Our increasingly globalised world has meant that, more than ever, we operate in business environments that feature diverse workforces from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Even if you don’t work in a global, distributed, or multicultural team, the ability to navigate and thrive in various cultural contexts is still a vital leadership skill to develop. In fact, it’s a dimension that’s critical to global leadership and business success for any organisation operating in different countries and diverse markets.
How are some leaders able to interact and behave effectively and appropriately in new cultures, or among individuals with different, unfamiliar backgrounds, in a way that others struggle to? The secret is cultural intelligence.
What is cultural intelligence – and why is it important?
Cultural intelligence – also known as cultural quotient (CQ) – refers to ‘the skill to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations’, and ‘the capability to cross boundaries and prosper in multiple cultures.’
It’s more than possessing an awareness and understanding of cultural sensitivity. Rather, it’s an evaluation of the capabilities and skill sets required to thrive in different cultural dimensions that enables individuals to work, interact, collaborate, and adapt in line with diverse teams. It’s developing effective communication styles and behaviours that support cultural diversity in work environments and lead to better outcomes.
The role of cultural intelligence in the workplace should not be underestimated; an ability to work seamlessly across different cultures and contexts offers numerous advantages. For example, leaders with high CQ are more able to:
- increase competitive advantage – by enhancing cross-cultural communication, innovation, teamwork, adaptability, cooperation, and productivity.
- embrace cultural differences and use them to positive effect – instead of allowing them to result in conflict and tension.
- foster a sense of belonging – where team members feel respected, valued, and included because of the different experiences, perspectives, ideas, and cultural norms they bring to the table.
- penetrate diverse markets – through an in-depth understanding of different customs, preferences, and behaviours. In the same way, they are better able to mitigate risks associated with cultural insensitivities and missteps.
Leaders who lack cultural competence and cultural knowledge are likely to experience negative impacts on working relationships, team morale, the working environment, and many other aspects of business.
How is cultural intelligence different from emotional intelligence?
Individuals with a high level of emotional intelligence (EQ) are adept at interpreting the wants, needs, and emotions of others – and using these insights to build positive interpersonal relationships – as well as regulating one’s own emotions. Those with high CQ, on the other hand, are cognisant of the beliefs, values, and communication styles of people from different cultural backgrounds.
Both CQ and EQ are essential in relating to others with sensitivity, understanding, and empathy – and the most effective leadership styles are those which combine the two.
How can a leader develop their cultural intelligence?
Developing cultural intelligence should be high up the list of priorities for those in leadership positions. A joint survey between the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that customised programmes are one of the highest ranked methods of enhancing organisational CQ.
Harvard Business Review – who designed their own six-step CQ development programme to improve their managers’ working relationships with outsourcing partners – firmly agree, stating that CQ can be cultivated in ‘psychologically healthy and professionally competent people.’ Their method involves identifying individual strengths and weaknesses (using methods such as 360-degree feedback exercises and assessing behaviour in simulated business scenarios), selecting specific training that addresses the highlighted weaknesses, putting new learning and skills to practice in real-world cultural settings and situations, and finally reflecting on the outcomes and investing in continuous learning.
More broadly, leadership effectiveness in relation to enhancing CQ can be achieved by:
- avoiding a one-size-fits-all, blanket approach to managing different people
- adapting language, behaviour, and interactions in ways that caters to individual and unique needs
- fostering patience and openness in all communications and interactions
- learning about, and being sensitive to, differences in demographic, background, attitudes, values, customs, and experiences
- facilitating ways for team members to connect with each other on both professional and personal levels – for instance, team-building, cultural-exchange, and knowledge-sharing initiatives
- suspending judgement of others until you have sufficient information or insights
- celebrating difference in authentic, meaningful ways
- continuously developing the level of CQ across the wider organisation.
How do you support diverse teams facing communication challenges?
Naturally, not everyone you work with will possess the same level of cultural intelligence. This can lead to communication challenges which leaders will need to address, adopting strategies that seek to embed understanding, collaboration, respect, and empathy.
CIPD suggest a number of approaches to overcome issues with cross-cultural communication:
- Speaking with team members to gain their ideas of how to promote better communication
- Encouraging ‘code-switchers’ to return to the shared ground rules and language
- Raising awareness of language barriers and behaviour barriers
- Highlighting achievements of each individual team member
- Keeping an ear out for cultural nuances of communication from team members.
Promoting active listening, leveraging technology that supports collaboration (such as instant messaging, project management software, multilingual support, and video conferencing), encouraging open dialogue, training and assigning cultural ‘ambassadors’ who can help to bridge cultural divides, and modelling inclusive behaviour all help to create a more productive, inclusive business environment.
Become an expert in cross-cultural management and leadership
Keen to know how to get the most from your team? Want to explore the inner workings of transformational leadership? Think you could improve your own cultural intelligence?
Grow as a highly capable, inspirational leader – and develop your individual cultural awareness to champion global business – with the University of Lincoln’s online MBA Leadership programme. You’ll gain advanced business skills, including problem-solving, decision-making, and critical-thinking, that are central to the highest levels of leadership and management and have cross-industry application.
Through 100%-online study that fits around your lifestyle and commitments, you’ll explore management techniques, business strategy tools, insights, and benchmarks that will enable you to lead global organisations to success.