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Intellectual Aptitudes |
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What both emotional and cultural intelligences share is
summarized as "a propensity to suspend judgment—to think before acting". |
This world seems to be a big landscape,
yet the gap between different people from different backgrounds is indeed
diminishing, turning the globe into a small village. The natural ability to
interpret someone’s gestures and demeanors in just the way the person’s
compatriots would, has come to be called cultural intelligence or CQ. This is
one of the reasons for turning this globe into a small village. CQ is a very
vital aptitude and skill for everyone in a world where crossing boundaries are
common. Cultural intelligence is related to emotional intelligence, but it
picks up where emotional intelligence leaves off.
Emotional intelligence simultaneously
gives two things to us, firstly what makes us human and also what
differentiates every one of us. A person with high cultural intelligence can
somehow obtain those common features in a group or person’s behaviors by
untangling, even those features peculiar to this group or person, and even
those that are neither general nor idiosyncratic. The vast realm between these
two poles is culture. These two intelligences do share a common decisive
element, which is put in psychological words of Daniel Goleman "a propensity
to suspend judgment—to think before acting." The time of suspension depends on
the level of person’s CQ. However it involves using our senses to obtain the
ways to interact different personalities from the new culture, which then
enable us to anticipate the necessary reactions in front of new gestures of
different people. Sometimes people who they detached from their home culture
can easily adopt mores of the unfamiliar host. To some extent cultural
intelligence is innate; however anyone can reasonably cultivate one's CQ
components by different methods. The CQ components are: cognitive, the
physical and the emotional/motivational, which correspond to the head, body
and heart respectively.
The Three Sources of CQ:
Some corporate
training tends to boost up the knowledge on the new cultures, beliefs or
customs amid people, but this approach never prepares a person for every
situation that arises nor does it prevent from a cultural faux pas. Even
inquiring the definition of some customs is inefficacious because natives may
be reticent in explaining themselves to foreigners. Hence the stranger must
develop a series of learning strategies, which may sound sophisticated. At the
same time, he must find a point of entry to the alien cultures, whose very
coherence can make them seem like two parallel worlds, while an individual
with high cognitive CQ notices a common point, which relates these two
apparently parallel worlds. It can appear in any form and context but is worth
finding. All of these are related to the brain. How to infer and decipher the
hidden codes behind the culture is a crucial task which can be completed by
the brain.
Understanding an alien culture is not
enough. Sometimes our comportments and deportments must show that we have
already entered a foreign culture. This refers to the body language. Whether
it is gestures like shaking hands or hugging the host, it is a proof of your
ability to mirror the customs of the people indicating that you esteem them
well enough to want to be like them. One of the consequences of adopting new
habits and mannerisms is that foreign people will indeed become more trusting
and open with you.
Adapting a new culture needs
stoutheartedness since it involves overcoming obstacles and the person must
believe in his efficacy and capability. If a person does not believe in his
own efficiency or lacks the confidence to understand an alien culture, he will
give up with the first sign of incomprehension. By contrast, a person with
high motivation and confidence will reengage with vigor after every obstacle
or even failure.
Cultural
Intelligence Profiles:
People are generally
categorized into six cultural intelligence profiles. Those who feel
comfortable with their own culture and have no problem working with the people
of similar background are put in the provincial group. However, they will run
into trouble when venturing farther afield. They usually cannot handle new
challenges caused by new situations. In some cases cultural intelligence is
innate and the person relies entirely on his or her intuitions. This is
natural. Those in this group usually get a general sense of what they need to
do and act by simply spending a few minutes watching the people around them.
However, other people need to untangle and decipher an alien culture by
analyzing it. Their gestures are utterly based on their analysis, which means
wrong analysis implies making terrible gaffes in a foreign society.
However, in situations where we know
nothing about the new culture, we can convincingly act as if we belonged
there—just what many politicians and appointees do. This is the job of an
ambassador. An ambassador’s confidence is a powerful component of his cultural
intelligence; it may be derived by watching those who succeeded in comparable
situations. Also ambassadors must have the humility to learn what they do not
know.
Mimic-fans, as another category, have a
high degree of control over their actions, if not, they have a great deal of
perceptions and discernments on the cultural cues they pick up. The advantage
of mimicking is that it puts the hosts at ease and also facilitates
communications. Mimicking is totally different to pure imitation, since pure
imitation can be thought of as mocking. Finally the sixth category is
chameleon. Chameleons have very high CQ components, which is uncommon and they
may be mistaken for a native of the country. Chameleons achieve results that
natives cannot and also they usually do not engender any of the ripples
natives inevitably cause. Only a very small percentage of managers belong to
this remarkable class.
Cultivating Your
Cultural Intelligence:
Cultural intelligence can be cultivated. It can be developed in
psychologically healthy and competent people. There are several easy steps,
but each one must be fulfilled with care. The first step is that an individual
must find his points of weaknesses and strengths by examining his CQ
components. This step helps to establish the starting point for the next
efforts. Secondly, one must focus on one's weaknesses and even use training
classes to foster the abilities one lacks. Next, if one has low motivational
CQ, he may undergo a series of psychological exercises to boost his
confidence. Fourth, one must organize his personal resources to support the
necessary approach. At this point one must still coordinate plans to develop
what he lacks. Finally one reevaluates the newly obtained skills, if it is
necessary, the whole process must be repeated.
At the end, the
reason why some people fail to act properly in new cultural situations and
flounder terribly while others act appropriately, does not lie in tacit
knowledge, emotional or social intelligence but in high cultural intelligence,
whether cultivated or innate, which helps the person master new situations.
Hence cultural intelligence is an important and vital device in today’s world
and must be promoted and used at all times. |
