According to our reading text Cultural Intelligence for Leaders (2012), to acquire knowledge has to do with the cognition and developing the understanding of the different aspects of culture. It is important that we understand and are able to identify the cultural elements and their relations such as the channels of communication and their impact on behaviors and attitudes of the people (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012).
Metacognition comes to play when we build our strategic thinking that explores the knowledge we acquired in an unfamiliar culture. A person should be able to analyze the data collected in the previous step to detect patterns or causes. Doing this analysis helps us to understand the behaviors and attitudes of people (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012).
Because of the possibility that we may encounter difficulties while trying to become familiar with our surroundings and any unfamiliar event, we tend to contemplate our motivation and ability to work with others. Having a broader view of the situation will always be of help rather than only focusing on detail (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012). It “refers to your self-efficacy and confidence, your ability to be persistent, and the alignment with your personal values” (Opentextbooks, 2016).
Do (Adapt and Perform) has to do with behavior. This is the ability to transform ourselves by adopting new behaviors for better interactions with an unfamiliar culture (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012).
This framework of cultural strategic thinking is generally known to consist of; “knowledge, strategic thinking, motivation, and behaviors” otherwise referred to as the ABCD of Cultural Intelligence.
Cultural intelligence could be said to be the ability to be agile when dealing with different culture by adopting new behaviors. More broadly, it could be said to be the ability to go beyond the differences and barriers that exist between different people and succeed in areas with different cultures from ours (Future Learn, n.d.). It also goes across to the differences that exist between sectors, firms, generations and other people that are different from us. Cultural intelligence is a mechanism that helps us switch off our “cruise control” and “learn to reset our mental programming” (Opentextbooks, 2016).
“Fundamentally, Cultural Intelligence is about understanding our own culture, what it means to us, and the multiple sub-cultures we belong to. It is also being fully aware of what makes us who we are, and how our culture influences the way we work with other people” (Future Learn, n.d.).
In comparison with emotional and social intelligence, cultural intelligence has to do with navigating through the difficulties that exist with working with people from different cultures and backgrounds. And this makes it even more broad spectrum and if possible global in nature. While emotional intelligence is the one’s ability to recognize own feelings as well as those of other people, and to be able to handle and manage emotions more efficiently and effectively in our personal lives and in our relationships with others, be it in work or business (Key Step Media, 2017). Emotional and social intelligence is made up of the following components; Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management (Key Step Media, 2017).
By focusing on emotions, self-emotion and others’ emotions, emotional intelligence assumes that people have had the knowledge of the unfamiliar culture and can identify others’ emotions. This also blends with social intelligence which focuses mainly on the interaction with the social environment. In general “Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the natural evolution from the now well-established notions of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) ” (Future Learn, n.d.).
Another way Cultural Intelligence is quite different from Emotional and Social Intelligence is the fact that it “cannot be quantified by a score.” This is because there is no known Cultural Intelligence scale with which to measure people against, which now makes it futile to think of Cultural Intelligence in number terms (Common Purpose, n.d.). Rather, in my understanding, Cultural Intelligence is a knowledge framework we can continuously develop and improve upon throughout our lives time, through experiences, and knowledge we acquired by meeting people who are trustworthy enough to pass on such knowledge on to us.
One most important thing that “makes Cultural Intelligence particularly valuable regarding a leadership competence in today’s global market” is the fact that organizations and businesses are now going global and so their problems can no longer be handled or solved by single leadership acumen or perspective, “one culture, or even one continent, operating alone”. It has now become very important that leaders must have Cultural Intelligence competence to be able to lead effectively and efficiently across boundaries by way of collaboration and global corporations (Common Purpose, n.d.).
More so it has become inexcusable that countries and continents must have to come together because of a common problem facing the global community that requires the “old and new divides to be crossed” (Common Purpose, n.d.). To make the Cultural Intelligence Competence for leaders even more vital is the fact that the world is crying out loud for new innovations, technologies and new ideas for solving our common problem. And the strongest common enemy of any global problem is “global thinking.” Leaders with Cultural Intelligence Competence see things differently and from a global and general perspective because good innovation comes best when there are differences in opinion, perspectives and culture (Common Purpose, n.d.).
Because cultural intelligence has to do with the knowledge, ability, and skills that are needed to fish-out, understand, ponder on, and finally become accustomed to cultural differences (Menzies, n.d.), this is why it has become a very fundamental instrument of leadership competence in today’s global market. The malleability of cultural intelligence offers leaders the opportunity to create and establish a competitive advantage that is second to none, which consolidates their “capacity for innovation and agility” that engineers a sustainable global economic growth (Menzies, n.d.)
Cultural intelligence competency is crucial in today’s organizational leadership because it helps leaders detect a change in the environment, which might provide special opportunities for the business to grow. Agility, as periodic cultural intelligence assessment allows a leader and teams to be prepared and able to face any change. It ensures, maintains and creates an environment where any person irrespective of his or her cultural background can work and grow. And to be on top of this, organizational leadership and team leaders should be able to perform occasional cultural intelligence assessments to identify where gaps exist that needs prompt adjustment.
References
Common Purpose. (n.d.). What is Cultural Intelligence? Retrieved Sept. 20th, 2018, from https://commonpurpose.org/knowledge-hub-archive/all-articles/what-is-cultural-intelligence/
Cultural Intelligence for Leaders (2012). Saylor Academy. Creative Commons by-nc-sa3.0. Retrieved Sept, 19th, 2018, from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_leading-with-cultural-intelligence/index.html
Future Learn. (n.d.). Developing Cultural Intelligence for Leadership. Retrieved Sept. 19th, 2018, from https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cultural-intelligence
Key Step Media. (April 11, 2017). Emotional and Social Intelligence Leadership Competencies: An Overview. Retrieved Sept. 20th, 2018, from https://www.keystepmedia.com/emotional-social-intelligence-leadership-competencies/
Menzies, F. ( n.d.). CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE: A NEW COMPETENCY FOR THE GLOBAL WORKPLACE. Retrieved Sept. 22nd, 2018, from https://cultureplusconsulting.com/2015/06/20/cultural-intelligence-a-new-competency-for-the-global-workplace/
Opentextbooks. (20 January 2016). Cultural Intelligence Model. Retrieved Sept. 22nd, 2018, from http://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/27819
Metacognition comes to play when we build our strategic thinking that explores the knowledge we acquired in an unfamiliar culture. A person should be able to analyze the data collected in the previous step to detect patterns or causes. Doing this analysis helps us to understand the behaviors and attitudes of people (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012).
Because of the possibility that we may encounter difficulties while trying to become familiar with our surroundings and any unfamiliar event, we tend to contemplate our motivation and ability to work with others. Having a broader view of the situation will always be of help rather than only focusing on detail (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012). It “refers to your self-efficacy and confidence, your ability to be persistent, and the alignment with your personal values” (Opentextbooks, 2016).
Do (Adapt and Perform) has to do with behavior. This is the ability to transform ourselves by adopting new behaviors for better interactions with an unfamiliar culture (Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, 2012).
This framework of cultural strategic thinking is generally known to consist of; “knowledge, strategic thinking, motivation, and behaviors” otherwise referred to as the ABCD of Cultural Intelligence.
Cultural intelligence could be said to be the ability to be agile when dealing with different culture by adopting new behaviors. More broadly, it could be said to be the ability to go beyond the differences and barriers that exist between different people and succeed in areas with different cultures from ours (Future Learn, n.d.). It also goes across to the differences that exist between sectors, firms, generations and other people that are different from us. Cultural intelligence is a mechanism that helps us switch off our “cruise control” and “learn to reset our mental programming” (Opentextbooks, 2016).
“Fundamentally, Cultural Intelligence is about understanding our own culture, what it means to us, and the multiple sub-cultures we belong to. It is also being fully aware of what makes us who we are, and how our culture influences the way we work with other people” (Future Learn, n.d.).
In comparison with emotional and social intelligence, cultural intelligence has to do with navigating through the difficulties that exist with working with people from different cultures and backgrounds. And this makes it even more broad spectrum and if possible global in nature. While emotional intelligence is the one’s ability to recognize own feelings as well as those of other people, and to be able to handle and manage emotions more efficiently and effectively in our personal lives and in our relationships with others, be it in work or business (Key Step Media, 2017). Emotional and social intelligence is made up of the following components; Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management (Key Step Media, 2017).
By focusing on emotions, self-emotion and others’ emotions, emotional intelligence assumes that people have had the knowledge of the unfamiliar culture and can identify others’ emotions. This also blends with social intelligence which focuses mainly on the interaction with the social environment. In general “Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the natural evolution from the now well-established notions of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) ” (Future Learn, n.d.).
Another way Cultural Intelligence is quite different from Emotional and Social Intelligence is the fact that it “cannot be quantified by a score.” This is because there is no known Cultural Intelligence scale with which to measure people against, which now makes it futile to think of Cultural Intelligence in number terms (Common Purpose, n.d.). Rather, in my understanding, Cultural Intelligence is a knowledge framework we can continuously develop and improve upon throughout our lives time, through experiences, and knowledge we acquired by meeting people who are trustworthy enough to pass on such knowledge on to us.
One most important thing that “makes Cultural Intelligence particularly valuable regarding a leadership competence in today’s global market” is the fact that organizations and businesses are now going global and so their problems can no longer be handled or solved by single leadership acumen or perspective, “one culture, or even one continent, operating alone”. It has now become very important that leaders must have Cultural Intelligence competence to be able to lead effectively and efficiently across boundaries by way of collaboration and global corporations (Common Purpose, n.d.).
More so it has become inexcusable that countries and continents must have to come together because of a common problem facing the global community that requires the “old and new divides to be crossed” (Common Purpose, n.d.). To make the Cultural Intelligence Competence for leaders even more vital is the fact that the world is crying out loud for new innovations, technologies and new ideas for solving our common problem. And the strongest common enemy of any global problem is “global thinking.” Leaders with Cultural Intelligence Competence see things differently and from a global and general perspective because good innovation comes best when there are differences in opinion, perspectives and culture (Common Purpose, n.d.).
Because cultural intelligence has to do with the knowledge, ability, and skills that are needed to fish-out, understand, ponder on, and finally become accustomed to cultural differences (Menzies, n.d.), this is why it has become a very fundamental instrument of leadership competence in today’s global market. The malleability of cultural intelligence offers leaders the opportunity to create and establish a competitive advantage that is second to none, which consolidates their “capacity for innovation and agility” that engineers a sustainable global economic growth (Menzies, n.d.)
Cultural intelligence competency is crucial in today’s organizational leadership because it helps leaders detect a change in the environment, which might provide special opportunities for the business to grow. Agility, as periodic cultural intelligence assessment allows a leader and teams to be prepared and able to face any change. It ensures, maintains and creates an environment where any person irrespective of his or her cultural background can work and grow. And to be on top of this, organizational leadership and team leaders should be able to perform occasional cultural intelligence assessments to identify where gaps exist that needs prompt adjustment.
References
Common Purpose. (n.d.). What is Cultural Intelligence? Retrieved Sept. 20th, 2018, from https://commonpurpose.org/knowledge-hub-archive/all-articles/what-is-cultural-intelligence/
Cultural Intelligence for Leaders (2012). Saylor Academy. Creative Commons by-nc-sa3.0. Retrieved Sept, 19th, 2018, from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_leading-with-cultural-intelligence/index.html
Future Learn. (n.d.). Developing Cultural Intelligence for Leadership. Retrieved Sept. 19th, 2018, from https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cultural-intelligence
Key Step Media. (April 11, 2017). Emotional and Social Intelligence Leadership Competencies: An Overview. Retrieved Sept. 20th, 2018, from https://www.keystepmedia.com/emotional-social-intelligence-leadership-competencies/
Menzies, F. ( n.d.). CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE: A NEW COMPETENCY FOR THE GLOBAL WORKPLACE. Retrieved Sept. 22nd, 2018, from https://cultureplusconsulting.com/2015/06/20/cultural-intelligence-a-new-competency-for-the-global-workplace/
Opentextbooks. (20 January 2016). Cultural Intelligence Model. Retrieved Sept. 22nd, 2018, from http://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/27819
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