CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE DEMYSTIFIED: EXPLORING ITS IMPORTANCE AND ESSENTIAL BEHAVIORS — CHAPTER 01
IQ, EQ now CQ? As globalization has rendered the business environment more complex, dynamic, and competitive, the ability to function effectively in different cultural contexts, called Cultural Intelligence (CQ), has never been more important for institutions.
Originally, the term cultural intelligence and the abbreviation “CQ” (Cultural Quotient) was developed by the research done by Soon Ang and Linn Van Dyne as a researched-based way of measuring and predicting intercultural performance. The concept is related to that of cross-cultural competence but goes beyond that to look at intercultural capabilities as a form of intelligence that can be measured and developed. Cultural intelligence may be defined as “a person’s capability to adapt as s/he interacts with others from different cultural regions”, and has behavioral, motivational, and metacognitive aspects.
Without cultural intelligence, we are susceptible to mirror imaging. The mirror effect can be observed in various social interactions, such as conversations, group dynamics, and nonverbal communication. It plays a significant role in understanding human relationships and interpersonal influence.
Easy Definition of Mirror Imaging: Do not expect others to behave like you. If you do, you are Mirror Imaging.
Cultural intelligence or CQ is measured on a scale, similar to that used to measure an individual’s intelligence quotient. People with higher CQs are regarded as better able to successfully blend into any environment, using more effective business practices, than those with a lower CQ.
Research demonstrates that CQ is a consistent predictor of performance in multicultural settings. We may say that “there is no such thing as culture” and having self-awareness and empathy is more important than developing a deep understanding of the other culture. Also, some believe that focusing on the greetings, clothing, habits, beliefs, modes of operation of different cultures and promoting the learning of this will make us proficient in dealing with a particular culture. Cultural intelligence, includes both of these aspects, and more, that will help us to understand even unpredictable cultural situations and to adapt our behavior in a way that is suitable.
In summary, we can define Cultural Intelligence as the ability to be skilled and flexible about understanding a culture, learning more from it from your ongoing interactions with it, and gradually reshaping your thinking to be more sympathetic to the culture and your behaviors in order to be more skilled and appropriate when interacting with others from the culture.
Components of Cultural intelligence
Cultural intelligence emphasizes three areas: metacognition and cognition, motivation, and behavior. Such abilities go beyond simply being intelligent, emotionally mature, and/or having good general social skills. CQ is a system consisting of three interactive components — cultural knowledge, cross-cultural skills and cultural metacognition. While these three components of CQ can be developed in different ways, they do not operate in isolation from each other.
A) Cultural Knowledge:
It is composed of content (what) and process (how) knowledge of other cultures, such as how and when people express disagreements with each other, and how to give feedback to subordinates.
Ways To Cultivate: We can gain cultural knowledge through multiple channels, such as newspapers, movies, books, traveling to another country, or working with or being friends with people from a different culture. This learning experience will be optimized if we are mindful during the process, such as through carefully identifying what is unique about one culture, analyzing why it is unique, and forecasting when and how we can utilize this knowledge in the future.
B) Cross-Cultural Skills:
This consist of a broad set of skills instrumental for intercultural effectiveness, specifically:
Ways To Cultivate: Cross-cultural skills are best developed through experiential learning, e.g. through studying or working in a foreign culture where we can practice these skills through trail-and-error. The development of these skills is accelerated when one is equipped with the appropriate cultural knowledge that was developed earlier.
C) Cultural Metacognition (sometimes called Cultural Mindfulness):
This is the knowledge of and control over one´s thinking and learning activities in the specific domain of cultural experiences and strategies. Being culturally mindful means one is aware of the cultural context, consciously analyzes the interactive situation, and plans courses of actions for different cultural contexts.
Ways To Cultivate: In order to improve cultural metacognition, we need to practice mental exercises where we are observing others´ behaviors, analyzing situations and reflecting on our own behavior.
The Framework for Cultural Intelligence
Again, this learning experience will be optimized if we already have some cultural knowledge and cross-cultural skills. For example, if we can relate to our counterpart and are able to put ourselves in his/ her shoes, it will be easier to interpret his/ her behavior and plan for our next move. The framework for cultural intelligence consists of the following parts: knowledge, strategic thinking, motivation, and behaviors. It may be helpful to think about these as the ABCs of CI: Acquire, Build, Contemplate, and Do.
Acquire Knowledge — Acquiring knowledge about the culture we are interacting with is undeniably an essential step, but only once piece in the puzzle of Cultural Intelligence. It sends a clear message that we care about the other person and are willing to adapt aspects of our own behavior to make the relationship possible and to make them feel more comfortable and at ease around us.
Also, when it comes to deeper knowledge about the culture, like what they believe, how they behave, what are the reasons for any conflicts they may be in, etc., acquiring knowledge from non-human sources is not enough. For these purposes, getting to know people from the other culture in-depth and understanding them is a more effective way to get a balanced view of these deeper topics, the part that lies underneath the iceberg.
Build Your Strategic Thinking — How will the knowledge gained about the culture be applied? Beyond the general knowledge of the culture, it is essential to have the skills to consider all factors in the situation and decide how we want to respond. This is often referred to as metacognition. We may even decide to act differently to the cultural norms, and this may be ok. However, it is better to consciously decide that, having all the information, rather than operating unconsciously and creating a negative situation that could be avoided.
Contemplate Our Motivation in developing Cultural Intelligence — Why are we putting in all this effort to relate to another culture. The stronger the “why” the faster and more significant the progress will be. When the “why” is strong, the obstacles and difficulties become more manageable because we are confident about where we are going.
Adapt and Perform — Adapting is essential in relating to a culture different from our own. Yet adapting indiscriminately is not necessarily a good idea. Our character, values and personality are important and they should not change every time we encounter a new situation. We can consciously decide which aspects of our personal culture we can let go of in order to get along better with the other culture, and which aspects are non-negotiable and an integral part of us. Adapting consciously can tremendously enhance our performance when we are interacting with other cultures particularly in a professional setting.
**To be continued in Chapter 02 (Cultural Intelligence in Institutions, Cultural Intelligence Profiles, Cultural Intelligence & Emotional Intelligence, The Three Sources of Cultural Intelligence, Cultivating Cultural Intelligence )
Link To Chapter 02:
Content Curated By: Dr Shoury Kuttappa
