Cultural intelligence is one of the key soft skills needed to get along with people from diverse cultures. This soft skill is very vital to succeed in the 21st century if you live, work and do business with people from different cultures. With the opportunity to meet, interact and work with diverse people, comes the challenge of getting along and being successful in what we do individually and collectively. This challenge is understandable. One can have extraordinary social intelligence when it comes to interacting and working with people who are within their native culture. The individual knows very well the customs, beliefs and anathemas. Thus, getting along is relatively easy since he communicates, interacts, behaves and acts according to cultural codes without offending and entering into misunderstandings and conflicts with others.
However, to get along and succeed in the 21st century, it takes more than excellent IQ, IQ, and social intelligence. The author of ‘The Cultural Intelligence Difference’, David Livermore, wrote: “The number one predictor of your success in today’s borderless world is not your IQ, not your resume, not even your experience.” He continued, “It’s your CQ (Cultural Intelligence), a powerful ability that has been shown to enhance your effectiveness when working in culturally diverse situations..”
Unfortunately, many organizations still rely solely on IQ, IQ, and social intelligence when selecting supervisors and managers. The author of ‘Cultural Intelligence: CQ: The Competitive Advantage for Crossing Border Leaders’, Julia Middleton said, “Organizations often boost leaders by their IQ. Then, years later, fire them for their lack of EQ (Emotional Intelligence).” she predicted, “Common Purpose argues that in the future they will promote for CQ – Cultural Intelligence.“
The question is how can we increase our cultural intelligence? As you already know, there are thousands of cultures around the world and it is difficult to survive, let alone develop the cultural competence to thrive in every culture to which we are strangers. However, we should start improving our cultural intelligence somewhere. The right place to start this rewarding journey is to understand the difference between the world’s two major cultural divisions.
Some cultural experts suggest dividing the world’s cultures into two main categories: individual-based cultures and community-based cultures. For example, countries like the US, Europe, Canada, and Australia are cultures based on the individual. By contrast, countries like Africa, Asia, and South America are categorized under community cultures. Of course, there are individual subcultures and exceptions within each national culture.
Among many parameters used to show the similarity and difference between the two main cultures, I like the three parameters suggested by Edward Hall:
1 time,
2. Context, and
3. Space.
Let me quickly compare the two broad cultures using briefly the three aforementioned indicators. Time is treated casually in community cultures, while in individual-based cultures it is well organized. Context is high in collective cultures where people express themselves implicitly, whereas individuals in individual cultures communicate explicitly and use verbal communication efficiently. People from community cultures are less territorial, while people from individual cultures have a greater tendency to mark their territories.
As someone who lived in these two main cultures, I have witnessed firsthand how people from the two cultures treat time, communicate, and manage space differently. I was born and raised in Ethiopia, a communal culture. Then I came to the US, a culture based on the individual, in 2005.
In the first part of my stay in the United States, I experienced culture shock. In order to be successful in my new home, I have made many changes, including the way I treat time, communicate, and interact. I’m still on the learning curve, stumbling here and there from time to time, which makes me humble and open to continually learning. Let me share with you a few stories.
Time
At home, being late is tolerable. It doesn’t matter who gets there first. Since relationship is valued more than time, neither of us makes being late a big deal. We smile and hug each other affectionately and continue our business.
Here in the US, being late for work is considered a sign of unprofessionalism and has serious consequences. Outside of work, being late damages relationships, as being late is perceived as disrespectful.
The interesting thing is that many of my friends from Ethiopia and Africa compartmentalize their time here in the United States. They are on time when it comes to their work and formal business matters, but treat time casually at social gatherings. You may receive an invitation indicating what time the meeting starts. Unless you have a lot of free time to spend, you don’t show up on time as stated in the letter, email, or flyer. The event can start two hours late.
I had a Nigerian classmate when I was doing my PhD (2009 – 2013). Every time we needed to meet, we used to ask ourselves, is it African or American time? If it is African time, we do not set the time. One of us may be at the library or cafeteria working on school work, and the other person just hangs out within the time frame we agreed upon. If it is American time, we set the start and end time. We arrived and left on time.
Background
In Ethiopia, we use non-verbal communication a lot. On the other hand, here in the US (and other individual-based cultures), people predominantly use explicit verbal communication. In communal cultures, if you talk explicitly about yourself, your accomplishments, qualifications, experiences, and needs, you may be labeled selfish and egotistical. Conversely, if you do not verbally, explicitly, and express your needs, aspirations, and experiences in an individual-based culture, you may be seen as timid and lacking in confidence.
Space
I used to share bed, clothes and shoes with my family members and friends all the time. It was common to find yourself going to one of your friends’ house, and if it rains when you leave, you just take your friend’s umbrella on the way out without asking permission. If you ask, you will offend your host. He/she may sense that you are distancing yourself. It does not show intimacy and brotherhood. In the US, people are aware of their spaces. You are expected to respect other people’s boundaries. You can’t just grab and take someone’s things without risking being seen as rude or worse, a thief.
However, understanding the difference between the two cultural divides is the beginning of a long journey. We need to continually increase our cultural intelligence. With increased cultural intelligence comes an understanding of where people come from and a refrain from judging others based on how they treat time, communicate, and manage space.
To get along with people of diverse cultures, we need to stop treating our native culture as the standard bearer. We should not expect everyone to behave and act like us. We should all increase our cultural intelligence in order to successfully live and work with people from different cultures. We should also make some efforts to help each other understand each other’s cultures.
I wish I had known these ideas when I first came to the US I would not have paid a lot of prices. This is especially essential if you have recently moved to a new culture or started working or doing business with people from different cultures. It equips you to cross the new culture(s) without committing many deadly cultural transgressions. Of course, those of us who have been in a new culture for a long time can have awareness. The question is: are we consistently working on our cultural intelligence and improving our cultural competence to be successful at what we do? I hope this article has inspired you to invest your time and energy to work on your cultural competency and has given you a couple of useful lessons.
