What's at the head, body & heart of developing cultural intelligence?

There are a number of different types of intelligence. There's intelligence around problem solving, there's emotional intelligence, and there's cultural intelligence (CQ). Developing CQ should be a huge priority for anyone within the global mobility industry. It can help you work more effectively with anyone that is different from you, especially when you work abroad or lead a culturally diverse team. Your understanding can help to build relationships and develop the trust needed to be effective at communicating and getting work done. 

What is cultural intelligence, though? This article from the Harvard Business Review defines it pretty well:

Professors Christopher Earley and Soon Ang introduced the concept of CQ in their 2003 book of the same name. Those with CQ have the skills to go into new environments with confidence, and to make informed judgments based on observations and evidence. They are excellent at taking in the unfamiliar and handling ambiguous behaviors in a relational way.

Research shows that professionals with a high level of CQ are more successful on international assignments, as they adjust more easily to living and working within new cultural conditions. It stands to reason anyone supporting your expatriates will be more effective in their administration of global moves when they also have a high CQ.

So what does it take to develop a high CQ?

Cultural intelligence is related to Emotional intelligence (EQ), but CQ picks up where EQ leaves off. Nicole Barile wrote about the differences in this LinkedIn article, "The Link Between Cultural Intelligence (CQ) & Emotional Intelligence (EQ)". 

This article from Mindtools also taps into three key components of CQ. They are:

1. Head – the knowledge and understanding that you need to become culturally intelligent. This comes, in part, from observation and research. But you also need strategies for gathering new information – and the ability to use those strategies to recognize a culture's shared understandings. That will enable you to adapt your decision making and communication.
2. Body – or translating cultural information into visible actions. These are usually the clearest ways in which your CQ is seen by others. You show it in your gestures, your body language, and the way you carry out culturally significant tasks.
3. Heart – a genuine and relational approach to interactions. To be culturally intelligent, you need to be self-assured, not afraid to make honest mistakes, and confident enough to keep improving by tackling new cultural situations.

The article dives further into the 4 concepts of "drive" (motivation), "knowledge", "strategy", and "action". Culturally intelligent people exhibit all of these and deploy them to recognize and adapt to cultural differences. The head, the body and the heart ultimately work together to help us be successful in culturally diverse situations. 

The ability to work with people who have different backgrounds and life experiences is crucial in the 21st century workplace, and particularly for someone supporting or leading a global mobility program! It is an important part of being an effective global team member and a great leader. This article from Forbes sums up the importance of CQ nicely: