What is Cultural Intellegence (CQ)?

Whether you are brokering international deals or moving halfway across the world for work, you are going to need cultural intelligence if any bit of your venture is going to be successful.

Cultural intelligence is having the knowledge, strategy, drive, and action needed for adapting and relating in culturally diverse situations. Being culturally intelligent means that you are ready to face the world, no matter how strange it may look to you. In the business world, it is the key to building the relationships that will sustain a mutually profitable relationship.

A foundation of cultural intelligence is cultural knowledge. Someone who has cultural intelligence understands the key components of culture: communication preferences, religious systems, values, and assumptions. They have studied culture models and are familiar with a variety of cultural practices and customs around the world.

Not only do they know about these things, they know how to plan accordingly. This is called Strategy. Culturally intelligent people develop strategies using the information they know about culture. They plan their interactions with a new culture and are mindful of their own cultural behaviors, adjusting them to communicate effectively in the new culture.

For example, a culturally intelligent British businessman going to Japan will study the culture before going. He will learn from this research that Japanese greet with a bow. Therefore, he will understand that when he arrives at the airport, he needs to greet his host with a bow rather than a handshake. Furthermore, he will put his plans into action, by acting appropriately and bowing.

Finally, one can have all the knowledge and strategy in the world, but it will not get them far without having cultural drive. This drive is key to cultural intelligence as it is the motivation that carries the individual through mentally difficult situations.

For example, learning a new language is incredibly difficult. It takes time, effort, and humility. If a French person is going to Tunisia and wants to learn the language, they will have to have the motivation to continue. This could be intrinsic motivation, a general curiosity about the Tunisian language that drives them, or extrinsic motivation, an external force such as the desire to communicate with a friend or negotiate a good deal on food in the market.

Cultural intelligence is the combination of one’s knowledge, strategy, drive, and action for adapting and relating to diverse cultural situations. In today's interconnected world, developing your cultural intelligence is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. By embracing cultural differences, you unlock opportunities for deeper connections, stronger partnerships, and greater success.

Ready to take your cultural intelligence to the next level? If you're seeking personalized guidance, reach out to us for a cultural adaptation coach, to help you or your team thrive in any cultural context. Invest in yourself, invest in your future, and become a bridge between cultures.