cultural intelligence

Application Paper #5 In a world where crossing boundaries is routine, cultural intelligence (CQ) becomes a vitally important aptitude and skill, (Earley & Mosakowski, 2004, p.139) especially for today’s leaders who will more than likely encounter someone from another country, generation or perhaps occupational background where there are unique behaviors. As Earley and Mosakowski (2004) point out, cultural intelligence is related to emotional intelligence, but it picks up where emotional intelligence leaves off. A person with high emotional intelligence grasps what makes us human and at the same time what makes each of us different from one another (p.140). One must be able to discern between behaviors that are inherent to the individual, their culture and those found in all human beings and doing so relies on realizing there are three components to CQ, they are: 1. Cognitive CQ – the ability to note factual clues about relevant behavior. For example, the relevance of time; in middle-eastern cultures time is an approximate, the complete opposite from US culture 2. Physical CQ – personal demeanor and mannerisms; in many European cultures, it is not uncommon for men to hug and kiss each other on the cheek 3. Emotional CQ – The ability to persevere in trying to adapt to a new culture (Durbin, 2010, p.424-425) Earley and Mosakowski (2004) conclude anyone reasonable person who is alert, motivated, and poised can attain a good level of CQ, through a 6 step approach. The first is to examine your CQ strengths and weaknesses in order to establish a starting point (p.146). There are various self-evaluation tools one can use and I would add one may reasonably be able to examine their own experiences. For example, I lived in a small German town and worked extensively with the German Air Force for four years, hence I am quite familiar with the culture and habits. Step 2 involves selecting training that focuses on your weaknesses. Someone lacking in cognitive CQ may

References: Dubrin, A. J. (2010). Leadership, research findings, practice, and skills. (6th ed., Vol. 6). Mason, OH: South-Western Pub. Earley, P., & Mosakowski, E. (2004). Cultural Intelligence. Harvard Business Review, 82(10), 139-146.