A Thought Exercise

As a thought exercise, consider the brief candidate descriptions below. Notice your perspectives regarding their potential qualifications and limitations as you read.

Which might have the needed capabilities and relational agility to lead a multicultural team?

Candidate #1: She is a first-generation immigrant to the United States. Her family moved to the USA when she was a child, and they frequently visited her birth country. She is bilingual.

Candidate #2: He was a missionary kid who grew up internationally. He first came to the United States to attend college. He considers himself “bicultural,” having American parents yet growing up outside of the United States of America.

Candidate #3: She is from an urban environment with neighbors from all over the world. She hasn’t had the opportunity to travel but maintains deep friendships with people from many cultures and ethnicities.

Candidate #4: He grew up in the suburbs of the United States. His grandparents immigrated to the United States before his parents were born. Their ethnic heritage is celebrated through community and intergenerational family traditions. He has never traveled outside of the US.

Tough call, right?

Each candidate’s experiences contribute insights and potential for cross-cultural leadership. What measures could you use to evaluate objectively their ability to succeed in this sensitive role?

Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were an effective predictor of cross-cultural effectiveness?

A hiring team can assess strengths and emotional intelligence as valuable predictors of performance. Yet, the criterion for cross-cultural leadership skills is often limited to the type of information you have for your four candidates.

Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were an effective predictor of cross-cultural effectiveness?

Assessing Cultural Intelligence

Thankfully, the capability you seek in your candidate has a name and can be measured- “Cultural Intelligence” or CQ.

CQ is the ability to work and relate effectively across cultures and within intercultural contexts – including different ethnic, national, generational, organizational, and other cultural contexts.

The concept of Cultural Intelligence is based upon intelligence research including academic intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) and is supported by rigorous research across 100 countries. Dr. David Livermore helped popularize CQ through his books and by co-founding the Cultural Intelligence Center, which offers assessments, training, and support.

While our life experiences, education, and training certainly contribute to our intercultural effectiveness, CQ doesn’t automatically emerge as a direct result. Fortunately, it is a measurable set of four capabilities that can be learned and developed by almost anyone.

The Cultural Intelligence Center describes each of the four capabilities as follows:

1. CQ Drive: Your level of interest, persistence, and confidence during multicultural interactions.
2. CQ Knowledge: Your understanding about how cultures are similar and different.
3. CQ Action: Your ability to adapt when relating and working in multicultural contexts.
4. CQ Strategy: Your awareness and ability to plan for multicultural interactions.

Jesus Led With Cultural Intelligence

Jesus provides us with a beautiful example of a leader with high CQ. He readily adapted his communication style to the cultural nuances of his audience – including their ethnic, religious, educational, and occupational experiences.

It is also interesting to note that if we simply used superficial data like the information we have for your four candidates, Jesus wouldn’t likely rise to the top.

He lived primarily in one location all his life. His travels were limited. His education was unremarkable. Yet he demonstrates high CQ. His “candidacy” exemplifies the value of an assessment tool and a shared language for evaluating effective cross-cultural leadership and communication skills.

CQ assessments offer an objective solution for identifying which candidate will be most effective in intercultural contexts. Additionally, CQ training empowers leaders with the skills needed for intercultural communication. It also provides tools for building multicultural teams, ministries, and organizations. Cultural Intelligence is a much-needed resource for today’s growing global landscape.

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Heather Frommack, MS, RDN is a Certified Cultural Intelligence & DISC Facilitator and ATD-Master Trainer. Her mission is to help normalize unity amidst diversity. She has successfully used CQ to influence positive organizational change through intercultural training, coaching, and mentoring. Find her at heatherfrommack.com, and reach her at heatherfrommack@gmail.com