, help you to minimise
cultural fatigue and ensure that even when roadblocks are encountered, your
team are motivated to overcome them.
Competency based interview questions you might want to ask:
Can you tell me about a time when you worked with a team who were
very diverse?
How did you go about building trust?
What where your key learnings?
What will you do differently next time?
What did you find difficult? How did you overcome this?
8. Psychometric assessments to give you more insight:
Interviews alone are not highly predictive of workplace success. To create a
more robust process, you can measure the cultural intelligence of your new
hire or existing leaders by using psychometric assessments. These
assessments can help you to understand current CQ strengths and
development areas as well as the cultural values preferences of your
prospective or existing talent. This will give you an instant data on their
motivation to interact with differences, their knowledge about differences,
their ability to plan for differences and their ability to adapt their verbal and
non-verbal behaviours when dealing with differences. The strengths and
development areas outlined in the assessment reports can provide you with
your team’s areas of development and shed light on areas you might want to
focus on in training.
#2: Provide CQ training and coaching
As we have seen, CQ is a practical intelligence which can be
learnt. So, with the right kind of learning inputs, anyone who is
motivated can improve their CQ.
Because we are all different in more ways that we realise – personality,
worldview, training, approach, thinking styles, values and cultural norms –
building CQ starts with raising self-awareness and understanding of the
unique lens through which each of us views the world. Understanding our
own pre-determined views (or biases), helps us to understand what drives our
behaviour and why we do the things we do. This allows us to understand
others better and enables us to be less judgmental about how they might
think, behave and see the world.
9. But learning about cultural differences isn’t about doing a deep dive into
every cultural group. It’s about recognising that different groups have
different social and language rules, different workstyles and different values
sets. This broad level of understanding allows us to formulate a tentative
approach when working with different groups and enables us to plan our
strategy for working with them.
Running CQ workshops offers individuals the opportunity to explore cultural
differences and develop a deeper understanding of each other through the
lens of culture. They provide a shared framework and vocabulary for talking
about differences and create a safe space to share challenges and concerns. It
is often said that the hardest culture to come to terms with is your own. In
workshops, individuals are offered the opportunity to deepen their self-
awareness by becoming aware of their own cultural lenses and the difference
between their intention and their impact when interacting with those who are
different to them. In addition, valuable insights are shared about the 4
components of cultural intelligence and what it takes to become competent in
this area.
However, awareness alone doesn’t necessarily shift our behaviour. For our
learning to be useful, it must be translated into new behaviours. This is where
1:1 coaching is a powerful tool to enable us to move past the blockers that
would normally stop us from demonstrating new behaviours, such as low
confidence. Training and coaching for CQ are a potent combination in
building your leaders cultural intelligence.
Cultural values that impact workstyles:
Communication (preference for high context or low context)
Feedback (direct or indirect)
Persuasion (principle first or application
first)
10. Leadership (low power distance vs high power distance)
Decision making (consensual vs. top down)
Trust (task/competency based vs.
relationship based)
Challenge (direct vs indirect)
Scheduling (linear vs flexible)
Emotional expression (high affect vs low affect)
Success Indicators (individualist vs collectivist)
#3: Foster continuous learning
Cultural intelligence requires ongoing learning and a key part of
that learning can be done in the workplace itself.
Holding a learning mindset and being intentional about benefitting from
successes and failures in intercultural interactions creates the best platform
for those wishing to build their cultural intelligence. Organisations that put
cultural intelligence at the front and centre of their learning agenda, are
uniquely positioned to foster a continuous learning mindset and accelerate
their cultural intelligence. For leaders and their teams alike, this involves not
only gaining new insights, but also learning to un-know some of what they
thought they knew as biases and stereotypes are challenged. A key part of
this learning process is providing opportunities for feedback and reflection.
These critical learning skills enable individuals to learn about their own
impact from others (feedback) and to create new thinking strategies
(reflection) for moving forward.
Providing your team with the skills they need for feedback and reflection
means that they will have the ability to:
Plan before intercultural encounters
Expect the unexpected
Notice what is happening
11. Adapt their strategy
Monitor their effectiveness
Three aspects of feedback and reflection are important:
1. Planning
To what extent do you plan for intercultural interactions?
2. Awareness
How would you know if the interaction was going well or not?
3. Checking
How do you review your success afterwards?
To sum up
Those working with diversity need to know how to ‘be
themselves’, whilst at the same time flexing to the dynamics of
different groups they are interacting with. This requires Cultural
Intelligence – the ability to recognise when the context has
changed and to adapt your strategy and approach accordingly.
The cultural context here is determined by many factors including ethnicity –
generations, functional areas, organisations, genders etc. Cultural Intelligence
goes beyond previously held notions that assumed that knowledge translates
automatically into cultural capability. It recognises the importance of having
a positive motivation, a robust approach strategy and a broad behavioural
repertoire to enable you to adapt or flex to different contexts.
On the way to becoming Culturally Intelligent, individuals need to learn new
ways of thinking and behaving and unlearn some previously held beliefs or
biases. They also need to develop understanding of when to flex behaviour
and when not to flex behaviour because it might have the opposite effect of
what was intended.
12. No-one is born Culturally Intelligent – it is something that we need to
develop on purpose. First we master the basics and then, through feedback
and reflection, we continue building our capability in the ‘laboratory’ of the
workplace.
Arguably as important to leaders as emotional intelligence, it is an essential
skill for anyone wishing to succeed in the multi-cultural and dynamic
workplace of today.
“CQ is an essential skill for anyone wishing to succeed in the multi-
cultural and dynamic workplace of today.”