In today’s ever increasing global and diverse environments (inside and outside of the workplace) it is vital to be aware of Cultural Intelligence (CQ). This includes awareness of your own cultural intelligence and awareness of the cultural intelligence of others around you.
CQ is recognized internationally as a way of assessing and improving effectiveness for culturally diverse situations. It’s embedded through meticulous, academic research conducted by global scholars. Principal organizations in business, education, government, and healthcare are adopting CQ as a key component of personnel development within their employees giving them competitive advantage.
Research demonstrates several consistent results for individuals and organizations that improve CQ, including:
- More Effective Cross-Cultural Adaptability and Decision-Making
- Enhanced Job Performance
- Improved Creativity and Innovation
- Increased Profitability and Cost-Savings
- Cultural intelligence is proven to reduce attrition, improve innovation, and make multicultural teams more effective.
Contemporary research has identified multiple types of intelligence which include:
- IQ – General Mental Ability
- EQ – Emotional Intelligence
- CQ – Cultural Intelligence
Understanding different types of identified intelligence lets us differentiate specific capabilities that have relevance to different situations. For example, general mental ability is important in most problem solving and work situations.
General mental ability, however, does not necessarily mean effectiveness in managing personal emotions – or being responsive to the emotions of others (EQ).
Likewise, general mental ability does not necessarily mean effectiveness in situations characterized by cultural diversity (CQ). Like these other forms of intelligence, CQ complements IQ (cognitive intelligence) by focusing on specific capabilities that are important for high quality personal relationships and effectiveness in culturally diverse settings.
Cultural intelligence provides insights about individual capabilities to cope with multi-cultural situations, engage in cross-cultural interactions, and perform in culturally diverse work groups.
Cultural Intelligence is a set of capabilities that leads to specific outcomes – such as decision making, performance, and adjustment in culturally diverse settings.
“Cultural Intelligence starts with the person in front of you” –
David Livermore PhD
Contact us today to enhance your effectiveness in culturally diverse situations
