Cultural Intelligence Catalyst for Success

There are quality skills that serve as catalysts to speed up the process of success. As much as possible you must possess them if you want to thrive and succeed in any endeavor. One such skill is cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence is a must-have skill for any modern leader or entrepreneur. It is a market advantage as it promotes and deepens inclusion and diversity. Inclusion increases productivity, creativity, and innovation, and engenders a collaborative spirit, a win-win atmosphere where everyone feels satisfied with the outcome. Generally, inclusion is the ideal approach to successful leadership in any organization, and it is facilitated by cultural intelligence.

Cultural intelligence is the ability to interact and relate with people from other cultural backgrounds. In other words, it is all about understanding your culture in relation to other people’s culture. Culture on the other hand refers to some deeply rooted patterns of values, customs, attitudes, and beliefs peculiar to any group or society. It is learned and transmitted collectively by members of a particular society or group. And it subconsciously and consciously guides the behavior and thought of such a community.

One interesting fact about culture is that it is often neglected by people until they come in contact with anomalies in their cultural expectations. And it is our responsibility to decide how we respond to these cultural anomalies. Hence, cultural intelligence is not just the ability to understand these different cultural norms but the ability to act on that knowledge in a mutually beneficial way. It is the capability to relate and work effectively across cultures.

Cultural intelligence consists of four quadrants. There are four components of CQ that every inclusive leader must possess in order to succeed. These qualities are sine qua none to success, and being deficient in any of them will impact negatively on your quest to achieve. These components include;

Let me say here that you must possess the energy to drive interaction across cultures. It is the motivational element of cultural intelligence related to an individual’s level of interest in interacting effectively across cultures. The drive includes the extent to which an individual is able to appreciate and enjoy engaging in culturally diverse interactions. It is also associated with the awareness of the benefits that one can gain from cross-cultural experiences.

The drive may also include confidence about being effective within culturally diverse contexts. As one of the most novel and important components of cultural intelligence, it entails the ability to engage and persevere through intercultural exchanges, or challenges.

Knowledge is another important aspect of Cultural intelligence. It refers to how much an individual knows about the concept of culture and its roles within any group. Obviously, you need to have enough information about different types of organizational and individual cultures, and how it affects your interaction with members of various cultures.

It is the next capability of cultural intelligence. And it refers to an individual’s ability to prepare for and manage cross-cultural interactions. It consists of three important elements like planning, awareness, and checking. Planning as an element of strategy refers to consulting relevant knowledge and experiences before an encounter.

Awareness refers to being in tune with one’s own mind as well as trying to discern what others might be thinking. Checking on the other hand entails comparing one’s experiences with prior expectations, and adjusting one’s mindset if need be.

Action includes what an individual does during a cross-cultural situation in order to remain effective and successful. It also includes the words and phrases that one uses in such situations. This encompasses verbal actions such as volume, tone, and pace of speaking. It may also include nonverbal cues like gestures, facial expressions, and the use of personal space. Personal space entails how close individuals stand or sit next to one another in cross-cultural interactions.

Cultural intelligence is a crucial skill for any leader who will dream of success. It is very critical in your quest to succeed in life. CQ will help you to maximally engage well and with confidence with individuals in a wide range of contexts. It makes you versatile and well-prepared to respond effectively to ever-increasingly diverse and more sophisticated markets. I want to reiterate here that cultural intelligence deepens inclusion, and that is a plus to success. It is a market advantage as it enhances creativity, productivity, and innovation. It is the catalyst you need to speed up the process in your quest for success.