About a decade ago, the buzzword in management circles was ‘Emotional Intelligence’ – EQ. Daniel Goleman coined the phrase in 1995 as a measure of how an individual can regulate and master their own emotions. At the time, Goleman’s research quickly became critical in assessing human intelligence because it suggested that such an assessment should be taken beyond intellect. While this was not the first time that the shortcomings of intelligence assessment purely on an intellectual basis had been raised (Einstein was a strong advocate for including other qualities) Goleman did prompt academics to look at how else we can segment and measure human intelligence.

Nine types of Intelligence

Last year the Washington Post published a blog that examined the work of Howard Gardner who advocates nine types of intelligence, including musical, spatial and logical Intelligence. A further addition to the list is ‘Cultural Intelligence’, or CQ, which according to David Livermore “is the capability to function effectively across national, ethical and organizational cultures.”

So far, CQ has received little attention. Perhaps less than it truly deserves in this day and age with our increasing reliance on conducting business in a ‘global marketplace’ and our populations traversing the ‘global village’. It is a fact that successful relationships are determined by the ability to truly ‘cross borders’ and effectively engage with other cultures in a meaningful way.

Can Cultural Intelligence be learned?

For business, this means developing multi-cultural and cross-cultural teams, made up of people who have significant CQ and who can comfortably and successfully communicate, motivate and influence across different cultures. Cultural Intelligence means removing barriers and developing authentic cultural sensitivity.

The good news for business, according Livermore, is that CQ is a skill that can be taught to almost anyone. Livermore’s belief is bolstered by recent research at one of Australia’s leading universities which indicates that Cultural Intelligence can certainly be improved by attending a structured training program. Research measured students’ CQ prior to, as well as post participation in an undergraduate cross cultural management course. The results showed a significant improvement in the students’ CQ once the program had been completed.

While this is encouraging news for business wanting to develop CQ talent, it would be a mistake to say that achieving CQ is easy and can simply be mastered after a few training or coaching sessions. It is also important to acknowledge that some people find CQ easier than others. In 2008, when he was named Transcultural Leader of the Year, Carlos Ghosn said in an interview that family background can definitely help. Having been born in Brazil from a Lebanese Jesuit family, Ghosn had the advantage throughout his childhood of experiencing many different countries and cultures.

High tolerance for differences

Someone with strong CQ is able to display high levels of flexibility in many aspects of their lives including body language and communication styles. However, above all, someone developing CQ has to have a flexible belief system, an inherent empathy and an interest in exploring other cultures. It’s important to remember that Cultures are built on behaviours embedded into society – historically it is these behaviours that have enabled people to survive invasion, thrive under geographic isolation, fight wars. Intrinsic in these behaviours are unique concepts of right and wrong. When we work in a different culture some of these beliefs can be challenged and if we hold steadfastly to them we will be prone to judge our new environment as inferior to our own. This is failure.

People often say they want to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated, and this sounds like an ideal basis for true human-to-human empathy. However, what happens if the other person wants to be treated very differently, perhaps worse? Carlos Ghosn tells the story about the first time he arrived in Japan. He was struck by the practice of men entering the room before women. This was contrary to his beliefs of gentlemanly behaviour, but he had to move beyond his own attitude to complete acceptance.

At the core of our success to working with different cultures is our ability to let go of strongly held beliefs and values, and to avoid negatively judging differences. It’s important to remember that simply learning new etiquette is not enough to gain acceptance and make a positive contribution to a new culture. This is only possible when we develop Cultural intelligence, which in turn, generates genuine cultural sensitivity.