CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE

Cultural Intelligence



Cultural Intelligence

In our increasingly global and diverse world, individuals must interact with people of different nationalities, cultures, and socioeconomic levels. Leaders, in particular, represent culturally diverse constituents and must deal with leaders from nations and organizations in other parts of the world. As a result, there has been a great deal of interest in the concept of cultural intelligence.

Cultural intelligence is defined as “the ability to function effectively in a diverse context where the assumptions, values, and traditions of one's upbringing are not uniformly shared with those with whom one needs to work”. Some researchers have defined cultural intelligence as “a person's capability for successful adaptation to new cultural settings, that is, for unfamiliar settings attributable to cultural context,” and emphasize that cultural intelligence is not just knowing about other cultures but also being able to adapt one's behavior to fit into the different culture. As these definitions suggest, cultural intelligence is a specific form of social intelligence, and one that moves beyond understanding one's own culture and context to an ability to cross cultures and situations. (Janssens, Brett, 2006)

Some argue that cultural intelligence is particularly important for workplace leadership (although the same case can be made for political and other types of leadership). The responsibility for maximizing the value of a diverse workforce disproportionately falls on those who seek to lead. Leaders are, and will be, increasingly called upon to be the champions of diversity, the models of skillful cross-cultural behavior, and the mediators of cross-cultural conflict. It has been said that successful leadership will become synonymous with culturally intelligent leadership

Cultural intelligence is particularly important for political leaders who have to appeal to their own, often diverse, constituents, as well as work and be effective internationally. Many world leaders today spend a great deal of time learning about and studying cultures so they can avoid costly cultural blunders. It has been argued that cultural intelligence involves understanding both others and other cultures, but also understanding oneself and how one's own culture affects a leader's perception and worldview. Research evidence suggests that experiences living in other cultures and countries is critically important in the development of cultural intelligence, as one develops a more “global mindset”. Culturally intelligent individuals, who possess a global mind-set, view persons from other backgrounds as equals, are open to ideas from other countries and cultures, are excited by interacting with persons from other cultures, and are sensitive to cultural differences, but do not become self-conscious because of those differences. (Gardner, 1993)

Mahatma Gandhi is a good case study in the development of cultural (and social) intelligence. Born in India, Gandhi attended London University to receive a law degree. Much of this time was spent learning to adapt to British culture. He later moved to South Africa to begin his law career and had to adapt to a somewhat different culture. Many years later, a much more “culturally intelligent” Gandhi was able to garner support for his cause from people around the world because of his ...