In my previous article about Cultural Intelligence, we looked at what culture is and what cultural intelligence is. To recap, cultural intelligence is a person’s ability to identify and adapt to cultural customs.
As a leader and as a team member you encounter people from a diverse range of cultures. You may also find yourself in a foreign culture, which can be quite unsettling. So, the greater your cultural intelligence, the greater your ability to create a welcoming team culture as well as adapt to new cultures with ease and less stress.
Here are some of the other benefits to having high Cultural Intelligence.
- Harmony. I’m willing to bet that you want to be part of a high-performing team. A team that gets great results and gets along with each other even when they aren’t getting along. By enhancing cultural intelligence, team members become compassionate and sensitive to divergent opinions and perceptions. When coworkers are adaptive and can assimilate into each other’s cultures, they can develop a culture of harmony, which makes it easier to be productive in the workplace. Leaders and team members with high CQ are more likely to understand and embrace each other’s strengths and weaknesses, thereby enhancing cooperation.
- Improve Communication. Communication is the lifeblood of any team and organization. Communication is also heavily influenced by culture and therefore varies greatly across cultures. Leaders and team members with high CQ are sensitive to the cultural influence on communication. They are not easily offended and seek to understand each other and interact more effectively, resulting in less miscommunication.
- Innovation. Who doesn’t want to be part of a team that creatively solves problems, adapts to unforeseen changes and challenges with ease, and continues to refine and improve performance? Nobody I want to work for! Cultural Intelligence fosters awareness of emerging cultural trends, client needs and wants, and a team culture that welcomes diverse opinions.
- Rapport with customers and investors. In an increasingly global workplace and marketplace, it’s increasingly common to have customers, investors, and collaborators from myriad cultures. Having a high CQ can make negotiation, communication, and relationship-building easier and more effective. High CQ is strongly correlated with strong rapport, not to mention trust, the foundation of any strong partnership.
- Attract Talent. Globalization is making the world more dynamic and competitive. Those organizations that incorporate cultural diversity are more likely to attract businesses and top talent. By encouraging applications across a wide range of cultures, employers are no longer limited to domestic applications. This increases their chances of finding the best talent due to the high Cultural Intelligence and subsequent welcoming team atmosphere. Naturally, this expanded diversity improves a company’s performance when competing within the global market by increasing confidence and competency in interactions outside of its domestic market.
Remember, people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad leaders. Similarly, people are hired for their skills but fired for their behavior. Bad leaders and Bad behavior are closely related to low Cultural Intelligence. Don’t be “that guy.”
Here is a simple and free CQ assessment to get you started.