These rules can be as wide-ranging as a country’s word of law, a company’s norms and procedures, or as simple as the beliefs and values of our households. These shared rules play a part in forming a person’s multi-layered cultural identity.
CQ, then, refers to how well you can navigate interactions with someone from a different culture.
Why Cultural Intelligence Is Important at Work
In the workplace, a high level of CQ can help us to bridge gaps across different teams, departments or even organisations.
In the Public Service, for example, CQ can help us to better navigate the different norms and objectives of each agency. The wide diversity of jobs mean that one’s colleagues can be people with very different roles. Due to the nature of Public Service work, officers frequently have to collaborate with officers from different departments, agencies or sectors.
People from a different team use a different set of rules from you, Prof Ang explained. Tensions may surface in inter-sector communication, which is where CQ will come in useful.
By honing our CQ, we can gain a better understanding of other working norms and cultures, which prevents misunderstandings and promotes workplace harmony.
Attaining Cultural Intelligence: Avoid Stereotyping
CQ is a capability and a skill. Like playing the piano or learning basketball, CQ can be practised.
The first step in honing CQ is to see beyond one dimension of a person’s cultural identity.
In other words, we should recognise that a person is beyond the manifestation of their race, gender and age. Factors like nationality, family background and organisation play a role in shaping their culture as well. These make up their cultural mosaic.